Putting Parents' Minds at Ease: Greene County Medical Center Team Calmed Bagley Family's Fears in Late Night Emergency

JEFFERSON, Iowa – It was about 1:30 in the morning following a steamy summer day when John and Kylie Carmichael of Bagley were awakened by their eldest son, Cooper, with words no parent ever wants to hear, “Corbin can’t breathe.”

Corbin, the couple’s seven-year old son, had been diagnosed with severe allergies a couple of years prior. “He was just getting sick all of the time,” explained John. “So we took him to an allergist and they tested him. That is when they figured out that he has a whole slew of allergies.” Corbin was prescribed a daily medication and two inhalers, but on this particularly hot and humid day, it was going to take more than these to relieve the severity of this asthma attack.

“Corbin was struggling to breath and he couldn’t even talk,” John said. “A good way to describe it is that it sounded croupy, like he needed to sit in a steam bath to loosen things up.”

Kylie told John to get Corbin to Greene County Medical Center’s Emergency Department. And once inside those doors, there was immediate relief for the entire family.

“The doctor that was working knew exactly what to do,” said John. “He started him right on a steroid and on a breathing treatment. The two nurses did great with Corbin too. They talked to him in terms he could understand about what they were going to do and how they were going to treat him.”

John added this experience was different than others they have dealt with in the past few years. “They were able to put us at ease about our fears right away. They treated us like family,” he said. “We weren’t just strangers off the street. I can’t thank them enough for their knowledge and for getting us in right away. And if we wake up in the middle of the night and Corbin is having trouble breathing again, we will be going right back to Greene County Medical Center.”