Wow Belle, I hope things improve. I remember DS#1 having croup, scary stuff! We never had to have a shot for that. The day before DS#2's 4th bday we picked him up from daycare and were told "He's thrown up twice in the last half hour." well, in the 12 mile drive home he threw up 4 more times, and kept throwing up every ten or 15 minutes till midnight, at which point we had gone to the ER an hour away. He was hanging limp like a corpse from DH's arms by that time. They gave him and IV, shots in his skinny little thighs to make him stop puking, apple juice which made him puke again, painkillers, and blood tests. They had him on a tiny triage bed/cot thing and he was so scared he wanted me to lay with him. He was better by 4am and they woke us up and sent us home with no idea what it was other than a severe and sudden onset stomach flu.
Kids' illnesses are NEVER easy! I won't take them in unless its REALLY bad but then I undermine myself thinking "Why do you wait till its so bad!?! what if you waited too long!?!" I need meds.