Two words no parent of a sick child should have to hear: ‘At capacity’

Almost five years ago, I had my own personal experience with a PICU — not as a physician but as a parent. I had given birth uneventfully to a beautiful, healthy baby. Two days later, we brought him home from the hospital. Three weeks later, as I nursed him in the middle of the night, I noticed that he was breathing very quickly. His little belly moved up and down rapidly, and his nostrils flared with each breath.