August: The Easy Month

August was supposed to be our easy month, our month off from doctors and diagnoses and tests.  The only appointment Little Dude had scheduled this month was a therapy evaluation on August 1st (they're going to monitor him with monthly home visits, but he doesn't need regular therapy other than that.  Yay!) and we weren't expecting any test results this month.

I really need to quit getting my hopes up about stuff like this...

Little Dude started a 3 week round of antibiotics in late July to treat a bacterial infection in his lungs.  After a week, I noticed an improvement in his coughing fits.  A few days before he finished the antibiotics though, I noticed an increase in his coughing, choking, and breathing difficulties.  As his condition fluctuates a lot, I didn't think much of it-just increased his nebs and kept an eye on him.  Then, on Tuesday night, he started having a really hard time breathing and by Wednesday afternoon, a fever had joined the party.  By that evening, he'd gotten much worse so I decided to take him to the doctor Thursday morning.  Little Dude barely slept that night and was absolutely miserable.

The next morning, I woke up to find that I was sick with chills, fever, stuffy nose, sore throat, and aches all over.  I could barely get up, but fixed a bed on the living room couch and moved Little Dude's whole operation over there so I could rest while caring for him.  I called the doctor and as soon as they heard that he was sick and having problems breathing, they said to bring him over as soon as possible despite the fact that the doctor was booked all day.  I was in no condition to leave the house so my mom came over to take him and a note with all his info to the doctor for me.  I passed out as soon as she left and slept until she came back (I slept through 3 phone calls from her even though the phone was right next to my head, whoops!).  Probably not the best thing since I honestly have no clue what the other three kids were doing during that time, but no one got hurt or destroyed anything.  Thankfully, that nap was all it took to get me feeling just a smidge better because Little Dude came back with instructions to head to the ER.

I packed an overnight bag for Little Dude and me, and my dad drove us up to the ER while my mom stayed with the kids (Hubby was sleeping since he was in the middle of a run of night shifts).  I was so glad my dad could drive us since Little Dude needed someone in the backseat with him to monitor his breathing and choking.   

We spent the afternoon at the ER, where Little Dude had an x-ray of his lungs that showed that he had pneumonia.  They tried to start an iv for antibiotics, but absolutely couldn't get one in nor could they get the blood they needed for a blood draw.  Little Dude has impossible veins, and the only way to get an iv in him is when he's sedated.  After spending over 40 minutes futilely poking my poor baby, they decided to give him the antibiotic in a shot instead.  If I'd known that was an option, I would've asked for it immediately since I knew they weren't going to be able to start an iv.  It took two techs and a long time to get just enough blood for the labwork.

Around 6 pm, Little Dude was admitted, and we were finally sent upstairs to a room on the peds floor which incidentally was right next door to the room he had in May.  He spent the night there for observation.

Because Little Dude was keeping his O2 sats above 90 on room air, he was able to come home the next day with an oral antibiotic.  If he didn't have his G Tube, they would've kept him longer because of concerns for dehydration, but thankfully, we can get plenty of fluids in him even though he's barely taking any formula by mouth right now.      

So, I'm just a little freaked out about cold and flu season now.  Little Dude's lungs and immune system are not in great shape and both Princess and Little Man will be bringing germs home from school this year.  If you want to find me this winter, I'll be the crazy lady with lysol in each hand and a "don't touch!" sign above the baby giving the stinkeye to everybody with a runny nose.