My apologies now--this is long (and maybe not of interest to you, but important enough to me to be documented on our blog)!
OH my—where to even begin?!?! Remember I had blogged about taking Paislyn to the DR. (in EC) 2 weeks in a row for this nasty cough. Everything seemed to check out okay except for the fact that she had an ear infection (1/16). Then we switched pediatricians for her 4 month check-up (1/20) and when she (the new Pedi.) heard the cough she immediately did an RSV swab (which came out negative) and when she checked her ears there was no infection. She advised us to continue the antibiotics through the end of the bottle to prevent it from re-occuring. She also put her on the breathing treatments for the cough and wheezing and we started those that Friday.
She fared well over the weekend-we were just kind of doing the breathing treatments as needed-mainly first thing in the morning and then at bed-time, and during the night when she would wake up coughing bad. Sunday night we were up about 2:15 and never got to go back to bed with her coughing. Monday was fine-we even went to my parent s for my grandma’s birthday supper. Tuesday night her cough kept me up most of the night. Tuesday morning when I got her up her cough sounded WAY different-very deep! She also could not stop rubbing her face and her poor eyes were just watering like crazy. She seemed to be very pale and her lips were bright red.
I was completely dressed for work and getting her dressed and I called N and told him I did not think we should send her to school (he had already been worried during the night and wanted me to take her back in anyways). I called the school to let them know I would be in a little bit to lay some things out for my sub but that I would not be there today. I called the Dr. and got her in that morning.
She slept the whole way to Sugar Land and they called us back rather quickly. I did not expect to switch pediatricians and see her so many times that first week. Right when we got back there they heard her cough and said it def. sounds like RSV cough—they immediately swabbed her again and took it to set (WOW! A dr. office that actually is pro-active about your baby!) J She did have a fever. The Dr. came in and heard her wheezing and ordered a breathing treatment right away (to see if it was making a difference in her breathing). They checked her oxygen to make sure she was getting enough and the results came back from the RSV test with a big ole’ POSITIVE! OMG—my poor baby finally got what I had been worried about this whole month. AND to top it off she had an ear infection! WHAT ?!?! It was the same ear that was infected the Monday before, not infected the Friday before, and infected again Tuesday. UGH! She re-assessed her and said we needed a change of plans (since apparently the antibiotic was not working).
She changed up the antibiotic for her ears, put her on a steroid for her lungs—to keep her airways open, and told us to keep doing the breathing treatments.
We had strict orders for NO school (1. She is highly contagious, 2. Her immune system is WAY down and she is susceptible to catching anything anyone might have, 3. Since she is needing breathing treatments so frequently they want her closely monitored by us), not to leave the house unless it was back to Dr. and to take her to ER if she started turning blue (lack of oxygen), was retracting worse than what she was doing then (ribs pulling in because of her working too hard to breathe), was breathing more than 50-60 per minute, etc. She wanted us to start this regimen and spend Wednesday resting then return for a check-up on Thursday.
Tuesday she was still a pretty happy camper. She was coughing her lungs up and her poor face looked pitiful but in good spirits. I thought we could handle this! J
Fast forward to Wednesday. Cough was still bad…and the fussiness had begun! I could not put her down, she fussed all day, and then she began grabbing and pulling at her other ear . L Oh man we were both exhausted on Wednesday. She had a slight fever off and on all day. She screamed for over an hour that evening and nothing we did made her happy. She was also breathing soo hard we were worried and thisclose to heading to the ER. We went ahead and gave her a treatment (even though it was a little before time) so we could try to help her breathe. It calmed her down and she settled down a bit and fell asleep. I set my alarm to wake up every hour to check on her (I was soooo tired I knew I would crash hard and probably not wake up if she was sleeping). I was also giving her treatments in the night to keep her airways open so she could breathe.
Thursday morning we woke up to get ready to head back to the Dr. (this makes trip #5 for this month). I woke up with a VERY sore throat and was not feeling well. I figured I was just sooo sleep deprived and the lack of sleep was finally taking a toll on me. Side note—we had her back in our room sleeping with us since this nasty coughing started at the beginning of January so I could keep a close eye on her and since we were to sit her up to sleep.
We went to the Dr. and they checked her ears again and now she had a DOUBLE ear infection-yes you read that right DOUBLE ear infections. What else could this little babe endure??? So we had already changed antibiotics and now both her ears were infected. They checked her oxygen levels again and they were a little lower but they were still okay with where they were. Her breathing had not improved and she was still wheezing-we did a treatment at the dr. so they could listen to her after it to see if they were helping her. They ordered us to go to the hospital for chest X-rays. Before we left, they gave her a shot of antibiotic for her ears to jump start the antibiotics. POOR BABY had already been through soo much in a few short days! She had A LOT Of snot and congestion and they recommended we get a Nose Frida to suction her. (WOW! A clinic that actually keeps up with current baby products on the market!) Well I already have one and we had been using it and let me tell you if you are a mom and do not have this product it is a must-have! It works sooo good and is not near as painful as a suctioner and she tolerates this a little better. Most ppl. Think it is disgusting, but hey if it gets the job done and is easier on my baby I am all for it! I ordered mine here and I love it…www.fridababy.com
They called us a couple hours later letting us know that she DID indeed have bronchial pneumonia (as if she did not already have enough things going on in her tiny 12 pound body!). They wanted to see her back the next day (Friday) to check all her levels again. They also told us to increase her breathing treatments to every 3 hours and continue both antibiotics, saline, vicks, etc.
Thursday evening was a little better but she was still retracting pretty bad. They told us the same story with taking her to the ER if she displayed any of the previous symptoms or we got scared again. Thursday also she started not wanting to drink her bottles (we had already stopped the cereal since so many things were going on with her body). If you know my child you know she likes to eat! She was only taking 1-2 oz at a time. You could tell she wanted more, she just could not eat it.
Friday morning we headed back to Sugar Land to see the Dr.—the 3rd time this week. The Dr. commented to her that she “sure knows how to do it right—get all the sickness at one time!”. They checked her oxygen and it was a little better. She did lose a little weight since she was not eating as much, but since she was still producing 4 wet diapers a day she was not dehydrated. She was still wheezing and both ears were still infected. Poor baby got another shot and this time could not settle down. They noticed that her color was a little better—she was still very pale though! Our Dr. was working Saturday and on call all weekend and told us to bring her back Sat. morning if we thought she needed to be checked or to call her if we needed her---wow! Service to the patients! J I am loving this new clinic! Friday evening she finally started to get back to a little more sense of normalcy. She started talking a little more and was even playing a little.
She still needs to stay out of school until she is completely better and her immunity can build back up & the Dr. wants to see her back next Friday to check everything again. (Ear piercing did not happen L since she has been so sick but we are trying again next Friday).
Saturday night I had a hard time sleeping—I was feeling horrible! I woke up feeling like I was hit by a truck and ended up going to the Dr. I too have double ear infections (UGH!) and got a shot. Man that thing hurt bad! I feel even more sorry for poor P since she got this shot 2 days in a row! Poor baby! I even got the same prescription as her. I have to stop breast-feeding (pumping) for the next 10 days—which means my milk will dry up completely (or I can pump and dump L)…not too happy about this, but hopefully I can get a little more rest and recooperate so I can be well finally to take care of my family. I hate that I have to stop right now at a time when she needs the anti-bodies I can provide through my breast milk the most right now. Hopefully I can start to get a little more sleep since she will be on the mend and we can all get back to 100%. She got a lot of quality play time with Daddy (since I was feeling under the weather)! She was babbling like crazy and playing (though she is a little spoiled from being held while being sick) and even started eating more. She even ate a whole bowl of cereal this afternoon! YAY! My little girl is back!
The down-side from all of this we are dealing with now is the side effects of the steroids. They have caused diarrhea (yay-on top of everything else going on!) We change her constantly but it is burning her little bottom and she has the most horrible diaper rash. She has never had a diaper rash. We are keeping her coated with cream to keep the poop/pee off her skin, but she is red, welpy, and raw. This is hurting her soo bad now. I do not blame her for being so cranky-poor little girl! Hopefully she can be back to her perfectly healthy, happy, bubbly little self REAL soon! But, for a baby with RSV, Bronchial Pneumonia, & Double Ear infections, she is handling it all like a CHAMP! :)
Sorry I have basically written a book, but I want this all documented for her baby records (and this is the easiest way to keep up with it all).
The Dr. said the only long term effects from all of this is an increased risk for developing asthma (which N and I both had), and that she will be more likely to be coughing and wheezy every time she gets a cold during her childhood years. We will have to be a lot more careful and cautious every time she gets sick since she had all of these respiratory problems at such a young age. I am just thankful it was not any worse, we were able to treat her at home (instead of having her hospitalized), and that we switched Dr’s when we did.
Needless to say we have had a rough week! I have not worked all week, will be taking off the first part of next week, and will basically not be getting a paycheck this next pay day. L It is going to be hard for me to play catch up at school too, but knowing that my little girl is going to be okay makes it all worthwhile. This year has started off rocky—6 dr. appts this month alone for our little princess and I am hoping we stay healthy for a while now! ANy continued prayers you can send up for our little ones health are greatly appreciated! :):)
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