Wednesday, December 05, 2007
What Goes Around ... Goes Around.
While Kira, then Parker, then Jeff get obviously sick, I've been feeling slightly under the weather, but fending things off reasonably well. Until today. Right now, it hurts to talk. My throat doesn't hurt per se, but if I continue talking, it'll get more sore.
So, as the kids are playing with toys, asking me to come play with them, my attempts to play silently are met with disdain. As I tried doing it without talking, but he keeps saying, "Say this, do that, go "awwwhhhh-urrrgh!!"." Even when I started playing Christmas music, Parker keeps asking, "What song is this?" -- "Deck the Halls" -- "Sing it, Mama." -- Touches throat. -- "Please sing it, Mama. Sing!!"
Now, a little earlier, Parker and Kira were playing together; Kira was a sick baby pig, and Parker was Dr. Wyatt (our pediatrician). Parker/Wyatt asked Kira/baby pig, "How's your asthma? Are you hungry?" They continued to act out Parker's most recent visit/hospital stay. A friend shared that it is good that he's acting it out, as it means he's processing the whole thing.
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Friday, November 30, 2007
Following Up
Well, I just got off the phone with Jeff, and Parker is doing so much better. They are moving him up to the main floor out of the ICU, only because he's been there so long, otherwise they might have just released him. He's not on oxygen, hasn't had a breathing treatment since 4 am, and is tolerating food well. Apparently no wheeze either. I wish they would just release him, but I also don't want a relapse, especially with Kira sick at home.
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Thursday, November 29, 2007
To Expound.
Parker is sick ... now. Wasn't yesterday.
Woke up at 2 am said he had a sore throat. Listened to lungs, and they were clear. Woke up at 7:30 am, and he was wheezing. Used rescue meds, and wheeze was gone. Started a slight wheeze in lower right lobe, had some diminished breath sounds on left side. Gave 1 of the two puffs of rescue meds, and all sounded better.
Went in for Kira's followup/Parker's appt (we called to add Parker into the check-up) at 10:30a, and he threw up on way, and didn't really respond to two DuoNeb treatments, sats started to decrease on room air, put on O2 and trip in ambulance (our first time!!) to Pediatric Hospital. Sat in ER from noon to about 5:30p, on continuous albuterol nebs which sometimes seemed to help sometimes seemed to do nothing. Sometimes his lungs sounded completely clear, then congested with wheezing. No method to the madness. IV, steroids, magnesium, and more O2.
Now in ICU, great sats, but still has wheeze, great inspirations, not so great expirations. Seems to be "the mystery" .... fun, fun!! NOT!
So yes, it is true that Parker wasn't sick yesterday. Oh, and he had a chest Xray, doesn't have pneumonia, so it is likely that Kira actually didn't either, just a viral bronchitis.
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Update.
Kira? All better.
Parker? In ICU.
Freaking sucks.
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Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Pneumonia
Kira has decided that for her first illness, pneumonia is a good one. She just had a slight cough yesterday, and now has decreased breath sounds, and lots of congestion, sore throat, fever, stomach pains, and lots of coughing. So, she received a big long shot of antibiotics in her thigh (IM) and an albuterol breathing treatment to try to break up the congestion. We go back in the morning for a check up.
Dr. Wyatt says he doesn't think this is contagious, which after a 4-day ICU stay for Parker just last month, let's hope not!!
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Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Home Again, Home Again ...
We finally made it out of the hospital this afternoon, and are all back at home. Parker went to the ER on Friday night, was admitted to the PICU Saturday early morning, left it Sunday evening, and the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. May we never be residents there again.
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Monday, October 22, 2007
Hospital Update
Well, just heard from the doctor, and honestly, it isn't encouraging. He is on room air now, but still has a wheeze in both lungs. So .... another night.
On top of that, she said that the "preventative meds" isn't recommended for him, as it will not do anything for these virus-initiated attacks. So, instead, her recommendation is that as soon as Parker gets sick, to go in to our pediatrician and get the oral steroids. Sounds so crazy, and I'm a little sad that there isn't some miracle medicine out there that would prevent these outright. And a part of me knew that there wouldn't be, and that this can and may happen again. Totally sucks, and I really, really hope he out-grows this and soon.
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More Asthma Reflections
I can't pinpoint any trigger except that it only happens when he's sick. Never had one otherwise, and doesn't seem to have any allergies (never gets a runny nose except when sick, no itchies, nothin'). The day it happened was honestly exactly like the day before, it seemed. I think that is what is most terrifying -- not knowing WHY it happened all of a sudden, not seeing any trigger.
We're just weaning him off the oxygen now (he's down to 0.5) and watching him to make sure his pulse ox stays at or above 93 (I'd like it higher before he leaves, though -- kinda scares me to have it still that low!!).
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Sunday, October 21, 2007
Update on Parker's ICU Visit
Hey all -- short update. Well, Kira and I are home again for the night, but Parker is doing much better and is staying overnight again but up on the children's wing, as they wean him off of the oxygen supplementation, decrease the spacing of his nebulizers to once every 4 hours, and switch from IV steroids to oral steroids (a different kind). He is a ton better, and now we have to try to figure out what exactly happened this time, and how to be more proactive than before -- and we thought we were! So, I'm hoping this was a one time fluke and the only time he ever must be admitted into the hospital, though I totally understand it may not be.
As for what caused it -- I really couldn't say, and the doctors pretty much said that they could put him on maintenance medications, but as this isn't an allergic reaction, but rather one to the virus, those maintenance medications just don't work on it. They also agreed that it is concerning that he has intermittent asthma, but when he does get sick it is so severe -- it doesn't fit a category, and I could tell they really didn't want the responsibility of figuring it out, as I don't think I'd heard our pediatrician's name mentioned at all before then, and it was mentioned at least once a sentence, sometimes more than that! Too funny!!
So, I'm already resolved to purchase a stethoscope and pulse oximeter for here, and we'll see what else we can do. It seems his chest was getting tighter and tighter, but he wasn't coughing like normal, so he had a ton of congestion and then had the constriction. Luckily now he's doing tons better, and will continue to improve.
His patience is wearing super thin, as he's said the TV is boring (and yet wants to buy whatever the commercials are selling), he's played one of the video games from start to finish, played cards, and has simply lost the joy in an adjustable bed. It is sooooo boring when you have to be in bed with only the "electronic interaction substitutes" around you!! Shoot, even WE bored him! LOL
I am hope-hope-hoping that tomorrow morning he'll be released. On the PICU, they pretty much didn't tell us anything in terms of what they wanted to see, and how it would all progress, but up on the standard floor (what do they call those?), they seem to be more wanting to get him discharged (hallelujah!!). It is an odd feeling to have what we've been able to handle pretty much out-patient (with occasional visits for oral steroids) turn into something MUCH different. So very scary, and yet all the other patients in the PICU seemed to really be doing tons, tons worse, including one little girl that they essentially said they can do nothing more for. She is less than 2 years old. And yet, it could have BEEN Parker (I just can't grasp that right now).
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Now the ICU
Parker has spent today in the pediatric ICU. We are hoping to bring him home tomorrow, but it may be Monday.
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Saturday, October 20, 2007
To the ER They Go ...
Parker and Jeff are at the ER right now. Of course, when they got there, the doctor said he couldn't exactly hear a wheeze .....
Again, there is a question of if this is an allergic asthma. See, I can't figure out what the trigger is, if it is allergic. It only comes when he's already got a cold. We'd talked with Dr. Wyatt about doing seasonal meds just to prevent these high boluses of steroids (which he'll no doubt be getting tonight).
Labels: health, milestones, parenting, Parker
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Friday, October 19, 2007
Here we go again ....
Here we are, yet again, in the middle of an "asthma" attack for Parker. He doesn't fit any of the molds, as he only ever gets attacks when sick, so it is rather intermittent. However, the only intermittent that is recognized is "mild", and Parker's "attacks" aren't mild. :( He was sick for a few days and then, WHAM!!! In the course of 3 hours, he goes from normal to wheezing and about to vomit (all due to an increase in coughing).
So, we'd been doing albuterol breathing treatments since he got sick 2-3 days ago, every 4 hours, to see if we could stave off this part of it. All looked great! He even got through his normal "feel very nauseous/no eat" day, which normally coincides with an attack. That was yesterday. Started eating again last night, and ate today. Treatments at 8 am, 12pm, 4pm, then he starts running around and playing, and I try to get him to be a little more sedate in his play (poor guy!!). He does a little, but is still coughing.
A little coughing leads to a little more coughing (these are non-productive coughs), and at 7 pm, I give him his next treatment a little early, just to get him to stop coughing!! It worked, temporarily, and he's tired, so I coerce :rolleyes him to take some Motrin (to lower his temp, which was elevated a little from the coughing, and can exacerbate the inflammation process, supposedly), and at 8 pm Jeff gets home and we decide to give him a cough suppressant for the first time ever (it says it won't work at all on asthma coughs, so we figure no harm, no foul).
I gave him another breathing treatment at 9:30, because of wheezing in his sleep, and it immediately got better. But, now we are here at 11pm, and it seems to be getting worse again. WHAT GIVES!!! And, of course it is a Friday night, which means the ER if this progresses.
This just totally sucks, and I want to cry and have it magically made better, but I can't, and he's miserable, and there is nothing to do!! Our pediatrician doesn't recommend daily meds (and we agree with that), as he doesn't have constant asthma at any level, and yet when these attacks come, they scare me to death. I'm tired, but I can't sleep!!
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007
I Love Our Pediatrician!
I was really fretting Parker being put on constant steroids. He has intermittent asthma/RAD/whatever, and the maintenance meds are only intended for individuals with persistent asthma. However, when he does have an attack, it isn't mild, it is moderate to severe. So, he doesn't fit any classification. Many doctors would say, "Ah, put him on it. No harm!" even though that isn't necessarily true. Dr. W, instead, says, "Let's monitor it, and if it is something we choose to pursue in the future, we can do it part-time, during the 'peak season' for viruses only." (You see, Parker only gets these attacks when he's already sick -- it is virus-triggered.) We are really, really lucky to have a respectful, responsive pediatrician who sees himself as an advisor for our team rather than an iron-fisted ruler.
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Sunday, September 09, 2007
Like A River ...
Following up to how the trio went, it went well, though I apparently wasn't loud enough (wow. I think there are a number of people who will be surprised to read this!) at first. I was honestly so preoccupied with how Parker was doing at home, it was kind of an out-of-body experience.
Today was also the Water Communion at Fellowship, and I didn't even pour the virtual waters for our travels. In retrospect, I wish that I had, and will next year, for sure. It was really a neat service, I just wish Jeff and the kids could have been there.
Afterwards, money flowed from my pocket at Mother Earth Market, as I pursued nutritional supplements, gluten-free items, and other items (like Bach flower essences for Mama). Very, very expensive trip.
Labels: community, health, Kristin, Unitarian Universalism
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Saturday, September 08, 2007
Another Asthma Attack
This one was pretty scary. Parker was just coughing a little yesterday, so we started preventative nebs of albuterol (2 on Friday), but were woken up in the wee hours on Saturday with Parker in pretty bad shape, vomiting phlegm and mucus, sweating and feeling like he had a fever. He couldn't stop coughing. So, we give him an albuterol treatment followed by 2 DuoNebs, and and take him to the peds office. He was ill on the way there, ill several times there, and is finally on the mend. It was scary for a little while, and Dr. G suggested that they might want to put him on meds for it, even though his isn't persistent. We'll see our regular Dr. W on Tuesday to discuss ...
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Friday, April 13, 2007
Pipes Are Moving Again ...
Well, the pipes are working again. After all the popcorn this morning, chopped dates put in a PBJ at lunch, and a very miserable little boy, I gave him one dose of milk of magnesia, and in about 20 minutes, he was HAPPILY announcing he had to go poo! This was our first experience with it, and Mama handled his discomfort really badly.
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Thursday, April 12, 2007
Child Constipation
I'm sure this is directly related to the vast number of jelly beans he ate the beginning of this week, but Parker has his first bout ever of actual constipation -- went to bed whining last night because of it, with me rubbing his belly & back while he went to sleep. He eats lots of fiber (like several apples a day some days) normally, but I've already given him applesauce and popcorn today. Trying to get him to drink is harder, though. I'm just worried if he goes more than a full day without pooping that it is just going to be worse!
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Friday, February 02, 2007
Happy 2nd Birthday, Kira!!
It has been an overall sucky birthday, what with Parker and I having to go to the pediatrician's because of an asthma attack, and now Parker is on steroids, but my parents made the day start special by having a balloon bouquet delivered, and then our playgroup called and sang her "Happy Birthday" in the evening!! Normally, we would have gone to playgroup today.
Labels: health, Kira, milestones, Parker
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Wednesday, November 29, 2006
About Sickness and Kids
So, we're in week 3 of sickness (which I just misspelled suckness, and I'm not sure why I changed!!) We've had a few bouts of "okay", but we're now in full-blown yucky over here! Parker still has a bad cough (though it gets better every day), Jeff is so miserable he's staying home tomorrow (all the better to try and get ME sick, I believe), and Kira is snotty and sweaty, and just ... blech! I really can't wait for wellness to come back. I am just hoping that we can all stay well for the week of/after Christmas when we're at Disney!!! I'm longing to be back in the "land of the living".
For those of you whose children are in school, how much time have they had to be out because of sickness? What are your school's policies on NOT coming to school? I honestly can't imagine if Parker were in school ... he'd have missed 1/4 to 1/3 of all classes so far!!
And the thought that being in a school setting builds one's immune system is valid, unless you have an underlying issue, like asthma, that means repeated ER trips, steroids, breathing up to 60 times a minute, etc. Every time someone around Parker gets sick, he does, and it is 50 times worse. He's been sick plenty and should have an awesome immune system, but his lungs protest.
Kira has rarely been sick, in fact when she gets sick it is so minor in comparison to Parker, that Jeff and I honestly are amazed each and every time.
In terms of this time, no, we haven't taken him in, but we've been in contact with the doctor's office, and it hasn't been for three weeks straight. It was for 3 days, 4 days well (Thurs thru Sun) -- Week 1. Starting to get sick for 1.5 days, then lethargy and illness for .5 day with high fever, and then 2 days of recovery (and to make sure he wasn't still contagious, and wasn't compromised immune to immediately catch something else), and three days of well (Fri thru Sun) -- Week 2. Then, well-ish for 2 days (occasional cough/sneeze), then moderate fever end of day 3, sick day 4 (Thanksgiving) including a 3-hour nap, cough for the rest of that week and into this one -- Week 3/4.
In terms of possible allergens, we do have many potential allergens (cats, carpets, stuffed animals), but the only thing that triggers him is getting sick. He always has the cold first. Once his coughing starts, it quickly progresses to rapid breathing that often won't calm down. He's never had issues with anything else, and the one time we thought he was having an issue with running around in the cold here (it was in the lower 50s), he was sick with fever the next day, so it was more than likely the combination of already having a virus along with the activity and cold. Our pediatrician considers him to have mild intermittent asthma, and doesn't feel it would be in his best interest, or proactive to have him on any maintenance medications. He actually said the best thing to do is try to keep him away from other sick kids! Like that is possible!!
Labels: health, homeschooling, Jeff, Kira, Parker
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Monday, November 27, 2006
Parker Health Update
Parker has been sick off and on for 3 weeks, with periods of complete wellness. This time, he got sick the night before Thanksgiving, slept for a few hours on Thanksgiving (VERY unlike him), had a temperature, and that resolved after another day, and now is STILL stuck with a cough. We are going to give it until Wednesday, provided it is just a cough, and then take him in. He has no other symptoms, just a bad cough.
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Monday, November 13, 2006
Smushed Finger
At playgroup today, Parker got his finger slammed in the door frame. This is the second time he's been injured at a playgroup, both at my house!! He is fine now, but we were concerned it might have been broken for a short while. It is going to be pretty bruised, but he'll be okay. Right after it happened, he was sooo inconsolable, and everyone was freaking out. But, no blood this time so, life is good.
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Monday, November 06, 2006
Our Take on the Flu Shot
No, none of us plan to get it this year. Our pediatrician didn't even offer, because he knew we were unlikely to get it and he didn't feel Parker needed it. I just don't see the point in adding yet another shot for something that may or may not be needed, when I'm at the same time injecting something into my children's bodies that may or may not cause harm. The efficacy and dangers are both not guaranteed. I've heard recently that flu shots use thimerosal as a preservative, even though there is a controversy over it.
Labels: health, vaccinations
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Friday, October 20, 2006
Well-child visits
We went to ours because I had concerns about Parker's "asthma" and his speech. He also "needed" booster shots, but I wouldn't have gone just for that. Also, I like our pediatrician, Parker & Kira both do, our health insurance covers it completely, and I felt good about taking him, getting him measured, and his eyes/ears checked, especially since he's not in school. Oh, I also talked to my doctor about other issues involving his receipt of steroids and the possible exposure to chicken pox we've been debating recently. There were a lot of reasons for us to go to it.
He is due for one again next year, so I'll see about then. I'd probably still go, but our pediatrician's office is pretty clean, and we never wait long -- in the waiting room, at least.
Still, I don't think you MUST go, you know? Nothing is mandatory really, there are exemptions and wavers for pretty much everything.
Even for schools and preschools and child cares. 
It is a great right of ours as Americans.Labels: health, Kira, Parker, reclaiming our rights, vaccinations
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We went for Parker's 5-year visit on Tuesday, when Jeff was up in Tally on his interview, and the beginning part went EXTREMELY well. Parker was more than happy to see Dr. Wyatt, and he was very cooperative and not scared at all -- this was the VERY FIRST visit of his that he did so completely well! He used to be filled with terror when he was littler, so it was very nice change. He weighed 38 pounds (50%ile) and was 41.5" tall (25%ile).
They tested his eyes (20/30 for both, which they said was normal at this age??) and his hearing (he also passed), we talked about his virus-induced asthma, and he said we could call it mild-intermittent asthma or respiratory airway disease or whatever, but the thing is that he does not need to be on any kind of maintenance meds, like the Peds After Hours (Pediatric ER in town) said a few weeks ago when we were in for steroid treatment), but just to be rescued if and when it became an issue.
We also talked about his accomplishments, and he was impressed with his reading prowess, but also followed up on my concern about his speaking ability. To try and assist me to get help for him, he wrote a prescription for speech therapy -- my friend who is also a Speech Therapist is going to do an eval on him next week, so we can know the best ways to get him to speak more clearly, and to get him to say his dipthongs (double consonant sounds like "th", "tr", etc.). I know he can make the sounds, but he doesn't do it much on his own, and doesn't use them in appropriate ways. He also still isn't saying "r"s well, and also has trouble with some "L"s in words. For example, for "yellow", he says "yeyow" -- KIRA already says "yellow!!"
Finally, the shots. Parker was due for 3 boosters: MMR (measles/mumps/rubella--German measles), DTaP (diptheria/tetanus/acellular pertussis), and IPV (polio). He was going to be brave, and then he saw the needles. Oh my goodness did he freak!! He was screaming and crying and hitting and kicking ... it was HORRIBLE!! Finally, I had to drag him out of the chair in a fireman hold, sit him on the table, and then pin him down with my body while the nurse gave the DTaP and IPV in the left thigh, and then the MMR in the left arm. It was HORRIBLE. He was crying out for help ("Somebody help me please!!!!!") and asking the nurse to stop ("Doctor please stop -- owwwwww!!!") -- it broke my heart.
Afterwards, he was in SO MUCH PAIN!!! Seriously, it was PAIN and not just upset ... I felt like the shittiest mother IN THE WORLD right about then. 
He needed me to hold him for a good 10 minutes, and wanted me to carry him out to the van. Well, I had Kira too, so I couldn't do that, so instead, I took Kira OUT of the stroller, put him in, and we left, with Kira walking holding my hand, and me pushing Parker all through the hospital. Left and right, people said, "Oh, he must've just gotten some shots" -- like it was written ALL over him!!! He wanted to go straight home, so we did.
Well, next morning, I notice that his leg is swollen up about 25% of his other leg, BRIGHT red over much of the thigh, and HOT-HOT-HOT!! Called the doctor, but they said it was a "normal reaction, to be expected. Keep an eye out for secondary infection."!! It is finally starting to go down. The night we took these pictures, we measured his leg circumference and took his skin temperature (we're little scientists over here
-- nerdy too!!) -- normal leg was 11.75" diameter and 95.5-F; injection leg was 13.25" diameter and 99.0-F!! Difference of 1.5" of swelling, and 3.5-F SKIN temperature increase.
_______________Labels: health, homeschooling, Kira, milestones, Parker, vaccinations
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Thursday, August 10, 2006
Since When Did Skinny Kids Become Underweight?
Parker is skinny-skinny! He doesn't look too thin, I don't think, but he's quite slender (he can even still wear some 3T clothes). I think he's about 37.5 lbs and about 44.5"?? According to this BMI site, though:
A 5 year old (male) child who is 37.5 pounds and 3 feet and 8.5 inches tall, has a body mass index of 13.3, which is below the 5th percentile and is considered to be underweight.
WTF??
Here he is back in June (he is sick, so he looks a little off in color ...) -- does he look underweight??!??:
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Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Inflammatory Breast Cancer
I just got this email yesterday, and feel very compelled with sharing it here. One of the moms in my local MOMS Club is a breast cancer survivor, and even she hadn't heard of this type of cancer!! I have another friend who is going through a scare right now with some unexplained discoloration-type thing on her breast. I think this is something of which all women should at least be aware.
http://www.komotv.com/ibc/
http://ww3.komotv.com/global/video/p...ClipID1=785456
Labels: health
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Thursday, June 22, 2006
Heavy Periods
Okay, last month I had my first post-partum period, and it was fairly light. Well, last night I started my second one, and it is REALLY heavy. I use a DivaCup, which normally has to be emptied 2ce a day -- well, since 2 pm I've had to empty it 4 times. Now, I used to have to change pads like every hour the first day, but once I switched to the DivaCup, it just meant every 3 or 4 hours the first day. This is consistently every 90 minutes now (third time since 5:30). I'm a bit worried about going to sleep tonight!! Should I sleep on towels or something?!??! I have a pad on too (thank goodness!!), but I'm just wondering if/when it is going to slow down for the night!!
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