Sickies

It all started a few Fridays ago, when Keith called me and said that he was coming home instead of going out to a movie that he had planned to see with some friends. He said that he hadn't been feeling well most of the day, he felt chilled and really tired. He was afraid he was coming down with something. When he got home, he drank some OJ and went straight to bed. He did feel a little warm to me and I am sure that he had a fever. Thankfully, when he woke up a few hours later, his fever seemed to have broken and he was feeling better. Good, right?

Well, the next day (Saturday), Jacob started acting extra fussy and clingy. He was also coughing and sneezing more than normal and his nose was running. I chalked it up to him having some sort of cold and that it was no big deal. Unforunately, the coughing, sneezing and runny nose just got worse over time and that made his sleeping kinda rough. He didn't nap well on Saturday or Sunday and he was up in the middle of the night both nights. Also, that was the weekend of the time change, so we were all a little off with our sleeping patterns!

I figured it was nothing but a cold so I made sure Jacob was well hydrated and got as much rest as he possibly could. I took his temperature a few times, but it was always within the normal range. I was thankful that we had gotten a cool mist humidifier for his room and I became a pro at using the bulb syringe to get the snot out of his nose (he didn't like it too much but it helped if I sang or made funny noises while I was doing it. Distraction is a wonderful thing at this age!). I didn't have any plans to call the doctor since I figured she would just tell me it was a virus and there wasn't anything that could be done.

But then, on Monday night, Keith was giving Jacob a bath and he noticed a small quarter-sized red mark on the small of his back. I had noticed it a few days earlier but now it was much more red and a little raised. I told Keith I would call the doctor and get an appointment for the next day.

On Tuesday morning, I called and got an appointment for later that day. Unfortunately, the only appointment that was available was right in the middle of Jacob's afternoon nap. I knew it was going to be hard to keep him from getting too fussy (and the fact that the doctor was running 30 minutes behind didn't help!). He did really well in the waiting room for the first 10 minutes or so, but then he really wanted to get down on the floor and crawl around instead of being in my arms. I am weary about what is lurking on the floor at the doctor's office so I refused to let him down. I was also trying to keep my hand over his mouth when he was coughing and keep his nose wiped so snot wasn't dripping down his face. Sounds like a fun time, huh?

Finally, we were called to the back. The nurse asked me to strip him down to his diaper and she weighed him and took his temperature, which was normal. She then checked his pulse oxygen level by putting a pulse oximeter on his finger. He did really well with it but his oxygen level wasn't as high as they would like to have seen it. Also, by this time, his breathing had become a lot more labored and you could hear him wheezing a bit. After the nurse left, she said the doctor would come in soon.

When Dr. Smyth came in I explained that I really wasn't there for his cold, although now I was glad that I had come in since his breathing had gotten so much worse. She looked at the rash on his back and instantly said that it was eczema, basically just a patch of really dry skin. She said that she would give me a prescription for hydrocortisone and that should clear it right up (which it did!). She was concerned however, about his breathing and the fact that his oxygen level was a bit lower than normal. She asked me if there was a history of asthma in our family and I told her that Keith has it. Apparently it is genetic. I am REALLY hoping that it was just a cold and not asthma!

She also checked both of his ears and found that he had an ear infection in his left ear. He must have been in some pain in that ear because that was the only time that he cried - when she was poking around in it. He hadn't shown any signs of discomfort with his ear previously though. I'm glad that she checked and she was able to give us a prescription for Amoxicillin to clear it up.

She said that she wanted to give Jacob a breathing treatment in the office to control his wheezing and to help him breathe better. Basically what happens is that a machine called a nebulizer turns a liquid medicine - albuterol - into a mist so that he can breathe it in. Nebulizers are used on babies and children that cannot use a regular inhaler to get the medicine. The breathing treatment took about 10 minutes and Jacob did very well. I took some pictures with my phone while I was administering the treatment.

The blue hose-like thing that he is holding was just an extra part that the nurse gave him as a distraction. The medicine is actually coming out of the part that I am holding in front of his mouth.

He wanted to chew on the plastic part that was administering the mist. The doctor said that was ok and it probably actually helped him get more of the medicine.

The doctor was happier with the sound of his breathing after the nebulizer treatment, but she still wanted him to take prednisone for four days, to decrease the inflammation in his lungs. She also gave me a prescription for an abuterol inhaler to give Jacob when his breathing became very labored or he was wheezing a lot.

Like I said, he was a trooper through it all and the doctor was even pleasantly surprised at how well he did during the visit. He was laughing and smiling a lot even though he was really tired and not feeling well. Our appointment was scheduled for 1:45pm and we didn't leave the office until almost 3:30pm! Needless to say, he was one tired boy by the time we were leaving. I took this picture after I got him dressed. The fingers in his mouth are a clear indication that he wants to sleep!

After leaving the doctor's office, we needed to go by the pharmacy (the pharmacy is right next to the office and Keith was working late that night so I wouldn't have had a chance to go back out). I felt bad that Jake was so tired but he did so well, again, and just sat in the cart and didn't fuss.

$100 later and this is what we left the pharmacy with:

(left to right - Amoxicillin, Mask to administer the abuterol inhaler, Inhaler, Hydrocortisone, and Prednisone)

Thankfully, I only had to administer the inhaler four times. It was not a very pleasant experience for either Jacob or me. He didn't like having the aerochamber mask over his mouth & nose and I didn't like making him cry! After the four days of prednisone and a few days of the amoxicillin, his cough seemed to be lessening and the snot was gone after about a week. It was certainly not a very fun time in our house (especially because I got a severe cold while Jacob was sick and you can't call in sick when you are a Mom!), but all is better now and I am hoping that the sickies stay far, far away from us for a long time!!