Poor Lucas. He just keeps getting sick. I know that this will pass. The reason I know it is because I have seen countless children go through the exact same thing. Then they hit about 3 or 4, and things improve. But it's still not fun to watch my little guy get virus after virus. It's not fun to have to miss work and figure out how to fit a full work week of stuff into the 3-4 days I manage to get to work. It's not fun to have to make the trek out to Peacehealth on an almost weekly basis for them to tell me the exact same things over and over. I could probably diagnose him at home. It's not fun to spend an hour of my day and precious time with Lucas holding him in a chair with a mask full of steriods up to his face.
We went to the ER about a week and a half ago. He had just had a doctor's appointment that day and by the time I got him home from work, not even 4 hours after the doctor's appointment, his breathing was labored. I knew he needed the oral steriods. I HATE that I have to give those to him. Prednisone is really hard on your body. It definitely does it's job, but it's a wicked drug to have to give to a 15 month old. Megan came with me to the ER since it was late at night. I knew Lucas was going to fall asleep and I was glad to have the company. We got to St. Joe's at about 7:30 pm and they got us right back, which was really nice. While we were there they gave us a few treatments and of course, the Prednisone. They also gave him a chest Xray for pneumonia again. He smiled all the way through the xray, which blew the technicians minds. He is such a happy boy when he's out and about like that, even if it's a trip to the hospital!
Megan went home early because she had to work very early in the AM. So, I sat and held oxygen on Lucas' face while he slept for a few hours. A man in his late 50's or early 60's came in because he had a really high fever and bad cough with asthma. He was a doctor of some sort on the islands. He was SUPER chatty with all the nurses and I enjoyed listening to him try and flirt with them. Then he got on the phone to his wife, after all the nurses had left, and he sweet talked her. He didn't seem very sick at all!! But it was a good bout of entertainment for me since my phone was lacking reception and there were no critical cases rushing down the hallway.
The Prednisone kicked in about 11:15-11:30 and his oxygen levels were holding steady at 93% (which is still too low, but much better) without me having to hold the oxygen thing up to his face. So, they let us go home with a prescription for Prednisone. His cough, up until that night, had been pretty dry. Over the next few days, it got really congested. So, now, over a week later, I have a little boy who still has a bad cough and is now waking up with his eyes COMPLETELY crusted over with junk. I broke out the conjunctivitis drops this morning. He's not eating that great and his sleep has been crummy too. I think it's another round of antibiotics for Lucas. We'll call the doctor tomorrow.
However, I did smarten up and call the doctor after his ER visit and request a referral to the asthma/allergist doctor. I'd like to have a treatment plan for Lucas in place so that when he does contract a virus, it's not going from slightly ill to labored breathing in less than 12 hours. I know that means we'll be doing the nebulizer and the inhaled steriods pretty regularly, but I also know that the more proactive we are the more likely he is to grow out of it. They'll also test him for any allergens that may be setting him off (although I'm pretty sure it's just all the viruses that he's exposed to at school). I hope he's not super allergic to cats or dogs. With my two cats and Brian's two dogs, we'll be in some big trouble. So, we have our asthma/allergist appointment on March 15 (that was the soonest we could get in - one month out)!
We also get to go to the dentist on Tuesday. After I had a tooth crack and fall out (gross), I thought better of my own child's preventative dental health and scheduled an appointment with Piper Pediatric Dentistry. We'll see how that goes (I'm not really looking forward to taking a toddler to the dentist).
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