Bad Season

This has been a rough fall and winter for our family, illness-wise. Has anyone else been experiencing this?

After Thanksgiving week (with those two ER trips - one for Baby Butterbean and one for Banana), Banana ended up sick again last week. He went to the dr. on Monday and was diagnosed with tracheo bronchitis. After three oral medications and nebulizer treatments, he is doing much better. He had his follow-up with the dr. yesterday, and Dr. G declared Banana wonderfully healthy.

Baby Butterbean, on the other hand . . .

Sunday night, I noticed that awful, wet-sounding cough coming from Baby Butterbean, and I thought, not again! My poor baby has had upper respiratory junk pretty much since he was about six weeks old. Retractions in breathing, wheezing, fever, snot, everything. So I called the dr. before Banana's appointment yesterday and told them to add Baby Butterbean to the roster. He was running a slight temp and you could tell, he just felt rotten.

Dr. G was quite concerned about Baby Butterbean's condition, and upon examination, diagnosed him with "clinical pneumonia." I just about came unglued. The doctor said clinical pneumonia is when the child is diagnosed in the clinic with no chest x-ray. He did a CDC and determined that it was viral, so he didn't insist on a chest x-ray yesterday. But we go back to the dr. tomorrow and he'll reassess BB to see if one will be necessary. In the meantime, the same regimen: three kinds of oral meds and the nebulizer. So far today, no fever, but lots of coughing.

I was just about at my wits' end yesterday and asked Dr. G how much longer this could go on. Why was BB always getting sick? Part of it has to do with his being a tad early, certainly, but isn't there something that could be done? Dr. G mentioned a drug called Synagis and went to check BB's chart to see if he was a candidate. Synagis is a vaccine given once a month to babies, usually babies who were much more premature than BB, to prevent RSV. Dr. G was back in the exam room in short order with his mother (who runs the office) to have her explain to me about what to tell the insurance company in order to get BB's monthly vaccines. Dr. G said that BB was most definitely a candidate, having five upper respiratory episodes within six months (and he's only six months old). But apparently Synagis is very expensive and insurance is usually pretty stingy about paying for it. So please pray for us as we begin this process. Dr. G wants BB to have his first shot on Jan. 1. And please pray for BB's health in general until we can get the Synagis going.

The girls have had these dry, hacking coughs. It is more annoying to them than anything. Noodle's is pretty much all gone, but Chicken Nugget still asks for cough medicine and cough drops every day. So far, no fever for them. A few sniffles, though. But these seem to come and go with each rise and drop in the temperature. And we've been having LOTS of rises and drops in the temperature lately. Silly Texas weather.

Buffalo Wings also has had his bout with illness. He kept coughing and coughing and coughing. I kept trailing him around the house so that I could catch his lung when it fell out. It was a really bad cough, ya'll. He'll make sure the kids get to the doctor five times a week, but as for taking himself . . . nope. He won't. Finally, I insisted. I said, "You're sick. You have an infection." He said, "I'm fine. It's just allergies . . . *COUGH* *COUGH* *COUGH*" (I go over to catch his lung). And then he said . . . "OK *COUGH* I'll *COUGH* go *COUGH*" He called me from the doctor. He said, "You're right and I'm wrong. *COUGH* I have *COUGH* bronchitis and *COUGH* sinusitis *COUGH*" He's much better after a round of antibiotics.

I have had a little sore throat. That was about a week and a half ago. Now I just have a tickle in my throat. I've been, by far, the healthiest member of the family this season.

I'm praying that all of you have been wonderfully healthy and happy!