My Sick Boy

So, my sweet baby boy has had his share of sickness this winter season.  Things started to get bad back in November with a constant string of ear infections, colds, runny nose, cough and congestion but the scary part in it all were the breathing issues.  Andrew and I have always had concern over his breathing since the day he was born and it seems to get worse when he is sick.  We were constantly at the doctor's office for the ear infections and in the ER and I always mentioned his breathing, but I was mostly brushed off and told he was fine.  Well, this went on for months.  He would take a course of antibiotics and 3-5 days after the antibiotics were done we were back at the doctor or the ER with the same problems.  He was put on every different antibiotic out there including shots of rocephin and nothing seemed to give him lasting relief.  During this time we finally found an pediatrician at the base that took our concerns about his breathing seriously (after a trip to the base ER and being sent away without so much as an xray, throat check, or ear check) and we finally got him put on some allergy medicine and a steroid inhaler and we were also given a rescue inhaler for when things were bad.  There was mention of possible asthma but he is still too young to officially diagnose because he's too little to do the lung capacity tests ect.  I was just happy that we were starting to deal with things and my concerns were being heard and taken seriously.  We also finally got a referral to an ENT specialist and due to some hearing loss and the constant ear infections we decided to have ear tubes placed in his ears and have his adenoids removed.  Surgery was scheduled for March 15 and this day couldn't come quick enough.  Sure I was nervous about the surgery, but its fast, and very routine and I knew that he would feel such relief.  

Unfortunately, we had one more trip to the ER in late February for some very scary breathing issues.  At dinner William was having to make a choice between chewing his food or breathing, he was breathing hard, fast and heavy and his chest was sinking in.  I drove him to Dayton Children's ER where there was a waiting room full to the brim with poor, sick kiddos but they listened to him and we went back to see the doctor right away.  He was given breathing treatments and they did some deep suction on him which helped a little bit, but just not enough.  After several attempts with these methods and a diagnosis of RSV and bronchiolitis,  they decided to admit us.  We stayed over night for observation and he was given a course of steroids.  After it was clear that there was nothing more they could do at the hospital that I couldn't do at home, I asked if we could be released.  Its very hard to keep a 14 month old from going crazy cooped up in a small hospital room with nothing to do, not to mention that we had some less than desirable roommates (the parents, not the sweet baby).  So, we finally went home to deal with things on our own and thankfully he got better.  Now, we were just a few weeks till the surgery but the day before at our pre-op appointment the anesthesiologist said that with his recent stay in the hospital for the RSV and the way his breathing still sounded that day, she didn't feel comfortable with doing the surgery as scheduled the next morning because the risk for  post-op complications was too high.  I was upset but knew they were only doing it for his safety and I respect that.  Now, his surgery is scheduled for April 12th and I am praying that he is healthy enough then for us to go through with it.  I am so blessed to have William in my life.  His smile is infectious, his laugh is contagious, and his strength and good naturedness are things I admire and strive for in myself.  He has been sick literally for months and you wouldn't know it by watching him.  People comment all the time how happy he is and how sweet he is.  I am excited to see his personality when he finally feels good, when he isn't running a fever, when his poor little body isn't constantly fighting off an infection!  I guess I better get my running shoes ready and hit the gym a little more because he is a bundle of energy, constantly on the go as it is.....uh, oh I am in trouble!!

Here he is passed out in the ER after being poked and prodded a 1,000 times.

Sitting with Mama in the hospital room after being admitted with RSV.

Sorry for my cute appearance this is going on about 27 hours with no sleep.

Yet another ER visit, this time he is sporting the peach gown....

This is at the doctors office one time, you can just see how

 sick he is by looking at just his eyes...poor guy!