Early Morning E.R.
Zachy made a trip to the E.R. at 5 a.m. this morning. Last night he kept waking up and was extremely cranky. I feared a new ear infection, so we gave him some ibuprofen and ear-numbing drops at 11 p.m. But at 4 a.m. I woke to hear him breathing hard and fast. He didn't register a fever and was holding his O2 sats, but his heart rate was slightly elevated, in the 150's, up from his usual 120's. So we woke his doctor, who advised us to go to the hospital E.R. for a prompt evaluation. We feared he was brewing a pneumonia, given his recent cold and breathing symptoms.
The E.R. staff whisked him back to a room immediately (it's always a little amusing to see the look on their faces when they see a child satting in the 70's.) By now Zachy had developed a fever and was obviously working to breathe. Still, he was holding his sats and didn't require additional oxygen. The doctors took a complete history and made a thorough examination, including a chest x-ray. His ears looked good and the film was negative for pneumonia. Puzzling... So RT came down and gave him a good nose and lung suction, and they pulled out lots of goobers! The attending doc called Zachy's pediatrician, and together they decided not to admit him yet but to proactively treat him with antibiotics and antivirals, to ward off any infection that was trying to take hold.
Zachy was given a breathing treatment and Motrin for his fever, then discharged, still breathing fast but in a much better mood. We're to start the medicine, monitor him closely, and check in with his doctor later this afternoon.
In the meantime, the new course of antibiotics will surely aggravate his already thrush-infested mouth. This time, though, it affects Mom and Dad as well. Lately Zachary started giving us big, loving open-mouth kisses. Very sweet, and quite entertaining to those onlookers who sat behind us in church the other day. Zachy grabs us by the ears (or the hair on the sides of our head,) lets out a big "aaaagh!" opens his mouth, and plants one right on the mouth (or the nose, or whichever part of our face he can manage to suck!) I only realized last week, once my lips were burning and cracked in the corners, terribly chapped and not healing even with frequent moisturizer, that I was suffering from a fungal infection of the lips! (Thank goodness for Web MD!) Steve, too, came down with these symptoms. After a few applications of Nystatin (anti-fungal,) the symptoms disappeared. So no more open-mouth smooches from this boy until the thrush is gone and his antibiotic treatments are over!
You may notice a new form on the right sidebar of this page. We discovered how to offer a subscription service so that you can be notified by email when we post new updates to our blog. So sign up, and be assured you'll receive the latest-breaking news in the adventures of our Five Little Blessings!
The E.R. staff whisked him back to a room immediately (it's always a little amusing to see the look on their faces when they see a child satting in the 70's.) By now Zachy had developed a fever and was obviously working to breathe. Still, he was holding his sats and didn't require additional oxygen. The doctors took a complete history and made a thorough examination, including a chest x-ray. His ears looked good and the film was negative for pneumonia. Puzzling... So RT came down and gave him a good nose and lung suction, and they pulled out lots of goobers! The attending doc called Zachy's pediatrician, and together they decided not to admit him yet but to proactively treat him with antibiotics and antivirals, to ward off any infection that was trying to take hold.
Zachy was given a breathing treatment and Motrin for his fever, then discharged, still breathing fast but in a much better mood. We're to start the medicine, monitor him closely, and check in with his doctor later this afternoon.
In the meantime, the new course of antibiotics will surely aggravate his already thrush-infested mouth. This time, though, it affects Mom and Dad as well. Lately Zachary started giving us big, loving open-mouth kisses. Very sweet, and quite entertaining to those onlookers who sat behind us in church the other day. Zachy grabs us by the ears (or the hair on the sides of our head,) lets out a big "aaaagh!" opens his mouth, and plants one right on the mouth (or the nose, or whichever part of our face he can manage to suck!) I only realized last week, once my lips were burning and cracked in the corners, terribly chapped and not healing even with frequent moisturizer, that I was suffering from a fungal infection of the lips! (Thank goodness for Web MD!) Steve, too, came down with these symptoms. After a few applications of Nystatin (anti-fungal,) the symptoms disappeared. So no more open-mouth smooches from this boy until the thrush is gone and his antibiotic treatments are over!
You may notice a new form on the right sidebar of this page. We discovered how to offer a subscription service so that you can be notified by email when we post new updates to our blog. So sign up, and be assured you'll receive the latest-breaking news in the adventures of our Five Little Blessings!
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