Tuesday, July 28, 2009

What a day!

Today was quite the day. Here is how it began:
7:30 a.m. I wake up and get ready.
7:45 a.m. I wake Weston up.
8:05 a.m. I wake Autumn up.
8:30 a.m. Autumn has a Dr. appointment with her pediatrician.
9:15 a.m. We go to an imaging lab to get multiple chest x-rays done of Autumn.
10:30 a.m. We pick up all of Autumns medicine from CVS.
11 a.m. We go to a friends house, where we do "story time" twice a month.
12 p.m. We finally get home, and the kids are exhausted from being taken in and out of the car and having not been home since 8:15 that morning.
So what was all that craziness for? This:
Autumn has ASTHMA. Finally- a diagnoses! Autumn gets sick ALL the time, and is always put on antibiotics and a steroid to open her lungs (once it was so bad the Dr. immediately gave her a shot to open her airways...she was about 8 months old then) and the problem kept coming back. So this time I went in determined to not leave until I had some answers, I am tired of Autumn always coughing and always taking a medication that helps but doesn't keep it from reoccurring. I suggested that I thought maybe Autumn had asthma and the Dr. checked her out and concluded that she did in fact have that. She sent us to get chest xrays to rule out any possibilities of pnuemonia or anything along those lines. Autumns dr. called me this afternoon and nothing abnormal was found in the xrays.
So what does this mean? It means Autumn gets 4 breathing treatments a day. Every 4 hours she has to sit and breath in Albuterol. She has a steriod that she takes with breakfast and with dinner. We also have a follow up appointment in a week.
I told the dr. I felt overwhelmed, but luckily me and my kids are homebodies and are okay hanging out at home. We can arrange our schedules around Autumns 4 breathing treatments and see what happens in the next week. I asked the dr. if she can outgrow this and she said yes. She said it tends to happen around puberty when kids start to develop and their hormones change, and their body grows. So here's hoping!

Autumn has taken to the machine well. I was shocked how well she has done with it. Her last treatment today she whined when I took it off. I think it's a bit fun for her. She gets to sit in my lap and she can hear herself talk and she laughs at how funny she sounds. I was advised to get rid of the down comforter on the twin bed in Autumns room (she is still in a crib) and to put away her stuffed animals (except for a couple of favorites that will have to be washed frequently) until this gets more under control. So for now- no stuffed animals for gifts!

After her nap Autumn was really cuddly, she had had a hectic morning and I held her and cried. And told her how much I loved her. It breaks your heart as a parent to see your child hurting, and you would give anything to make them feel better. Hopefully this is our answer.
That panda bear looking thing on the right, that's her breathing treatment machine. It's nice that it blends in so well with Weston's toy bucket. No one will even notice it!

It's hard for Autumn to look as cute as she normally is when she is wearing this!

10 comments:

amee sorensen said...

Awwww....
She's still pretty cute!
I'm sorry she's been so sick. She's such an active little girl. I'm so glad that they were able to diagnose her. That seems to be half the problem.
You're such a good mom! ;)

alisa said...

What a wonderful mama you are! Christopher had asthma as a toddler too and out grew it. It is so frustrating when they are always sick! Hang in there my friend!

Kristine said...

But what a wonderful relief knowing that you can now help ease her pain and discomfort. Every little girl should be so lucky to have a mommy determined to do anything to make her feel better.

By the way, I think Logan had asthma when he was real young, (I could be wrong). If so, Cheree would be a good person to talk to about this.

Pauly said...

I am glad you both got the help you were in need of.

good job standing up for what you knew was right-- such a good momma!

Kim-may said...

aw, poor little autumn, what a trooper

Christy said...

4 times a day! That would lead anyone to be stresed. Let me know when I can provide some relief babysitting. Especially before I start the new J-O-B.

Cindy Ardis said...

She looks so sad with that breathing thing on. Glad she likes it and doing well with it. I know when Staci was sick when she was little and they diagnosed her with Juviniel Rhumitoid Arthritis, I didn't think that that was what she had, I knew it was something more aggressive. And I was right, she had Lupus. Being a mom you just know. You are around them more than anyone else and you were so right to ask more questions and get a better diagnoses. I hope she out grows it. I don't know much about Asthma, but I will try to look it up. Good luck and I am so happy you were able to ask the right questions and give the drs the right info they needed to get to the bottom of her getting so many colds and cough.

Tanya said...

Dang good luck with that. Really many kids have it to some degree. Adam had a very mild case when he was younger. It was more activity induced. Glad it is nothing more serious for her.

Rebel said...

Oh man! Why wasn't I aware of this until today? I know she has been sick a lot though. I hope this helps :) I teared up looking at these photos. You're an awesome Mom, April. I hope I can be like you someday :D

Michelle said...

Hi April!

I'm super proud of you, being a new mom and all, that you stood up for your daughter and insisted on answers! I grew up with asthma and outgrew it. Both Paris and Chloe suffered with it for years. I remember many trips to the ER in the middle of the night for those breathing treatments. They really didn't give out the equipment back then, but I guess it's much more common now and they send the equipment home, so that is a blessing for your family.

I know this a big adjustment for your family, and activities may be limited, but I do think she will grow out of it. Also be careful of her triggers, i.e., smoke, cats, dust (stuffed animals are very bad for asthmatics!), etc!

Hang in there!

Michelle