Life Is Good: Sick

Monday, November 17, 2008

Sick

These are some pictures from Saturday. Ryan's fish tank needed new batteries.

Ryan is pretty sick. He is very congested. I started him on breathing treatments this morning after he spent the biggest part of the night coughing. I thought I had a supply of Albuterol, but was disgusted to find I only had Pulmicort available. I gave him the Pulmicort this morning and called the doctor for a new prescription of Albuterol. I have yet to discover why sometimes it seems as though doctor's offices don't take parents very seriously. (I'm not talking about the doctor. I think Dr. S is fantastic.) I called this morning and began calling the pharmacy at noon to see if it had been faxed. It had not. After a call at 3:30 with no sign of the prescription I called the doctor's office back and explained that we really, really needed that prescription filled as soon as possible. They sent in a "second request". Finally about 4 or 4:30 I got a call from the doctor's nurse saying the prescription had been called in. The pharmacy called a little while later needing the doctor's phone number because there was a mix up on the dosage. I finally picked up the medicine at about 5:30. Ryan sat perfectly still (an amazing thing...really!) for his evening breathing treatment. He even went to sleep before it was over. Sweet little boy.....

3 comments:

Kim said...: Katie had that nasty cough and RSV a couple of weeks ago. She did Albuterol treatments for 2 days, and it really helped. I hope that Ryan feels better soon. I feel so sorry for him. It's no fun to be sick!; November 17, 2008 at 8:45 PM
Anonymous said...: I will be praying. Dealing with Dr.'s offices sure can be a pain. He looks so cute in those pics!; November 17, 2008 at 9:05 PM
twin power mommy ♥ said...: There's nothing worse than a baby who can't breathe!

I have asthma (don't know if i've mentioned that before) so i know personally how it feels, and my girls with all their preemie stuff need treatments every so often, too.

I hate when they get sick and their little chests retract and they're so lethargic. Ooooohhhh, don't like one bit!
Praying he'll be better soon.

Keep him medicated mama!; November 17, 2008 at 9:08 PM

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Brandy Danielle

Brandy is our firstborn, our precious angel baby girl. Her entry into this world wasn't without excitement. At 26 weeks I started preterm labor with contractions 5 minutes apart. With 10 weeks of strict bedrest, most of which were in the hospital, she made it to 36 weeks.
Brandy was diagnosed with "possible/probable" heart defect around 28-30 weeks gestation. After her birth she was whisked away to the NICU for monitoring and after a few days her defect was formally diagnosed and labeled...atrial septal defect and a cleft mitral valve.
Brandy, upon indications of failure to thrive and pulmonary hypertension, underwent her first of 2 open-heart surgeries at 4 months of age. A week after her surgery on the day of her anticipated discharge home Brandy coded for 13 minutes...a stoke.
From that point on Brandy's life was full of doctor's visits, endless crying, pain and suffering. She underwent another heart surgery, fundoplication and g-tube surgery, treatment for infantile spasms, and a mountain of tests and procedures. Her brain damage was extensive.
Upon counseling of our wonderful, most amazing heart surgeon, Dr. Christopher Knott-Craig, and many hours of prayer, we finally called in hospice and called off all of the extensive medical interventions and surgery needs that would prolong her suffering while possibly prolonging her life. Brandy, our precious baby girl...our angel...passed out of our arms and into the arms of her Saviour, Jesus at the tender age of 17 months.

Ryan Andrew

Ryan, our micro-preemie miracle, is a ball of life. After nearly a year of trying to conceive imagine our delight when we finally knew he was on the way. My pregnancy with Ryan was uneventful at first. It seemed perfect and with all of the precautions for preterm labor being taken and monitored we entered this pregnancy with cautious anticipation covered over by a whole love of naive excitement.
At 20 weeks we discovered our "Baby Peanut" was going to be a little boy. We began to make plans and began dreaming about the day we would meet our son.
Almost 2 weeks later everything changed in our lives. It wa a whirlwind of fear and emtions as I began to bleed, was sent for monitoring in L&D and eventually had an appointment with my OB only to find out that it was serious. I had incompetent cervix with hourglassing membranes. The doctor admitted me to the hospital immediately and an emergency cerclage was placed. The statistics were grim, but the hope was to keep our son inside for at least 10 more weeks. We only made it 10 more days.
Early in the evening of February 11, 2007 our son, Ryan, came into this world in emergency fashion at only 23 weeks 5 days gestation. He weighed 1 pound 8 ounces and was 12 ½ inches long. He was so tiny. All I could think of was “oh my goodness is he really that tiny? And is there any way he could actually make it?” I tried to hold on to hope, but in all honesty I had never met anyone with a baby born that early and that small that ever made it.
Ryan did make it! It was a long, hard road, but in the end he spent 90 days in the NICU. He was on a ventilator for 2 months. Finally on one fine glorious day in May we bundled up our 4 pound 4 ounce baby boy and went home...May 11, 2007.
Ryan is now a spunky, lively, strong-willed little boy. His laughter is contagious and his spirit is compelling. He is our miracle. There are no words strong enough to share our delight and joy that God has blessed us with this little boy.

Evan Alexander