That's kinda how I feel today!!
Since I last wrote, we've had some better nights and some worser nights. But in the midst of that what has touched me more, is the care, love and concern that has been shown to us in the last few days. Notes of encouragement, words of compassion....makes me emotional just thinking about it.
Don has been a huge help the last week, (and always!) during the nights and going double duty by being Mr. Mom (otherwise known as DAD!) to the boys in the morning before going to work. He is right now enjoying a much deserved Big Boys Night Out in Winnipeg, watching the Oilers take on Tampa Bay Lightning!
Today I took Nate to see our family doctor, and to say the least it feels complex right now. If you want to know details, read on - if not (and I understand!!) thanks again for praying for us!
So....
1) Our cardiologist - I'll abbreviate with PC, for Pediatric Cardiologist, wanted Nate to see the pediatrician - abbreviate with ped, to discuss possible inhaler treatments for Nates lungs. Since our ped. works out of Wpg and only comes here once/month, we saw our family doctor in the meantime.
2) Our family doctor did prescribe an bronchodilater (not a steriod) inhaler. Two tricky things related to that: First, this dilater which would help to open the bronchioles, also raises the heart rate....something that as a heart baby, we're already dealing with. And Second: The lower lobes of his lungs sounded clear to her, leaving her to believe it's more of an upper respiratory issue. It's a risk/benefit balance here....maybe using the puffer very moderately will give Nate just enough that he needs to be able to clear (expectorate) whatever is causing this issue, without raising his heart rate.
She still would like us to confer with the ped. about using the inhaler, but we did pick one up in the time being....but I have not used it yet.
3) She will refer us to physiotherapy to see if we can do some manual loosening up (ie. pummeling his back and under the arms) in that area. We have private insurance so that part will at least be covered!
4) If there was anything she wanted me to take away from this appointment, it was to take all possible measures to protect Nate against H1N1. She told me matter-of-factly, that if Nate would be infected with this virus, he would end up on a ventilator in short order.
She expects Nate to get the immunization. She also wants me to limit any possible exposure, once that season hits. Specifically, she told me for Nate: no church, no grocery shopping, social activities with people in our house, or taking him to others.
The issue is that the onset of H1N1 is ACUTE with sudden onset. That means, we could be interacting with someone in the morning who is by all accounts healthy, and by that afternoon, they could be showing signs and symptoms of the virus. By that point, Nate could have already been infected.
It's alot to take in and consider. However, she doesn't want me to just consider...these are Dr.'s orders, and she said I could lay all the blame on her for for whatever I may encounter by adhering to this. She is genuinely concerned and wants me to be completely informed and educated.
As an aside, Nate's heart rate was normal at this appointment! His iron was up only 2 points to 102 since starting on his iron supplement 2 months ago.
Sorry if this is too wordy, but it just feels like I got alot of information today. I think I summed up most of it!
Thankfully Nate has so many happy moments in each day, which allows us to forget about some of this other stuff. He's such a ton of fun, makes us laugh, and still loves to cuddle! We'll continue to pray for better sleeps for him, and for clarity on all these other matters!
