Wheezing + Allegies + Virus + Fever

*updated 9/30/09*
Mommy was so wrong. Your brother HATES the nasal chamber for the Albuterol. He did so well at the dr. office, but when we did that at home, he was kicking and screaming. I know it felt like he's being suffocated, but he gotta do it. I thought when he was sleeping, he wouldn't feel it. But when I woke up at 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. to do it, he woke up and struggled again. He did much better when I took him to Grandma's today.


Hello Logan,

So this is day 2 and your brother's fever is still around. I felt his forehead last night and early this morning, and he was fine. But after he's up and about, his forehead felt warm again. I measured his temperature with my not-so-accurate thermometer, and it was 99.5. If it was 99.5 with this crappy thermometer, I had a feeling it might be warmer.

So, I went on Kaiser's website to see if I would be lucky enough to get an appointment with the pediatrician today. Score! Appointment at 11:45 a.m., and I still have 1.5 hours to spare. I figured, since I am taking him to do the doctor, I should hold off the Motrin, so that we could get a more accurate temperature.

Your brother has been watching TV all morning. He was active and really was just himself. He did not seem lethargic, and his appetite though not huge, was definitely acceptable. So, I wasn't too concerned. I am more worried that he couldn't go to school tomorrow and I need to figure out how to take care of him, while going to work.

Aside from the fever, I noticed that yesterday and today morning, he was coughing up a storm. It seems to start when he first woke up, still lying in bed. But when he's up, then the coughing subsided.

So, your brother got his height and weight checked (40.5 inches and 36 lbs) and his temperature was at 99.9 degrees. I knew it's higher than what we measured at home. I told the doctor all the information that I had, he listened to your brother's lungs and voila! Wheezing! Doc asked if anyone in the family has asthma....Nope! I told him that Aidan did have one Albuterol treatment when he was very little, and then two more when we were in Macau. He said the possible wheezing, and maybe asthma, plus allergies might be causing the fever. On top of that, your brother might have caught a virus somewhere else (maybe at school since I know a few kids were out sick). Doc asked if I noticed Aidan coughing when he was running around (because of asthma). I don't think so, but then I am not 100% sure. I did notice he has a runny nose when he's at the park, or when I picked him up from school. I just always assume it was allergies, as he would be playing outside in the playground at school where there are trees and grass and dust.

So for now, your brother is prescribed with Albuterol treatment every 4 hours for the next day or two. Then nasal spray to help with the nasal drip twice a day, hopefully to help with the coughing. Doc also suggested to take Claritin for 4-6 weeks to help with allergies. "That's a long time! ", I said, but doc said the antihistamine was very mild and shouldn't be a problem. Doc said to do a phone appointment in 2 weeks to follow-up, and also to get the flu shot as well for the whole family.

Luckily, your big brother was a trooper. He didn't flinch during the Albuterol treatment, nor when I spray into his nostrils. He took the Claritin (like any other flavored medicine I give him) like a champ. I couldn't ask for a more cooperative little boy. But could I ask for a healthy boy? Is it too much to ask for a healthy son?

I also told Doc that we would be moving to Sunnyvale soon and would need to change to a different pediatrician. It was sad, as this Doc has been very supportive throughout your illness, and also your brother's care. He was nice, and quick to respond to my e-mails. He was sad, but said he has friends down in the Santa Clara Kaiser that he could refer us.

Let's hope your brother doesn't really have asthma for the rest of his life, and it's all because of the allergies and a possible virus that cause the wheezing. I know asthma is nothing too serious, but still, it could be for life. Logan, would you look after your big brother and pray for a speedy recovery for him?


Miss you,
Mommy

Aidan is sick

Hi Logan,

Your big brother has a low grade fever today. This morning when he woke up, and was fine, despite not sleeping enough and some coughing. He was still active in the morning and when he left the house. But then daddy called me at 9 a.m. after dropping him off at school, and said that his head felt a little warm, and he was sleepy in the car. The teacher measured his temperature, 99 degrees, and he pretty much stayed at that in the morning.

I decided to pick him up from school early so that he could rest better at home, and not running around at school. Teacher said he didn't eat much for lunch. When we got home, I gave him some Motrin and tried to get him to nap. However, he just wouldn't sleep. I tried for 1.5 hrs and he was still very much awake. I gave up. I gave him some snacks since he didn't eat much, and he ate a popsicle, leftover pasta from dinner last night and a small piece of granola bar. Wow, he's hungry! Maybe that's why he didn't nap. However, your brother hardly complains about being hungry.

The rest of the afternoon, we just watched more Wiggles and videos from our trip. Mommy just couldn't get any work done from home, aside from a few emails. I had to take the day off tomorrow to take care of him, as he couldn't go back to school yet. The school policy is that he would have to be cleared of his fever for 24 hrs before going back to school.

I gave him another dose of Motrin before he went to bed at 8:30 p.m. He didn't feel too warm, but just in case. Hopefully, his fever is gone.


Love,
Mommy

Aidan's all better and Logan is doing OK

Day 24 - Hospital Stay
Day 19 - Intubated

I spent the day with Aidan today. It's actually kind of nice to do that, since I don't get to do that as much these days. His fever is finally gone. He and I both slept from 8 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. It's been a while since he has slept this much. He was so tired last night after dinner, I immediately got him in bed after washing up. I took him to the park today. He hasn't been to Orange Park in a long time. We used to go there almost every weekend. He got to run around, play the swing and slide. I only let him run around for about 30 mins, because he's still recovering from his illness. We then went to lunch and did some shopping at Target. Came home and he went to nap. He's still napping at the moment (almost 2 hours).

The Director of PICU called me this morning to update me on Logan. It's so nice of him to take the initiative to call me. He told me the new drug didn't work to stimulate Logan's brain to breathe. They decreased the ventilator rate, but his blood gas showed that the CO2 level was on high, as if he's not exhaling enough. It's looking more and more likely that he will need a trach. He also told me that 2 of the blood tests for Mitochondrial disease came back, and they were normal. There were about 4 or 6 more, plus the new set of test for Lysosomal Storage Disease. We're still waiting on those. He has also decided to re-send a few other tests that Logan has done when he was in the NICU. These are all tests for genetic diseases, testing the enzymes, or the by products. Those new ones are sent to a lab at Kaiser, so the results should come back faster than the other specialized ones. I also asked him again about Logan's 4-month immunizations. We both think that it's best to put a hold on that. It's less likely for him to get infected when he's in the hospital, and we want to minimize variables before we have a diagnosis. He said he would check with the neurologist, but for now, we should wait. I received a call from a nurse from Daly City yesterday regarding the Synagis shot. The nurse said the season for RSV is almost over, and Logan doesn't need another shot. I asked the Director about it and he said he would check with the Kaiser in Santa Clara regarding whether they are still giving the shots at that facility. I also asked if he should get another MRI since things might change. The Director thinks if all the tests came back normal, then doing another MRI and follow-up appointments with specialists would be the way to go, so as to make sure nothing else comes up. But, if the blood tests show something, then it's not necessary to get a MRI now. We could wait for a little long as the doctors might be able to predict what other things would happen.

So we'll continue to wait. As mentioned before, I really don't know if I want to know what's going on. It's such a catch-22. To know the blood test results, it's like waiting for the death sentence in a way. Please continue praying for little Logan. I'll be back at the hospital tomorrow.

Aidan still has a fever... but he's active as always

Day 23 - Hospital Stay
Day 18 - Intubated

Aidan stayed home today and didn't go to school. So, I was unable to head down south to be with Logan. I did check in with the doctor and the nurse to see how he's doing. They started the first rounds of the new drug yesterday and was able to decrease the ventilator rate from 20 to 12. That's the lowest they could go from now. They are going to increase the dosage and see how Logan reacts to that. Hopefully, it will be able to stimulate his central nervous system to take in bigger and more frequent breaths. The Urologist said his VCUG result was fine. He did recommend doing another X-ray from the bottom up again. The Director has placed a call to the Genetics counselor to see when the blood test results will be back. For now, everything is stable. I don't think I will be able to go down to see Logan again tomorrow, but I will surely call to check-in.

Aidan, on the other hand, still has a low-grade fever. I took him to the pediatrician today since he's been coughing and has a runny nose for two weeks. It seems like he's been getting back-to-back colds. Doctor said his lungs sound clear and it's probably viral. Nothing much to do except giving him some Tylenol or Motrin to keep the fever down. He said if the fever continues to last for 3 days at over 103 degrees, then we need to bring him back. Or, if he's coughing lasts for 3 weeks and more without getting any better, or his coughing happens mainly at night, we should take him in for another check-up.

Aidan is active as always. Once he slowed down, I could see that he's tired. Unfortunately, he only napped for an hour today and he woke up with a higher fever. I gave him some more Tylenol. His head still felt a little warm. I think I might try some Motrin later and see if it works better. Will have to keep him home again tomorrow.

Logan's colon seems to be doing fine! Whew!!

Day 22 - Hospital Stay
Day 17 - Intubated

Grandma came to the hospital and visited Logan today. She attended rounds when the doctors came in. When we first arrived, the nurse told me that Logan just got back from his VCUG. He was a little mad when they put the catheter in him, but overall he did great. The nurses gave him a dose of Versed to calm him down, but he was still wide awake when transported down to radiology.

Everything seems to be fine but we're waiting for the official read from the radiologist. If all goes well, we can stop his antibiotics. That's good, one less medication in his tiny body. During rounds, the Resident reported that last night was good and there's no respiratory distress. Since decreasing his ventilator rate yesterday, Logan's blood gas showed that O2 was a little low this morning. So, they increased the rate back to 20 instead of 16. However, I did notice the O2 saturation from the ventilator has decreased from 30% to 25%. From the respiratory chart, I noticed they lowered it all the way down to 21% last night (room air) but after a few hours, it was bumped back up to 25%. Probably Logan didn't sat very well. They started feeding him again yesterday and he was tolerating it fine. They said because he has no problem with feeding, his colon is functioning normally. I had to ask the nurses again later why we're concerned about his colon, as he was tolerating feeds before anyway. Apparently, his tummy was a little bigger over the weekend but yesterday and today, it was smaller and soft. The nurses explained that because he used to have continued feed of Versed and so much Chloral Hydrate, it might have affected the colon and slowed things down a little. But it seems like the colon is not a concern. Thank goodness! I was SO worried it's the Mitochondrial disease that is attacking his colon now. Thank GOD for listening to our prayers! So, as mentioned yesterday, they are going to try this new drug, Doxapram, on him to see if it will stimulate his brain to breathe better. They will first give it to him through his IV for a few hours. They will wait for a few hours and then decrease the rate of his ventilator from 20 to 16, and do a blood gas. If all goes well, they will further decrease his rate and have him go on cpap and do some lung exercise. Let's hope this medication works!!! Please make it work!!

We're still waiting for blood tests results. Logan is nice and calm now. He was moving around earlier this morning and had to have this arm out. At one point, I have to stand right next to him to make sure he's not pulling anything off. He calmed down and went to sleep while I was holding his hand with my right hand, and have my laptop on his bed and surfing with my left hand. :) It's nice to know that he finds comfort in holding mommy's hand.

On the other hand, I just got a phone call from Aidan's preschool. He has a fever! I'm waiting for Hank to come pick me up from the hospital, so that we can pick him up at school. Unfortunately, I didn't drive today, so we have to all leave early. I hope he's ok. His cheeks looked a little rosy last night but his forehead didn't feel warm. It's probably the flu. He's been having a runny nose and coughing for the last 2 weeks, ever since he started preschool. New germs from new school.

Ending 2007 in sickness..... ugh....

Dan Dan has been sick for the last few days. First a runny nose and cough, and then started a low-grade fever for a couple days. Luckily he is getting better and the runny nose is almost gone. It worries me that he might have a stuffy nose when he's on the plane. Since it's his first flight, I have no idea how he would react. And if he's sick, this would just add more pressure to his little head and his ears might really hurt.

He has also lost his appetite the last few days. He used to eat almost everything, and a lot! But lately, he would take a couple bite and then refused to eat. Even his favorite apples and bananas, he won't even finish half of it. The only thing he would take was soup. But that's not enough to sustain his active lifestyle. Feeding has become a battle. It has become a battle between Dan Dan and Mommy/Daddy, and a battle between Mommy and Daddy on the philosophy of food battles. The pediatrician said one of the rules we should follow is never force a kid any food. No food fights! This is one thing that Mommy and Daddy are not agreeing on.

But thank god he's feeling better now and actually went to day care today. He came home eating just like he used to! I am not sure if it's because he saw other kids eating, or he's just feeling a lot better. He didn't eat as much as he used to yet, but he definitely ate everything we put on his plate. Thank God for that!

Now that Dan dan is getting better, Mommy and Daddy are sick. First Mommy, then Daddy. We seem to get sick together a lot. It sucks because it's the crucial time of the year and we definitely need to get well within the next 2 days. We definitely don't want to be sick on the plane, or any time during our month-long trip.

I vaguely remember we were also sick last New Year's Eve. Mmm... I guess flu shots are not perfect. Now let's see if Mommy and Daddy can actually stay up late enough to watch the New Year comes, while listening to Dan Dan coughing up a storm.