How great is it that we've been able to take advantage of this time with Michael. We've been able to take advantage of the healthy little boy we brought into our family just over a year ago. Not knowing if we'd be able to ever see him this happy and energetic.
Today we are battling fevers and coughs at home. We are also going on week three of congestion. Let me tell you how this usually goes -
Day 1: Congestion/Runny Nose - I freak out and go in to battle the congestion. Like this - Saline spray, bulb sucker, mentholatum on feet w/ socks and percussion therapy on his back.
Day 2: Congestion/Cough - Still battling congestion
Night 2: Michael wakes up with fever at about 9pm, starts grunting and can't breathe, we call an ambulance.
We get admitted and stay for a week with oxygen and deep suctioning. When Michael begins to run a fever his heart starts working over time. His heart rate rises to around 170-180 when he's calm and asleep and its gone up to 220 when he was getting angry and worked up. His normal heart rate is around 100-120. This happens about every two months since Michael came home from the hospital after his surgery. We are blessed to have the insurance that we do that helps so much with the ambulance rides. The two times we went in on our own we ended up in the waiting room for an hour and in the back room for another hour only to be admitted the next morning. The ambulance ride ensures that the cardiac unit will be waiting for us and that they are already aware that Michael is making another appearance.
This time I battled congestion as usual and also used the help of some essential oils that helped delay the fever for about two weeks. He hasn't been grunting or having problems breathing so I'm crossing my fingers that we get through this one without needing the hospital and oxygen.
As long as we keep the fever down we should be good with the rest. So far so good.
This last month has been fun and a struggle at the same time. Before Michael got sick we had his first visit to the zoo and the Denver Aquarium with his Great Grandma that lives out of town. It was great having her with us and we had a great time watching Michael enjoy life. Just after this Jarons car broke down so we are down to one car for the moment which hasn't been too bad. I didn't think we could do it but, seriously, what can't we do? Right? Before Michael got sick we got some bad news that our 5yr old Pit/Lab mix had gotten lymphoma. The vet assured us that even with chemo we'd only be buying him about a year and that year would be quantity of life over quality and she couldn't stress that he'd start getting more uncomfortable and more painful. We came to the decision that we needed to let him go instead of have him struggle through. We were able to love on him for a few more days after that very difficult decision and we've been at peace. Zoey's also made us aware that she'd like to play in the clouds with him. She is a little jealous that he gets to play in the sky and that she doesn't. This is something neither me or Jaron were ready to deal with but we feel stronger for having to experience the pain and emotion that came with it.
- On a happier note -
Michael also just got his first hair cut. Bye bye Baby Michael and Hello Godzilla! Haha - Just Kidding - Hello to this big kid that I didn't realize was hidden in that hair. These kids make my heart beat faster and harder the more my love grows for them - and the faster they get. <3
