Happy New Year!!

Well, Zachary seems to be feeling better. His temps have been normal since Saturday. Our only issue now is congestion. He can't eat well because he can't breathe well. Joshua's rash is gone and things seem to be getting back to normal. Hope you and your families have a happy and healthy new year!

The number for today. . .

105. Temperature for Zachary this morning! He has been acting sick but I thought he was getting the viral illness that Joshua has. Then at 1am he woke me up screaming, he was so hot. He ran a temp of 104-105 all day. Took him back to the dr this morning, and he believes it is viral, but because of the fact that Zachary has been sick so much the last few weeks he put him back on antibiotics. There is a fear that he is developing a secondary pneumonia from the respiratory illness he recently endured. Please keep us all in your prayers. We're tired!

Merry Christmas to one and all!

We spent another family Christmas together again this year. On Sunday, we traveled to the Fort Wayne area for family time with each side. The kids loved getting to see all their cousins and the family loved seeing the kids. It was a blessing to spend time together with all of our families in one place, which rarely happens! Today, Joshua woke us up at 7am (would have been 6:04 if we hadn't told him he had to wait til 7 to get up). Zachary was still sleeping as he tried to catch Santa making deliveries twice during the night. We let Joshua go ahead and open presents. He loved everything Santa brought him.

Zachary woke up shortly after Joshua finished. He enjoyed watching mommy and daddy open his presents, then he loved playing with them. He truly wanted nothing to do with opening the presents. We spent the afternoon with my sister who came to visit and enjoyed a traditional Christmas feast, thanks to Honey Baked Ham! ;o)

Hope you all enjoyed your day with your family and remember that if it were not for a tiny little baby being born many years ago, we would not all be blessed with what we have today.

Hmm, blog issues

I posted earlier and it never showed up, so I'm going to try again. Zachary and I spent Friday afternoon and evening in the ER. I had taken him to the dr for a recheck because his symptoms (wheezing) were not improving and his coughing was getting worse. While in the office the dr decided to check an oxygen level and it was only 86%. He decided we had to go to the ER with a sat that low. So off we went and when we got to the ER, his sat was 96%. (He had a good cough on the way to the ER and probably cleared whatever was plugging him up.) They gave him some extra breathing treatments and he really turned around. Hopefully we are on the outs with this and things will only get better from here. On a fun note, we are going to Fort Wayne and Columbia City Sunday for Christmas with both sides of the family. Should be fun with the boys!

ER regulars!

I have to admit, I'm beginning to hate the ER! After another not great day with Zachy with his coughing getting worse, his appetite decreasing, and his wheezing continuing. We were back at the dr on Friday for a recheck. The initial plan was to change his antibiotic and wait it out. Then my dr got the genius idea to check an oxygen saturation on him. It was only 86%. So that bought us another visit to the ER. He coughed well on the way to the hospital and of course by the time we got there he was 96%. Oh well. He did get a extra special treatment called a heart neb that was twice the dose of Albuterol that we were doing at home along with another medication called Atrovent. These two changes together truly seemed to turn him around! He has been doing well since. Keep praying that the wheezing stays away. We finish the antibiotics and steroids on Sunday, so we'll see!

We're home!!

Because my doc knows that I'll call if he gets in serious distress, he is allowing us to treat this at home. Zachary's chest x ray showed "a little something." Either early pneumonia or the effects of a viral respiratory illness (such as RSV). His oxygen sats were 91%. We came home with prescriptions for antibiotics and steroids. Will continue doing resp treatments at home and see how it goes. Praying the steroids kick in and the wheezing slows down.

Tis the season for some wheezin!!

Zachary's wheezing started infrequently on Sunday night. Yesterday it got worse and we started treatments. Have done treatments every 2 hours all night and he's still wheezing. Guess we will see what the doc has to say this morning, very well might end up in the hospital. Will keep you posted!

Prayers for friends please!

I have an amazing family who I have come to know and love since taking care of their adorable little girl. The Layman family can't seem to catch a break but their faith sustains them through the most difficult times. Their little girl, Kate, just underwent another heart surgery yesterday. After learning that she had made it through surgery and all was going well, her beloved grandpa (Andy's dad) passed away. Please keep their entire family in your prayers during this difficult time. You can see Kate's blog at www.layman4.blogspot.com

Ambulance Adventures

Well, I've been in the back of an ambulance numerous times as the nurse, this time I was honored as the patient. Yesterday afternoon, I stopped and picked up Chinese for lunch on my way home from Target. I got home and started eating it. It did not taste as good as it usually does. About 2 hours later, I was violently ill. After 6 1/2 hours of not getting out of the bathroom, I found myself laying on my bathroom floor unable to get up. I was so dehydrated that everytime I tried to get up, I almost passed out. Gary called 911 and the wonderful Danville Fire Department came and got me. After 3 liters of normal saline, a dose of nausea medicine and a dose of diarrhea medicine, I came home feeling like a new person! So I have a greater understanding of being the patient today and what it's like to ride backwards in a fast moving ambulance! ;o)