Pneumonia

Maggie started coughing and it kept getting worse with each day. After 4 days of hacking and 2 nights without sleep, I took her to the urgent care after work.  Of course, while there, she never coughed once. Why does this always happen?! I'm sure that they thought that I was just an over protective momma (which I am, thank you very much) but Maggie has suffered from upper respiratory infections, bronchitis and pneumonia too many times for me to ignore the symptoms. I knew that it would only get worse.  The dr on call didn't really feel that any medications were necessary or X-rays required, but I insisted on the X-ray. Sure glad I did.  Maggie had pneumonia in her lower lobes.  So, they gave her a Rx for an antibiotic and a cough suppressant/anti-histamine/decongestant combo.   At least the antibiotic was only a 5 day course (versus the 10 or 14 days we usually get) but that 1/4 teaspoon of the combo med sent her reeling through the rough....and you know, my girl doesn't need any help on the energy side of life!  So, we stopped that medication and just went back to the over the counter stuff, which seemed to be helping now.

Maggie stayed home from school Thursday & Friday (which means Momma also stayed home from work).  Maggie only wants Momma when she is sick, but thankfully is a great sick kiddo - meaning, she's not whiny, clingy, etc. However, the flip side of that is that she really needed to be still and rest and well....yeah, that wasn't going to happen.

We followed up with her regular pediatrician on Friday and they determined that she also had an ear infection. Bummer. Her first one since she had tubes put in 2 years ago. Yes, she still has her tubes in and for the last year, the drs have said - "oh they're right there...just about to fall out" and yet, they have remained. No one has suggested surgery to remove them (like you're supposed to have done if they don't fall out on their own after a year) and as long as the drs aren't concerned about it, neither am I.  No need for unnecessary surgery!

We rested all weekend, which meant that we had to miss out on our annual Crews trip to the lake. Oh how I know how much she would've loved swimming, tubing, and boating with all her cousins, but I'm fairly certain that she needed the rest much more than the busy, wet, hot day of non-stop activity.  She slept for 4 hours that afternoon ~ enough said.

She is well on her way back to being in good health. Her cough still lingers but it usually takes a while for her coughs to go away. She's a trooper and we're just glad that she's resilent and better :)

Here's a picture of her right after the dr told her she had pneumonia...poor thing!

p.s. Because of Maggie's illness, we had to reschedule her follow up with TCH Sleep Center to get her results from her latest sleep study test.  Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until mid-October to find out anything. Heaven forbid if the dr could actually just give you the information over the phone....but I won't go there. :)