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. :)

All over the place

We are on our 4th week of school. Hard to believe. But since school started, it seems like life is just flying by and we're busier than ever. Hence, the reason to a lack of blogging.

~SCHOOL~
Maggie has done really well in her class. She has adjusted well to the bigger classroom, new friends, new schedule, new room and her teacher. She has done really well with adjusting to going every day, versus just 3 days a week. I honestly knew that she would be just fine, but I'm just glad that I was right :)

There have been a few days that I have actually made good timing from work to school and picked Maggie up a little early. You'd think that was a good thing, but no. My sweet girl is not happy when Momma arrives early. This cuts into her play time with her friends. Her teacher says that it's a great compliment when the child cries upon leaving school - so I will take that for what it is. So, now, if I see that I'm running a little early, I just run an errand or sit in the car and catch up on my facebook or emails, until I think it's been long enough for her to enjoy some time outside.

We enrolled Maggie in gymnastics twice a week at school and she just loves it. Her little active self is doing so well and comes home after her classes to show off her new skills. Not only will it be great for her to release some energy (smile) but she's just a natural athlete. I'm just thankful that it's at school during the day and we're not having to add in something extra at the end of the day.

~THERAPY~
We're SUPPOSED to have play therapy once a week. However, it hasn't taken place in a month. Once because our therapist was out of town. The following week, I had a blow out on my way home from work. (yah- that was fun - NOT) The next week, her therapist was sick. And just last week, on my way to get Maggie from school, I had yet another flat tire. So, here's hoping that we can pick it back up next week and get back in the groove of things.

Speech therapy hasn't started yet, as we had to do another evaluation at the therapy center last week. I was a bit frustrated because they said that further testing needed to be done as they felt that the testing performed by Texas Children's wasn't in depth enough. Ok fine. However, they did the exact same testing. Word for word. Question for question. Ugh. I'm sure it was just another way of them getting paid. The conclusions/diagnosis were the same and they're supposed to contact us in a couple of weeks with their recommendations and go from there.

~ACTIVITIES~
The past few weekends have been busy. We've enjoyed playdates with our toddler friends, celebrating birthdays with family, going to the splashpad with our cousins, swimming with friends, and enjoying some nicer weather outside, with a few trips to the park. It's been raining for days but hopefully there will be some end in sight. We cannot wait for cooler weather, as Maggie loves being outside.

~HEALTH~
Maggie had her first dental procedure a few weeks ago. Due to the circumstances of her pre-natal "life", Maggie's teeth are extremely weak and therefore, this time around had 7 teeth that needed to be worked on. Poor thing. Due to her age, the dentist had to sedate her. She was a champ! They were able to work on 4 teeth the first time (more than they thought they would be able to do) and therefore just has to go back one more time at the end of the month to complete the work. She loves going to the dentist and was actually crying when she had to leave. Not a typical scene at the dentist's office. She handled the sedation just fine and did great without me being in the room with her. When they were done, they brought her out to me and she looked like a little drunken baby. She couldn't stand up or walk, although she thought she was just fine. I wish I had a video camera with me - it was hilarious. She came home and slept for almost 6 hours without any movement. I'm pretty sure I haven't seen that before :) She woke up and was back to her normal, active self. I'm just thankful that she did so well and pray that she continues to have a great affection for the dentist office.

We head out to TCH tomorrow to get the results of her latest sleep study test. It will be interesting to see if there were any changes in her sleep apnea in the past year and if there will be any changes to her treatment plan. I'm more than certain that it hasn't improved; I'm just hoping that it hasn't gotten any worse.

~Miscellaneous~
I have to interject that I am more than excited about my fall TV programming starting back up in the coming weeks.  TV is my "guilty pleasure/downtime".  I have my favorites and am curious about some of the new shows that have been advertised for months now. We rarely get to watch "live" TV ~ my DVR is one of my best friends.  He's been pretty lonely this summer, but have no fear, he's clear and ready to get back to work.

Michael & I are doing well. We have both lost a lot of weight this summer and feeling so good.  I've lost 20 pounds, 23 inches and down 2 sizes. Yay! I hope to lose just as much on my next round, starting in a few weeks. It hasn't been too bad and our lifestyle has truly changed. Thankful for the positive changes in our lives and how it has just blessed us a family of 3.

Well, I think that pretty much covers "all over the place".....until next time :)