Chandra's Journal
May 8, 2006
I absolutely cannot believe that it’s already May. We’re halfway to Christmas-time again! A year used to seem SO LONG when I was a kid; now my calendar seems to be on a new month every time I look at it.
Last week was interesting at our house. Creed was pretty sick. I kept him home Monday with a low-grade fever and cough. I took him in to see Dr. Young and they did a rapid strep test that came back negative. They also did a nasal culture that takes two days and started him on an antibiotic. Then that night the fever went away and he acted fine, so I thought it was probably just a little cold. Then Tuesday night while I was feeding him, he could barely go 30 seconds without a terrible coughing fit that made his entire little body just convulse and seemed to completely take his breath away so that he was gasping for air in the middle. Tears came to my eyes holding him helplessly and wondering what was going on. I called Dr. Young’s on-call nurse at 10:30 and asked her what I should do if he couldn’t sleep because of these spells. She mentioned taking him in the bathroom and running a steamy hot shower and just sitting in there to make it easier to breathe. (A technique I’m familiar with from my own childhood.) Sure enough, around 3:30 that morning Creed and I were sitting on the floor of the bathroom running a hot shower. The next morning I took him to see Dr. Young again and the nasal culture had come back showing a different form of strep – strep pneumoniae. It’s not quite as scary as it sounds. He did not have pneumonia; his lungs sounded fine. But he had the strain of strep that can cause pneumonia if left untreated. While consulting with Dr. Young, however, he thought that the symptoms presented just like whooping cough – paroxysmal cough, mild, short fever, etc. So he sent us to the hospital to test for pertussis (whooping cough), and put him on Zithromax, which he said would treat the strep and the pertussis, if need be. By Thursday night, the “whooping” cough was replaced by a wetter, non-violent, less frequent cough and a clear, runny nose. (I’m beginning to feel like a medical transcriptionist here!) So, he’s treated either way, but we won’t know if it was actually whooping cough for another couple of days. I’m hoping not, of course, because Dr. Young said that the Chinese call it “the cough of a hundred days”. That does not sound like a good summer!
We did our best to keep them separated during the 48 hours that Creed was contagious, and Canon, thank God, has been symptom free!
We got permission from Houston to discontinue the Valcyte that Canon has been on since transplant. Another one bites the dust! It’s nice, too, because that one was a high-maintenance med – it was a pill we had to cut in thirds, then crush and feed it to him in food.
We did, however, add a new medication. After reviewing the diet record that we sent them last week, Dr. Higgins wants to try giving Canon an appetite-stimulant. We started it Friday night and on Saturday morning, he ate one and a half cinnamon rolls and a full glass of Pediasure for breakfast! Typically, he’s done after four or five bites. Then for lunch he ate an entire hot dog, bread and everything! Pretty serious stuff.
Also last week, we closed on our new house. So… we now own two houses. There are lots of reasons to celebrate this move. My favorite thing about the house is that Canon and I can play Ring-Around-the-Rosies… in my closet!! But, obviously, we’re in a pickle. We’re so desperate to sell our house that I actually baked chocolate chip cookies and left them out on a plate for a showing yesterday afternoon! I asked Drew if it was too corny, and I think he agreed that it was time to pull out the stops. It might sound pathetic, but if those people make an offer, I’m going to look like a genius! It was kinda silly coming home and clapping because there were four cookies missing. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, after realizing that Santa actually DID eat our treats we left for him!
And for my last bit of news, the pies de resistance… (drumroll please)… Creed is crawling and pulling to stand up!!! All in one week! He took his first two crawls last Friday on the 28th. Then on Monday, May 1st, he was crawling around and he would just sit up all on his own! Then on Thursday, May 4th, he pulled up on a towel I was sitting on to stand up by the bathtub and see Canon! When I told Drew, he looked at Creed and said “Are you in the Baby X Games or something?!” It truly does seem impossible for Creed to be moving around like he is already. I have realized in the last week that by the time Canon started crawling (at around 16 months), he knew the difference between food and non-food items. Creed, at 8 months, does not! Needless to say, I’m doing a whole lot of sweeping and getting eye-level to the floor lately!
I have many feelings in light of all of Creed’s new accomplishments. Mostly that life is just too short. It’s too short not to crawl on the floor with them. It’s too short not to take them outside and let them feel the rain that we prayed and prayed and prayed for. It’s too short to have the TV on during dinner. It’s too short to listen to Creed cry himself to sleep instead of holding him. It’s too short not to splash in the bathtub. It’s too short not to play along when Canon tries to hide under his bed with his feet sticking out or standing in the bathroom wrapped up in the shower curtain. For better or worse, I’m going to enjoy the stage we’re in, and try not to worry about when to potty train, move to a big bed, or take the pacifier away. All that will happen in a short time! At least today they’re still my babies.
Peace to all,
Chandra
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under Heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
