Giving the Doctor a Look-See

Eli's cold continues to worsen. He's constantly coughing and wheezing. Each breath is so snotty it makes me want to blow my own nose. One of the benefits of our new pediatrician is having his cell number. We called him, and he offered to meet us at his office today.

I hate to beat a head horse, but the severity of the situation doesn't always seem to register. When we receive comments like "You can't live your life worrying about every little sniffle," or "At least it's just a head cold," it's very difficult to hear, and so extremely insensitive. A little sniffle or "just a head cold" is literally life threatening to Eli. He's that fragile, especially when it comes to pulmonary function. Please recognize what a dark road we're traveling right now. I'm sorry to be so direct and rude, but while nearly everyone has been great support, some tiny, well-intended dagger wounds have really begun to fester.

Please pray that he maintains his strength to fight this.
Please pray that this isn't doing further damage to his lungs, which have already failed one cath lab test.

As I type this, he continues his raspy cough. And smiles.


UPDATE: Our pediatrician gave us a bunch of respiratory drugs and a nebulizer. We also got a prescription for antibiotics. We're making every effort we can to stay in front of pneumonia. Eli's reacting well to the treatments, but there's definitely some junk built up inside those lungs already.

Singing Eli

Eli is becoming very vocal and sings often. We've also noticed that he sings more when Paige is not around. Maybe it's because he can actually get a word in! This video was taken today. He is singing and smiling through his congestion and cough. What a happy boy!

Fighting a Head Cold

Last week, I (Jason) picked up a small head cold. It was nothing notable, it never even slowed me down. I never really developed a runny nose, and never coughed more than about 4-5 times. A couple days ago, it became apparent Paige had picked it up, as well. Although it's also not slowing her down a step, she definitely has a runny nose, a small cough, and has what we call "her funny voice."

We've been making every effort we can to isolate Eli from all of this, but how can you in a 1300 sq/ft home? We tried sequestering her in her room with movies (Thank you Nanna for the portable DVD player). Then we asked for help from friends willing to take a mildly sick child into their home. Thank you so much to those who've already helped. This weekend, Paige is staying with Nanna for the whole weekend, and this is an incredible gift to us, and especially Eli.

I'm writing because Eli is starting to show signs of being effected by this cold. His cough is a little wet, and his breathing is a little... snotty. All of Eli's immediate health concerns are based around the capability of his lungs. If this cough makes it into his lungs, it is very realistic to expect he may make it back into the ICU.

Please pray for protection and healing for Eli, and especially his lungs.

As a side note, we've come to recognize how rarely the blog is updated any longer. We're going to make efforts to resolve that.

Morro Bay 2009

This weekend, the four of us got the spend the weekend camping in Nanna and Nanno's trailer at El Chorro campground, just south of Morro Bay. A 3 day/2 night getaway was long overdue. We decided to make this entry a photo book. Family dinners, swings, 8:00am s'mores, downtown shopping, watching a sunset on the beach, and so much more.

This was the best weekend we've ever had with Eli. That boy loves the coast! He barely slept all weekend, and never fussed, either. Just like Paige, if there's something to see, he'll take it in. He smiled more than we've ever seen him smile. He required less oxygen support than he's ever needed. Often times, we even had to turn his air off.