Return to Morro Bay and Clean Air

We had the opportunity for another long weekend in Morro Bay last weekend. While, surprisingly, not a very relaxing weekend for us, there were some high points and new discoveries with Eli's health.

We took the kids to the Santa Barbara Zoo and met up with my aunt Dani and cousin Bennett. Bennett is a genius 8-year-old who served as a great tour guide. Paige latched onto Dani, and they walked hand-in-hand all day. This was Eli's first trip to any zoo. It's just been too hot this summer to take him to Fresno's Chaffee Zoo, yet. Paige wanted to make sure we saw the "elphlants" first.

We also got to spend the weekend with our closest friends Randy and Laurie, who were in as desperate need of a getaway as we were. When we told Paige they were coming, she said "Oh! I'm not shy to Randy and Laurie and Randy's a punk kid." We don't know where the latter started, but it's been a fun joke for Paige for quite some time. Randy did a great job teaching Paige how to build sand castles on the beach. We all shared some of the best laughter any of us has had in a VERY LONG time. Tears rolling down your cheeks kind of laughter.

Eli responded very well to the clean air, more than ever before. For three days, he only required oxygen while sleeping. Even that was at a lower level than ever. Our last day out, we even worked up the courage to remove his canula altogether, and he traveled through Morro Bay, up and down Embarcadero Blvd and to the beach with a completely naked face all day. We've now been home two full days, and are still able to go without oxygen while he's awake. We don't know if this is a good sign, or any indication of his health, but it's certainly helping us see him as a real boy, not a medical patient. He's also getting much bigger very quickly. He's well past 13lbs, now.

We talked to Dr. Fields about the clean air and oxygen support. Could clean air alone make such a difference? We know we live in some of the dirtiest air in the nation, but could it make that much of a difference? Could this revelation open any doors to further understanding of his condition? Dr. Fields was also intrigued, and we're going to experiment in the area of allergies. We'd like to see if perhaps all the junk in the air is irritating Eli's lungs more than most, causing them to tense up. Could this also effect his pulmonary hypertension? Most certainly so, yes. We are starting Eli on a daily dose of Claritin, of all things, and we'll see what happens. The only real way to know if it's going to make a difference is to simply try it, and note his progress.

As I type this at home, I'm looking over to his monitor. He's off of air, and all his numbers are exactly where we'd like them to be. We pray we may have just discovered another piece of the puzzle.