We Four Olsons: January 2014

Things that are definitely happening tomorrow:

1) I'm getting a pedicure.
2) I'm devouring a venti (that's latin for 'big ass') mocha with extra everything.
3) Asher is getting a present. Maybe a pony.

Why?

This has been a long week. On Wednesday morning, Asher's babysitter called me because he had stopped breathing while coughing during snack time. Renae was a preschool teacher for 14 years and has 3 kids of her own, so when she called to tell me she was worried, I got worried. I called our pediatrician and explained to the nurse what had happened that morning, that he had been having apnea during the night, that he hadn't responded to the nebulizer treatment, and that he had coughed so hard he threw up twice on vacation. She said the doctor would call me right back. Three hours later, she called back to tell me the pediatrician recommended putting Vick's Vapor Rub under his nose and doing saline rinses. That was the final straw for us with this clinic. There are simply no words for how angry I was during that call. I contacted a different group and made an appointment for Asher to be seen on Friday (today) by a new provider (an appointment we ended up not keeping).

Yesterday was hard. Ash didn't feel well and slept most of the day. His wheeze was terrible, and while it was present most of the day it was so much worse when he ate. Around 3:30 I was feeding him a snack and he started coughing so hard he was gasping for air and his lips turned blue. Ben walked in the door about 5 minutes later, and we went to the ER. The nurses and doctors in the emergency room were puzzled by the care we'd received from After Hours Pediatrics. The pediatrician who came in to check out Asher kept saying things like, "I'm assuming you've had multiple chest x-rays...I'm assuming they've referred you to pulmonology....Certainly you've been seen by ENT...." We explained that none of those things had happened, and that any steps towards figuring out what was going on had been initiated by Ben and I, not by our doctor. She was so upset when we told her that the last advice we'd been given was to vapor rub him when he was having trouble breathing that she gave us her cell phone number to call if we need anything, and also called in a personal favor to get us seen by an ENT the next morning. In the ER they did a chest x-ray and labs and everything looked okay, so they sent us home after giving him a dose of steroids with instructions to see ENT the next day.

When the ER pediatrician spoke with the ENT, he said it sounded like tonsils. This morning I was thinking more about it, and all the pieces fit. As much as I would have dreaded Asher having surgery, I was so hopeful that we were finally going to have an answer. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. His tonsils looked fine on exam and the doctor couldn't see anything else out of the ordinary. However after listening to the audio clips of his wheeze and cough, and hearing that he has had symptoms since October, they were very concerned. They sent us back to the hospital for an x-ray of his head and neck to rule out adenoids or a soft tissue throat obstruction, and also started him on antibiotics and an acid reflux medication. The zantac didn't come up during the visit, but the doctor called me later in the day and said, "I'm sure your pediatrician already treated him for reflux and you've ruled it out..." to which I said, "No." And his response was, "That's strange, pediatricians catch reflux right away and it is so easily treated." Blood pressure = through the roof.

Here's the plan moving forward: the radiologist will pass on the results of his x-ray early next week and we have a follow-up with ENT on Friday to see how/if he has responded to the medications he is now on. We have also made appointments at the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital in March with peds ENT and pulmonology. Somehow, somewhere, we will get an answer.

Asher is already having a hard time sleeping tonight, he coughs until he wakes himself up and then starts crying, which makes him cough harder. It is absolutely heartbreaking to open his door and see him sobbing, staring at the door waiting for us to come.

Hence the mocha. Hence the pedicure. Hence the pony.

*sigh*