We've been off the second round of Amoxicillin for 4 days and I thought we were in the clear. But what do you know, Luke woke up coughing this morning, along with a runny nose and hoarse voice. I honestly couldn't believe it. Everyone warned us about the first year of preschool, but I didn't expect these consecutive illnesses to happen in the spring!
Being Friday and not wanting to frequent Convenience Care again this weekend, I took Luke in to the peds office this afternoon. We saw a new doc and I really liked him. He was so thorough and I felt like he actually read through Luke's chart and recent history before he came in to examine him. He knew we had seen Dr. Stefanelli last week, knew about our recent E.R. visit and what the doc before had diagnosed.
He agreed that what Luke is fighting is probably multi-factorial. Could possibly be some allergy stuff going on, but could also possibly be a bacteria going around called a microplasma. This bug affects the upper respiratory system, but left untreated, can cause pnuemonia. With Luke's heart condition, he wanted to err on the side of caution and start Luke on a stronger antibiotic, Azithrimycin. So back to our pharmacy we went and we'll start Luke's 5-day course tonight. He also wants us to start an over the counter antihistamine.
I know we've been lucky with how healthy Luke has been overall these past years, so this is just very different for us, to have back-to-back-to-back sicknesses. You heart mamas may understand when I say my mind automatically went to the health of Luke's heart. Is Luke's heart function to blame for not being able to kick these bugs? Is this in any way cardiac-related?
So I did what I always tell newer heart parents to do: ASK! If it will give you piece of mind, ask the questions. So I called our beloved cardiologist and his response definitely put my heart and mind at ease: "I am confident this is not related to Luke's heart. In fact, Luke is in a prime position to get sick and build up antibodies right now. As frustrating as this is, it's actually a good thing for Luke's immune system."
Bleh. Good thing or not, I don't like it!
Okay, one thing I do like, since I am trying to look for the good in all situations: his raspy voice is about the sweetest thing I've ever heard.
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Jesse,
ReplyDeleteIt is so frustrating when you think you are out of the woods and then... We will be praying for Luke to be on the mend quickly. Glad you found a new ped. It always means so much when they take time with you and pay attention to our kiddo's special heart.
Hope your pregnancy is going well!
Heart hugs,
Pam
I've been there. Natalie's year was last year and she seemed to be sick all the time (having a sister in school bringing everything home). She's done great this year and hasn't hardly gotten sick at all. Hopefully this one will be the worst of it for you. Hope you stay healthy for that little girl of yours. On the bright side...Azythromycin is only 5 days! ;-)
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Angie
Oh, no! Poor Luke! I sure hope he's feeling better soon (and that you really do have peace of mind)!
ReplyDeleteI find Dr. S's answer comforting...hopefully this is true for all heart kids around Lukie's age?!? Maddie's getting over a 2 week bug right now and has had a couple of bouts with cold bugs this winter/spring. So far no antibiotic but I'm getting a little panicked with thinking about surgery in 30 days. I just pray she's healthy enough for it. The crummy part is her sats are really low-70% right now. Hoping they come up a bit when she's clearer! Snot city. Anyway, sorry to read that Luke's still fighting that cold. Azithromycin was great for Maddie (the last antibiotic she was on in February). Hoping it does the trick for Luke too!
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter to you!!!
My mind always goes straight to the heart when Elijah has any sickness aside from his standard cough that he's had his entire life. I totally get it!
ReplyDeleteElijah was sick pretty much constantly from the time he started daycare (8 months) until the end of his first year of preschool (3 years). Sickness was the norm for us for so long! I hate it! I always say that our heart babies should be exempt from regular sickness. It's so hard to see their little bodies work so hard.
I hope Luke feels better soon! Give him some healing hugs from us!! xo