Last Thursday evening, I decided that Tabby needed to go to the doctor. She just couldn't keep food down with the persistent coughing. She had lost about 10 lbs. and didn't need to lose more. Then Hunter started coughing until his supper came up - third night in a row. I told him he would go to the doctor too. Then Solomon had a rough night of coughing. So Friday morning I called the pediatrician and got all three kids a mid-morning appointment.
After I made the appointment, Tabby announced that she had lost more than 10 lbs. - it was now 26 lbs. Oh my goodness.
Before long I learned that all three kids had pneumonia! Their doctor said it is rampant in this area right now. And highly contagious. Soon we were headed to the pharmacy for two antibiotics per child and medicine for the nebulizer. (Thankfully I still had Lilly's nebulizer.)
By evening, Tabby's breathing wasn't good and her lungs hurt her very badly. She and I headed to the hospital. I figured they would give her a more powerful breathing treatment and send her home.
The breathing treatment didn't really work.
Tabby kept having what I called breathing spasms. Her throat would close up and she couldn't breath well. It was scary.
Soon she was on oxygen.
The hospital we were at did not have a pediatric unit. So we were transferred to the big hospital in Raleigh that Lilly spent time at. We rode in style - Tabby on a bed on wheels in the back, and me as a passenger in the front.
We arrived at 11:00 p.m. and the check in and initial examination took awhile. Tabby was on oxygen and an IV and pulse ox. Finally, after midnight, we were alone.
We ended up talking about Lilly a bit. This happened so much like her hospitalization in Jan./Feb. 2011 for a virus. (Honestly I had a fear of coming back to this hospital. But this helped me work through that.) Tabby knew I was really worried about her. She said "I'm not Lilly. I'm not going to die." Then she said "You have bad luck with daughters." My response was "God gave me the exact children He wanted me to have."
Saturday Tabby did a good job eating and keeping her food down. Even though it was just "hospital food."
The doctors were all really concerned about her loss of 26 lbs. And Tabby's lungs hurt her really bad. She found a good distraction - watching FOX News and HGTV. We don't have cable TV at home so this was a treat for both of us. Tabby's actually a politics junkie and was really excited that we got to watch some of the Republican candidate debates that night.
There was a Ronald McDonald room down the hall where I was able to go and eat some food for free: Hot Pockets, chips, applesauce, and pudding. It wasn't Trim Healthy Mama but oh it was good! The volunteer in there asked me to please pick out a little homemade stuffed animal from a basket for Tabby. I picked a little green dog. She really liked it! She named it Barkdogeïphontes from the character Argeïphontes (Hermes) from
The Odyssey.
Later that day, Tabby ended up with an Xbox. This was her first time playing one. She played several Lego games: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Lord of the Rings. It helped her stay quiet and distracted from her discomfort.
Sunday morning she was off the oxygen. And we were so surprised to look outside our wonderful big window and see SNOW! It snowed pretty hard for a bit but didn't stick. It was so pretty.
One of the nurse assistants came in for a bit and played Lego Star Wars with Tabby. His name was Russ and he was really kind. After he left, Barkdogeïphontes ended up with a nickname: Russ. We really liked all of the nurses Tabby had. Some were more personable, but all were kind, gentle, and seemed to really care.
Sunday night Tabby was back on oxygen. Sleeping was just harder without it.
Monday morning, Tabby was off oxygen, but still having some of the "breathing spasms." Painful and exhausting.
When doctors made their rounds, they decided that Tabby would recover better at home. So she got her discharge papers that afternoon and we got ready to leave.
Frank and the boys came to pick us up and off we went. After a nap and supper, Tabby began to perk up a little.
The kids all finished one of their antibiotics today. They will be on the other for several more days. (I'm stuffing as many probiotics and yogurt into them as they will let me to help their upset from the antibiotics tummies.) And the boys are continuing to use the nebulizer some.
Hunter and Solomon are doing much better. They still tire easier than normal and still cough. But they are much more active. Tabby is having a good day resting on the couch and eating huge meals. She has a lot of weight to gain back. Her lungs still hurt, but not as terribly as they did.
We can not do nebulizer treatments around here without thinking of Lilly. It makes me smile. She had high opinions about that nebulizer and thought they were most annoying!
Solomon and I just loaded the above grumpy Lilly pictures. We did find another one where she looked pretty calm that he wanted me to post:
What a wild ride January has been so far. Good thing I didn't make any new years resolutions or goals to accomplish in January because the month is almost over. We will continue to take it slow and encourage complete recovery around here for a bit.
"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to
an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." - Lamentations 3:22-23
