Breathe In

Hey, remember that baby I have?

Yeah, that one.

A few weeks ago I blogged about taking her to the pediatrician because we noticed her breathing was labored. Dr. Looove was concerned but gave her steroids, blah blah blah read the other post to get the prognosis there. Long story short, her breathing hasn't gotten better, so today Mike brought Maddie back to see the good doctor.

The first bit of good news is that Maddie now weighs eleven pounds, eight ounces! Beat that, Stefanie! The other bit of good news is that she wasn't hospitalized...thanks to the oxygen rocket.

Dr. Looove took Maddie's blood oxygen rate when they arrived in her office. It was at 73. A high-dosage breathing treatment was administered, and her number went up to 85. Still not the over-90 we need Maddie to be at. Mike took her to get an x-ray, and then another measurement was taken. Still at 85. At this point, Mike started to mentally pack Maddie's hospital bag.

Dr. Looove came back into the exam room and went over Maddie's x-ray with Mike. She said Maddie still has small areas of collapse (atalectisis) throughout both lungs. Dr. Looove said, that besides the atalectisis, her lungs look just like those of an asthmatic. Then she said, "if you didn't have oxygen at home, I would have to admit her."

For the next two-plus days, we have a strict regimen to follow. We are giving her a more concentrated breathing treatment four times a day along with her inhaled steroid. She'll be taking a diuretic with the intention of removing excess fluid from her lungs, and an oral steroid (different from the inhaled one) to strengthen her lungs. We have to put her on oxygen throughout the day, and she has to get two liters per minute instead of just a 1/2 liter. Friday morning she has to get more blood work done to make sure the diuretic isn't stripping her of important nutrients. Then, we're meeting with Dr. Looove just before lunch to go over the blood results and plan where to go from there.

Take note that Dr. Lung is not involved. But that's another story.

I knew that the first couple years of her life were going to be filled with doctor visits and trials. I've prepared myself for her many appointments and I know there are most likely going to be hospitalizations in her future. But it's still hard. I hate hearing her wheezy and labored breathing. It's heartbreaking to see her work so hard to draw in air, something that is effortless for the rest of us. She's getting bigger and stronger, but her lungs aren't. Tomorrow I will take comfort in the fact that she is still smiling, but tonight I am going to snuggle my baby and cry.