Sick Day(s)

On Monday, Collin seemed to be coming down with a cold. A very slight cough and not quite as "toddler" as he usually is. On Tuesday morning he slept until 7:45 a.m....clearly he was off his game, as he is usually ready to go at 6am sharp.

He was cranky, but seemed fine with the exception of the cough. His temperature was below 100 degrees and he wanted to play, so off to daycare he went...after a late start and some additional hang out time at home to assess him.

When I got home on Tuesday night around 6:30 (damn the snow!) he had clearly taken a turn for the worse. Always a trooper, he was still in good spirits and had played with Doug since arriving home at 4p...but his breathing was labored and he was wheezing slightly. We started up the car again and off to Coon Rapids Urgent Care we went. I am so grateful they are open until 9pm!

This is his second episode since August, after a similar occurrence that seemed to be sparked randomly after a trip to the Renaissance Festival. While at the Emergency Room I kept joking (well..sorta joking...) that I was hoping he was allergic to the elephants we rode...it would be so easy to keep him away from elephants the rest of his life as opposed to other allergens or asthma, etc....

At Urgent Care, Collin was given a nebulizer treatment. Anyway, after this treatment we were given a 5 day course or oral steroids...exactly the same treatment as in August. This time we also opted to buy the nebulizer and bring it home in case this continued. We were told that the wheezing was likely a reaction to the cold virus we had noticed brewing since Monday and that his lungs were reactive to it in this way.

Collin and I hung out and enjoyed a "sick day" on Wednesday which was some rest and some play. (Picture right). We used the kid friendly penguin theme nebulizer throughout the day every 4-6 hours if his breathing did not sound clear. We scheduled a follow-up with his regular pediatrician for Thursday morning.

No problems were noted overnight, but there was still some congestion in the morning and I was very happy to be leaving for the doctor soon. Still in good spirits, we were off to the awesome Dr. Barth, Collin's pediatrician since birth, at the Allina Clinic near our home.

Dr. Barth decided to diagnose Collin with asthma since this is his second episode of wheezing. He defined Collin's asthma as Collin's lungs being more receptive to bouts of wheezing, and that future colds etc. may result in the same thing all season long. We've been directed to use preventative nebulizer treatments (a different liquid medication is put into the machine than when it is being used for an active episode) for him twice daily, until further notice. That will for sure be all of cold and flu season, and I am not sure if it will be year round yet or not. We have another follow-up in a few weeks for more asthma education and to see how things are going once we have been doing the preventative treatments for a while.

I know this is minor and, for more and more families, it is also increasingly common. Still, I am sad and angry. More to manage each morning and at bedtime. More to expect Collin to put up with, as he has to sit still while using the nebulizer. We have no risk factors in the home or closely related family history...just "lucky" I guess.

On the other hand, I continue to remind myself that we are lucky. There are people out there struggling with much worse, so I am trying not to be too disheartened. It has not affected his mood or stamina, and he still remains ready to play at all times...he does not get winded when he is active either, which would indicate exercise induced asthma. He also does not mind the nebulizer, which has a penguin theme for kids. He has taken to kissing it goodbye when we put it in its "house" (an igloo like thing) until the next treatment. The likelihood that Collin will outgrow this sensitivity is also good and it is not seen as a precursor to worse things to come. In general asthma is very treatable and "user friendly" as far as illnesses go....I keep telling myself these things. However, if anyone else has any positive ways to frame this diagnosis, I would love to hear them. The more the merrier...

Still, no one ever, ever wants to see any child sick. At all.

So, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we work this new routine into our life and learn more. Please also do the same for all kids out there struggling with any degree of illness.