Last night and this morning Cooper's cough and wheezing was worse. We got to the doc's office before they even opened their doors and we were still 5th in line. I had Cooper bundled up in a warm outfit and a hat because it was only 50 degrees out. He has this adorable dinosaur hat that we used today and all the other moms and kids were raving about his hat but when they heard his cough everyone's faces cringed and frowned. It's hard to believe this awful hacking cough and wheezing is coming out of a tiny 5 month old baby. It breaks my heart.
When they opened the doors and we walked in, two of the nurses immediately recognized us and said "hello Mister Cooper!". UGH It's sad that they all know us by name - we're there way too often :(.
Dr. Brian was in today - he had consulted with Dr.MaryEllen (the doc that's been primarily treating Cooper) last night so he was fully briefed on what's been going on. We've seen Dr.Brian many times so we're familiar with him and really like him too. He listened to Cooper's lungs, looked at his ears, nose and throat, checked his pulse and oxygen level and concluded that he's getting plenty of oxygen and that he sounds worse than he is, thankfully. However, if he gets any worse we'll end up back at the hospital. They want us to give him the prednisone 2x/day for 5 days - this is the "emergency" medication, making this his 5th daily medication now. We talked about which hospital to go to if he gets worse this weekend. Bob and I don't want to go back to Tarzana because our two experiences there were not too great. Instead, we will go to either UCLA or Childrens' - both of which are at least 45-60 minutes away but we don't care about that - we want him to get the best care. Hopefully it won't come to that but if it does we know where to go.
Before leaving the doc's office they gave Cooper a dose of prednisone and a Xopenex breathing treatment which Cooper screamed through (I have to do it when he's asleep at home). By the time we got home the infant nebulizer mask kit I ordered had arrived thankfully because one of the breathing treatment medicines will harm his eyes and we didn't have a mask that fit his face to prevent contact with his eyes and we had to wait til he was asleep and just spray it in his face and hope he kept his eyes shut (scary!). Now we have the right sized mask for him and won't have to worry about it.
We're home now and he's napping. In 45 minutes we have to take the cat to the vet - one of her claws grew into the pad of her foot :(. I feel terrible that I didn't catch it before it happened - we've been so focused on Cooper's issues that I've neglected the cat's basic grooming needs (nail trims). Poor Winnie! :( The vet will fix it and we'll probably end up having to give her an antibiotic to prevent an infection. Can't wait for THAT bill. ;0
4 comments:
From family experiance the staff @ Children's is AWESOME. We (my family) was there for a long term event unfortunately, but I can assure you that the nurses where AWESOME! And they didn't just take care of the one who was sick, but his brother and sister too (emotionally). I'd HIGHLY recommend them... I don't know about the ER though, but either way they specialize in little ones so I'd say they are your best bet :)
Wow. Don't know what else to say other than, Wow. I really hope you get everything figured out soon. As for the 45 min drive to UCLA or Children's, I would do it in a heartbeat to know my child was getting better care. I work at Children's here and daily we have people drive 4-5 hrs and usually one or two people each week that have come from 8+hrs...just to see a specialist for a 30-60 min visit. So a one hour drive is nothing. But hopefully you don't have to go that route.
Julie, I am so very sorry that you guys are going through this. I'm praying that Cooper makes a speedy recovery. *hugs to all*
I just stumbled upon your blog this afternoon while doing a search on prednisone and infants. My son is 4 months old and is taking prednisone, albuterol (nebulizer) and an antibiotic. Have you noticed any side effects from the medications? This is the first time he has been on them and all I was told was that his heart rate might increase a bit.
I can't get any more information from the doc's office and I thought another parent might be the next best place to go.
Thanks!
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