Doctor's Report

This is Karla with her nebulizer and mask on. I read a story to her while she sits on her bed.

I took Karla to the doctor this morning. This is the first time we had to wait at the office...so it feels like it consumed a lot of the day...well, that and the wait at the pharmacy. Anyway, I told the doctor all about our allergist appointments and ER visit last week and her continued symptoms this week. Then the doctor listened to her and said she was definitely wheezing. She said that, yes, Karla should be improving with all the meds she has - that was one of my questions. So, instead of today being the last day of antibiotics for Karla, she started a new one..a different one. Karla continues to have a lot of nasal congestion, post nasal drip and on and off low grade fevers. The doctor said she wants me to call her on Thursday to let her know if there is improvement. If there isn't then she doesn't want to wait any longer to do a chest x-ray.

Karla took a very short nap today (part of why I couldn't update the blog) and was more active this afternoon than she has been in days. So...maybe she is improving?? I hope! But that tends to be her pattern. She seems better and then a little while later, she's feverish or wheezing.

I realize this is a difficult time of year health-wise, especially if you have allergies. I just don't like seeing her so "pathetic". One good thing is she likes hugging and sitting on me and says "love you, Mommy" in a sweet little voice many times a day.

We'll see what the next two days bring...

another update

I am taking Karla for a check-up this morning because she isn't bouncing back as fast as we think she should for all the breathing treatments and medicine she has taken in the past few days. It is sad because she doesn't want to play a lot and it is finally nice outside!!

I uploaded some more pictures to flickr last night. :)

Karla's "House"

Karla was a little more "sick" today than yesterday...just didn't look as good and wasn't as pleasant. She went to bed early so I hope she gets a good LONG night's rest and feels like a new person in the morning! Jason and I just felt sorry for her today. I wish we could make her sickness go away!!

Karla did perk up today during a visit from her great-grandparents, Mammy and Pappy. She was so excited about seeing them this afternoon! It was pretty funny.

I've been meaning to post these pictures of "Karla's house" for a week. Karla (and Jason and I) are having lots of fun with the refrigerator box. :) Too bad it takes up so much room!!


Yes, even Karla's rocking chair fits in the box...

She has a table made of blocks inside. Mommy Oso and Daddy Oso stay inside as well as her stuffed dog and cat.

On the Mend

Karla is feeling better today. Still has a nasty cough though. She is wearing an adorable outfit from my coworkers and looks SO cute today! Had to share some pictures. If only she would hold still for more than a second I could get her actually looking at the camera... :) Oh well, movement means she's feeling better!

Eating nuggets on the deck. She ate 7!! She only ate a few bites of toast yesterday so it is good to see her eating.

Grilling like Daddy...

update

The allergist was very helpful today. Karla does have an infection (probably another sinus) and he gave her an antibiotic. (She didn't have one as of Tuesday when we saw him) She is also going to use a nebulizer now. It is a machine that gives her breathing treatments. She also has a lot more medications too. She'll have a lot of breathing treatments and medicine for the next few days and then hopefully only Singular and the nebulizer after that. I am glad to have this figured out but it is a little sad too that she's going to have so many breathing treatments. Hopefully she'll grow out of this.

ER

Not long after I posted last night we could hear Karla having difficulty sleeping and difficulty breathing. Ended up going to ER at 11:45 pm. Luckily we got to come home after Karla got a breathing treatment and a dose of steroids. She dramatically improved, thank goodness. I hope the allergist is helpful this morning!!

Allergist

Karla's appointment on Tuesday at the allergist went so well (except for having to wait an hour before actually seeing the doctor). She didn't cry once (even for testing)and kept herself entertained - with my mom's help - while I talked to the doctor and the whole 2 1/2 hours we were there. I was proud of her! The allergist thinks she definitely has asthma and allergies. She didn't test positive for anything they tested her for which I guess isn't that uncommon for kids her age. But when he examined her (nose, etc.)and I reported her medical history for the past 6 months he said he was convinced she has allergies. He gave her a new medication and nasal spray and wants to see how she is doing in 6 weeks to determine if she needs to use an inhaler on an on-going basis. I guess he made the decision about asthma based on her history and how she sounded on Tuesday. He used to be a pulmonologist so that has to be good, right? We also went for a neck x-ray right after her appointment to see if her adenoids were large and they are not! So, no Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor is necessary. Whew! He said he will want to test her more extensively in 1 - 1 1/2 years when it will be easier to pinpoint what she is allergic to and we are supposed to go see him rather than the PCP if she has any flare-ups.

Well, this afternoon (already!) it happened. Karla was coughing some this morning and then woke earlier from her nap than usual because she was coughing so much. She coughed for 1 1/2 hours straight almost before it dawned on me that maybe I should get her inhaler and see if it helps. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly and she was wanting me to hold her so I was distracted by that and trying not to worry. It took me several minutes to locate the thing because I had put it "somewhere where I would remember it in case on an emergency". Ha! Good thing this wasn't an emergency because it took some digging to find. We haven't used it since December I think. I figured trying the inhaler today couldn't hurt. I gave her the inhaler and she stopped coughing!! She only coughed twice in the next hour. So, we'll see how tonight goes but we're going to the allergist tomorrow for this "flare-up".

Maybe if the weather would just make up its mind....