3 year well baby visit

Last Thursday was supposed to be a day dedicated solely to checking up on my babies. Unfortunately, I only got to see about my first baby because my doctor got stuck in emergency surgery.  My first OB appointment had to be rescheduled for tomorrow instead.

Jackson's appointment went amazing well, and speaking of well, it was his first well baby check-up in about 2.5 years! Man oh man have we come a long way with his health, thank you God!

Jackson weighes 36lbs. and is 37.5' tall, which puts him in the 87% for weight and 41% for height.  He's always been a little thicker than taller, just like his daddy:)

After checking out Jackson's sinuses and tonsils, his doctor thought for sure that we'd decided to go ahead with sinus surgery! He was surprised when I said we had not, we just finally had him healthy and under control.  Jackson's tonsils have returned to a normal size, his ears are clear and tubeless, and his sinuses are not infected!!! This is the first time he hasn't had a sinus infection in 2.5 years, y'all.  The months of antibiotics were hard, but obviously worth it.

Jackson got one quick shot before we were on our way! He cried for a minute, but was happily distracted by stickers and a promise of a popsicle:) I got all of his prescriptions refilled and a new spacer for his inhaler.  Now we'll be able to keep one at school and one in my purse, I've learned to never leave home without it!

Everything else was pretty routine.  Jackson is potty trained and right on track developmentally.  He just started in the Pre-K3 program at school and we're super excited that all is going so well! Jackson loves going to school and talks about seeing all of his friends and his teacher every Sunday night, and can't wait to see them the next morning.  I can't tell you what that means to us.  I feel like his little school is such a hidden jewel!

Happy boy with his stickers:)

Read more...

What's Up With the Wilsons

Thank goodness it's Friday y'all! I am so stinking excited for the weekend. The weather is supposed to be sunny and I plan on being outside as much as possible. I am craving some fresh air and play time with my boys! We've been so stir crazy lately that Jackson literally turned himself into a "Jack-in-the-box"!

Did I mention that Jackson is officially potty-trained! He's been trained for a little over a month now, but I wanted to be sure before I made the big announcement:) It is still surreal to me that I will never have to buy diapers for him again, pull-up's maybe, but the powdery smell of Pampers won't be inhaled until we're blessed with another baby.  Jackson wears his big boy Buzz Lightyear underwear during the day and pull-ups for bedtime. He does wake up dry, but I am not about to change sheets in the middle of the night in the unfortunate circumstance that he would wet the bed. 

Big boy in his class picture!

In other Jackson news, we finished up his 6 week round of antibiotics on Wednesday night.  I am praying that this really "fixed" him this time around, and that we make it a good month without getting sick! He remained well the entire time he was on the medicine, except for the two days after Mardi Gras that he ran a random fever.

I finished up 10 days of progesterone on Tuesday night, which I hope to never have to take again, so the waiting game has begun for my period to start.  Over those 10 days I bloated worse then ever and gained 6 unsightly pounds.  It kicked my ass, and I've never been so happy to throw away an empty pill bottle in my life! And I'm on a mission to kick those 6 pounds before I have to start injecting myself with baby-makin' hormones and the real weight gain begins! I'm down 3, so I'm hoping I can drop the last 3 by next week - eek!

I had a bit of a pity-party for my hormone induced, fat self, last Saturday afternoon.  After cleaning the house and the empty bedroom that has been waiting to be a nursery for 10 long months, I decided to turn it into Jackson's playroom.  I mean a watched pot never boils, right?!? Jackson isn't too sure about his new space, and prefers to play in his room.  We'll see what comes of it though.

Jackson has a new rain boot obsession, I have no clue where he gets this from:)

This may be the most random post ever, but we've had a lot going on lately!

Another friend of mine, also named Stephanie, and her husband started a precious boys clothing line.  JV Clothiers was formed for those parents looking for high-quality, "preppy" collegiate sports attire for boys beyond jon-jons.  Anyway, their clothes are too cute and they are currently hosting a draft pick model search, and I would love for you to take a moment to vote for Jackson.  Please and thank you:)

Lastly, don't forget that when L.M.N.O.P Embroidery & Gifts reaches 100 fans, I'll have great giveaway for you! Stephanie is only 11 fans away, have you liked her page yet?!?

I hope all have a great weekend, here's to hoping next week brings us CD 1 and progress on Baby Wilson 2.0!

Loves:)

Read more...

Peditatric ENT Updates

On Thursday, January 26th, my mom and I took Jackson back to the pediatric ENT in New Orleans. Jackson had a pretty rough month between the end of December and January, so I knew we needed to do something. We ended up in the urgent care twice and pediatrician's office a handful of times during that period. The last time we visited the pediatrician he pretty much demanded that I take him back to the specialist in New Orleans. Jackson's right ear was draining maple syrup looking puss that was not the result of an ear infection, but his sinuses trying to drain - disgusting!

Well of course, since our last trip to the doctor Jackson has gotten a huge antibiotic shot and been on a week of oral antibiotics before the ENT could see him. So it was pretty much a well baby visit. Not that I really wanted my kid to be sick and pitiful for the appointment, but I kind of did...This specialist is under the impression that I take my kid to the doctor for a green snot nose - um no, I take him to the doctor when his fever gets above 101 and he gets his "sick eyes". I'm no doctor, but I'm a momma who knows that this is our sweet spot. If I don't rush him to the doctor at that point we end up having a hyperactive airway attack and it takes weeks to get him back to normal.

Does this look like a kid with just a runny nose?!? No, it's almost hard to believe that this is even Jackson!

 Anyway, Jackson got a complete work-up which included having his left tube pulled out of his ear (it was just sitting on the eardrum and ready to fall out on it's own).  His right tube is working it's way out as well.  Jackson's left ear has fluid/is infected, even with all the antibiotics in his system.  His right ear stopped draining the nasty puss a couple of days before his appointment.

Jackson had to have his sinuses scoped again, this is really not pleasant for anyone.  I had to hold him down while they put the tube up his nose and looked all around.  Good news was that his sinuses are free of green puss, bad news is that they are full of mucus.  Poor kid is just a mucus producing machine! The absence of puss means that the antibiotics are clearing his infection, so we're going to continue with another 6 weeks to try and keep him well for an extended period of time.  The doctor said this round would be "successful" if Jackson stayed well for 4-6 weeks after stopping the medicine...Jackson has never made it past 10 days.  He also said that a child his age should be sick about 90 days out of the year, again I don't think Jackson has been well 90 days since this all started last winter!

Our last topic of discussion was what to do next:

1. Sinus surgery: This would be hard on both the doctor and Jackson.  His sinuses are so tight that it would be hard for him to get in where he needs to - also risking additional scare tissue causing Jackson to heal even tighter.  At this point in time, this is still not really an option for us.  Maybe in another year, but not now.

2. Extended antibiotics: Keeping Jackson on antibiotics for an extended period of time, and doing so a few times a year.  We did this in the fall, and again now.  We'll see how it goes! Thank God for probiotics.

3. Booster shots: We have a list of vaccines/booster shots that may help boost Jackson's immunity and help him fight the common cold better.

4. Tubes: We go back in 3 weeks to see if the antibiotics cleared up the fluid in Jackson's left ear and asses the need to do tubes again.

And an hour later, we were back on our way home with a lot to process and pray about!

Read more...

CT Scan and Results

Due to Jackson's chronic sinus and upper respiratory infections, and wheezy cough, his pediatrician recently recommended that we seek out treatment with the pediatric ENT specialist in New Orleans again.  After our lovely visit with him in August, I was anxious to hear what he had to say, and I blogged about Jackson needing a CT scan done here.

Checking out the fish while we waited

Fast-forward a few weeks: Jackson had the CT Scan of his sinuses on Tuesday.  We left our house at 6:30AM and arrived at Oschner at 9AM for his prep.  They called us back to the holding area where Jackson was a total ham for a good 30 minutes.  He had the nurses bringing him balloons and toys and then helping him decorate his balloon with stickers.  They even took him around the halls to wish the other patients well before their procedures - and this was all done before he was given "happy juice".

The "happy juice" had the same effect on him as when he got his tubes and adenoidectomy...tired, drunk ol' man.  My nerves always get the best of me when I see the medication start to take it's effect.  I can't help but to worry, but try to always put on a brave face.

They wheeled Jackson away from us at 10:54AM and it was an hour before we were called back to recovery.  After about 30 minutes, I really started to get anxious and worry about the what-ifs.  Luckily, the procedure just took a little longer than expected because the anesthesiologist had a hard time getting Jackson's iv's started.  Poor guy has some beat up little hands! 

Jackson was a pretty typical toddler coming out of anesthesia, crying and super irritated with everything.  Especially the fact that his balloons were gone from his room.  But, after a couple popsicles, he was finally ready to take home.

I thought he'd sleep the whole way home, but that certainly wasn't the case.  He ate almost all of the banana bread muffins we had made together the night before and asked a bazillion times for his balloon, with the Santa stickers on it.  Pitiful.

Such a good lil baker:)

By the time we all got home, it was bath, breathing treatment and bed.  We all slept in our bed, and were out by 8:30...just what I needed!

The doctor called us with the results from the scan last night.  They came back abnormal and showed that Jackson has significant sinusitis aka blockage in his sinus cavities, specifically in his maxillary sinuses under his eyes.  Hence, the reason why he constantly has puffy, dark circles under his eyes.

Considering Jackson's age, he just kept saying it was significant.  He even offered to do surgery to basically drain and irrigate his sinuses.  The downfall to this, is that children under the age of 4 heal so rapidly that the irrigation would close up within weeks.  We discussed this surgery with him in August and he was very against it then, and still doesn't think it's the best option, just offered it to us...

His next step for us is a sweat-chloride test to test him for CF, cystic fibrosis.  While Jackson is a thriving little boy, he does have a good bit of the symptoms and this test has been brought up in numerous doctor's appointments.  So, we have an appointment for the lab test at 1PM tomorrow.

Other possibilities or reasons for the abnormal scan is that Jackson may have a syndrome called Immotile Cilia Syndrome.  This basically means that his cilia's aren't able to move mucus through his sinuses.  We'll have to go back to his immunologist for this test.

The doctor spent a good 20 minutes on the phone with me, which was amazing.  He gave me a lot of medical information on diagnosis possiblities as well as medications to try.  The good news is that Jackson is thriving and developing right on track.  He will eventually get better with age, or grow out of this.  This phase too shall pass:)

He advised us to not proceed with allergy testing because clearly Jackson is allergic so there is really no need.  His orders are to keep a dust free house, no feathers, no pets, no carpet, and no cats.  All of those seem pretty easy to do, and maybe I can convince Mr. that we need our cleaning lady to come once a week now!

UPDATE: Thank you God, the sweat test was negative!!!

Read more...

A Hodgepodge Post

Call it what you will - a catch up, a catch all, a recap, a hodgepodge or sorts, or a brain dump - here's what's new with the Wilson's:

Jackson is literally leaping off of anything he can climb, trying to fly like an airplane or soar to infinity and beyond like Buzz Lightyear.  Why? you may ask, well that's a simple answer.  He is sick yet again, and had another steroid shot that has him bouncing off of the wall.  Don't believe me - watch the video and you'll see for yourself!


And speaking of hodgepodge, please ignore the hodgepodge of an outfit he's in!

After our last trip to the pediatrician with an ear infection, sinus infection, respiratory infection - and I'm not sure what else because he just said it was all infected - we are headed back to New Orleans on December 13th for a CT Scan of Jackson's sinuses.  I'm sure I'll be back to blogging before then, but could you please keep him in your prayers on the 13th? He has to be put under general anesthesia for this and it will be treated as an outpatient procedure due to his young age. 

The holidays are always hectic for us - as we're truly one of those families with Four Christmases.  In an effort to lessen the stress, we decided to host Thanksgiving this year.  So, as of today, we'll have 28 members of our immediate family over for quite a feast.  The only thing that would make this holiday better is if my dad and sister increased that count to 33, which is just wishful thinking.  We started setting tables and making plans to stuff the turkey this weekend.  I truly can't wait for us all to be together, even though I'm not really sure this is less stress!

The Thanksgiving Invite (with our address marked out)

And since my body loves to mess with me, on top of planning Thanksgiving for 28, I of course started my period this weekend.  I would be lying if I said that I wasn't hoping for a Thanksgiving pregnancy announcement, but I've closed that door and moved on.  I even went in today for my CD3 blood work at the RE's office to begin down that path, wherever it may lead us.

Jackson loves his big boy bed, and I promise to take some pictures and dedicate a post just to that.

I wish my almost 2.5-year-old was ready to potty train, but it looks like I'll be wiping butt's for a while longer.

I am having the best time playing Santa already this year, it's amazing how children can change you.  I normally don't even start thinking about presents until after Thanksgiving, but the UPS man has already delivered a few packages to the Wilson address!

Speaking of Christmas, have you seen these cute Reindeer pillows that Sweet Meredith is making?!? I haven't placed my order yet, but I just love love love them:)

I'm helping out with Thanksgiving Lunch at Jackson's school and am so excited, as this is my first mom-opportunity to do such a thing!

And if you're still reading, I promise to get back to blogging - as I foresee a lot to blog about in the upcoming months!

Lastly, I'm so thankful for each and everyone of you! I love reading your sweet comments and emails, and reading your blogs as well!

Loves,
Kristen - aka Momma

Read more...

Test results...

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Jackson's immunology test results came back and everything was normal! While this is such wonderful news, it still means that we don't have the answers as to why he's always sick. But, we are overjoyed that there wasn't an underlying immune deficiency that was going undiagnosed.

Jackson is tolerating the antibiotics pretty well, even now that I'm dosing him correctly...momma fail moment last week when Mr. discovered I was only giving him 1/2 of the dose prescribed. I couldn't figure out why all three of Jackson's doctors were calling to check on him.  I knew the prescription was very aggressive, but I was shocked when we realized we were supposed to give it to him twice a day.  Now I know why everyone was so concerned, I thought it was a lot just once a day!

Anyway, we're dosing correctly now and have about 4.5 more weeks to go. We have decided to wait on allergy testing until Jackson's done with the antibiotics. I'd hate to put him through another test if his issues are because of an infection somewhere and not allergies!

I hope y'all are having a nice holiday weekend. We've enjoyed the blustery, raining weather from Tropical Storm Lee and have slept more hours than we've been awake! Jackson especially needed to catch up and rest his little body:)

More updates soon...

Read more...

Doctors, doctors, and more doctors

I'm just going to jump right in and start rambling on and on about Jackson's health.  This blog has proven to be more than just a fun way to share our life stories, it's also my documentation for my sick kid.

I'd like to add this disclaimer: There are thousands of sick kids that are far sicker than Jackson.  From an outsider, I realize that Jackson seems to be a perfectly healthy, thriving toddler.  We are blessed beyond belief that we are only in and out of doctor's offices, and not hospitals, and ER's. 

So, here I go!

After Jackson's last round of mastoiditis, ear infection, sinus infection, and tonsillitis - we finished 10 days of aggressive medication and three days later, he started getting sick again.

Jackson is at the doctor with sinus infections and bronchitis once a month.  In the past 6 months we've had 32 prescriptions filled, this doesn't include the shots and samples that we get in the office or the over-the-counter drugs.

Jackson's chronic sinus infections cause a lot of drainage down the back of his throat, which makes him cough.  And because he is one of the lucky kids that was left with hyperactive and restricted airways from RSV, his cough quickly turns into a bronchial asthma attack.

This past Saturday afternoon, Jackson woke up hoarse from a 4 hour nap, hello red flags.  By Sunday night, Jackson was in a full blown episode.  Gagging and retching from couching so hard.  Holding his chest and crying from pain. Pressing on his eyes and holding his head telling us how bad it (the sinus pressure) hurt.

First thing Monday morning, we were back at the pediatrician's office.  He ordered a chest x-ray and sinus x-ray, and then told us there was nothing more he could do for us.  Jackson really needs to see a specialist.  He also gave Jackson his 4th round of steroids in the past 6 weeks.  Most adults aren't supposed to take more than 4 rounds in a year, just to put this in perspective.  However, after conversing with a pulmonologist it was deemed necessary if we wanted to keep the bronchitis from developing into pneumonia by the weekend.

Tuesday morning, I took Jackson to see his ENT.  Her only option for us was surgery to irrigate his sinuses and replace his tubes, which are about to fall out.  This would require Jackson to be under general anesthesia for 30 minutes, and have a few days of recovery.  Again, this was her only option to us and we still wouldn't know what exactly was causing Jackson to be sick all of the time.

I left the appointment and knew we had to look at other options.  My mom and I spent the day looking for our next steps.  She took Jackson's charts to all of her top doctors in the area and they all agreed that Jackson needed to be seen by a doctor in New Orleans at Ochsner Hospital.  He is a pediatric ENT that specailizes in cases like Jackson.

So I called, expecting to get an appointment with him 6 months down the road...and they were able to get us in on Wednesday, the very next day! Thank you Grandma and God, for answering my prayers:)

Wednesday morning, my mom drove me and Jackson to New Orleans for the appointment.  We arrived at Ochsner about 20 minutes early, and they took us right away! The doctor spent one full hour with us, and not a minute of that time was spent warming up to Jackson.  Jackson left with a sticker that he proudly gave him that said, Dr. G made me scream!

And boy did Dr. G make Jackson scream...

He first sat with us reviewing Jackson's charts and patient history. Then we went into a different exam room, where it took 4 of us to pin Jackson down so that he could look at his ears through a microscope.  This allowed for him to rule out any ear disease or need for tubes.

Next he jammed some numbing medicine up Jackson's nose and told me to hold him down tight.  Note to self: Do no wear a dress to hold and pin your screaming toddler down.  Bring football pads and Daddy!

Once the numbing medicine kicked in, Dr. G was able to put a scope up Jackson's nose and down his throat.  We were all able to watch on a big screen, as he checked everything out.  It was pretty amazing, I have to say.  Jackson's sinuses are full of puss and mucous, causing a lot of drainage down the back of Jackson's throat.  It's no wonder he coughs all the time.

The scope ruled out a lot of possibilities; he doesn't have a deviated septum, or malformations, or need to have his tonsils removed, and his adenoids are still gone.

He believes that Jackson has some sort of secondary infection, on top of his chronic sinus infections.  In order to clear up his bronchial issues, we have to clear his sinuses first.  However, he does not want to do surgery like his regular ENT recommended because the results just aren't proven in children his age.

His prescription: Jackson will be taking 42 days - 6 weeks - of aggressive antibiotics, in combination with nasal steroids and a diluted Afrin nasal spray for 10 days.  IF Jackson gets sick again within one week of completing the antibiotics, then he wants to sedate him and do a CT Scan of his sinuses. 

More importantly than that, he wanted Jackson to be seen by an immunologist to have an immunity work up done.  Dr. G highly recommended a doctor in Alexandria, Louisiana...

So, we literally left Dr. G's office in New Orleans, and called Dr. C's office in Alexandria and they told us to come on up that afternoon!

We arrived at Dr. C's office at 3:30 and didn't leave until 5PM.  He spent almost that entire time with us, reviewing Jackson's history with me and asking a lot of questions.  I was exhausted by the end of the appointment.

We discussed a lot of possibilities and next steps.  A lot of if this, then that situations.  And we left with orders to go to our local hospital's lab for an immunology work up.

And 12 hours after meeting my mom to begin our day, we arrived back home!

Thursday morning, Mr. took Jackson to get his lab work done before school.

We have to wait a week for the results, which I'm praying goes by fast and answers the mystery to Jackson's health.  I need a plan.  I need answers.  I need to know what to do to make my baby feel better.

I know that some of these test could give us answers that will change our lives, I'm praying for the strength to handle that news.

I also know that these tests could all come back completely normal, which would mean that we would move forward with allergy testing immediately.

It's a 50/50 chance. If this, then that.

While I avoid Dr. Google, please join me in praying for all of those seeking answers.  Please pray for the healing and peace for all of those who are sick, their families and the doctors and nurses that care for them.

No matter how healthy or how sick, our children are our everything!

Read more...

Jackson and the terrible, horrible, very bad day

If I could redo a day in our lives, I think last Friday would totally be one of them...

It all started a few weeks ago, when we all got sick on our anniversary. Par for the course, as soon as Jackson finished up his antibiotics he got sick again. We went to his allergist and he was given the official label of an asthmatic toddler. Jackson got another round of steroids to help him breath, but besides his nebulizer medicine - there wasn't much else to do. He has allergies and asthma and we live in South Louisiana.

Fast forward to last week. Jackson was no better, no worse. Just totally irritable and throwing fits left and right. I tried to remind myself that I'd be cranky too if I couldn't breath. We counted to 10 a lot and drank lots of wine after bedtime.

Thursday night was unbearable. Jackson cried from the time I picked him up from school until he finally passed out around 9. During his bath the cries turned in to screams and shaking from pain. I could not figure out what was causing him so much pain. He wouldn't even let me wash the shampoo out of his hair...and that's when I saw it.

Jackson had a marble sized lump behind his left ear and it was red and tender to the touch.

right after Jackson's bath, when I first noticed the lump

I took this pictures and sent it to my mom and mother-in-law, who were both as dumbfound as I was. We couldn't tell if it was a bite or a bruise - certainly the farthest thing from what he was diagnosed with!

Around midnight, Jackson was sleeping but momma was up worrying...

Of course, the timing of this lump couldn't have been any worse. We were flying to St. Louis Friday afternoon and Mr. went up for work the day before us. I had an out of town meeting all day on Friday, that I would have canceled had I known what was about to happen...

I called Jackson's pediatrician first thing Friday morning and arranged for my mom to take Jackson to have his lump looked at. I went on with my boss to Baton Rouge and met with a client all morning. We took a quick break at noon and I had numerous missed call from not only my mom, but two doctor's offices as well.

Thank God my mom is so well connected with the medical community where we live, she took him to a few doctors Friday morning to address the multiple issues with Jackson.

The mysterious lump behind Jackson's ear was diagnosed as mastoiditis, which means that he has such a bad ear infection, the infection went into the bone behind his ear and the lump was his bone. The link has much more information about what it actually is.  Serious shit.

Jackson never ran fever or tugged at his ears, and never had drainage.  We've had no trouble with his ears since he got tubes last December.  Jackson was given an antibiotic shot, another round of steroids, and two additional antibiotics that he takes orally for 10 days...we're averaging at least one massive diaper blow out a day.  Oh and if you've lost count, that would be his third round of steroids this month!!!

On top of the mastoiditis, Jackson has an ear infection, server sinus infection, and tonsillitis.  So that nasty eye drainage and "allergy eyes" were because his sinus were so infected, not because his allergies were acting up - thanks Mr. Allergist for missing the boat on that one! And now his ENT wants to talk about taking out his tonsils...it's always something...

If you're still reading this post, our day doesn't get much better after this.  This all happened before noon.

After excusing myself from my meeting to call everyone back, my boss agreed that we needed to end our meeting early so that I could see about Jackson.  So nice right?!? Well it's a darn good thing we left when we did.  Our hour ride home took nearly three hours because of road construction!

Did I mention that we had a 5 o'clock flight to catch - yep, we came dangerously close to missing our flight...until it got canceled! So between seeing about my sick baby, picking up all of his medications, now I had to call the airline to see what the heck we were supposed to do!

Since our flight was canceled due to mechanic issues, they were able to put me on another flight with a different airline.  Great news, I had an extra hour to get to the airport and I'd get in to St. Louis a little earlier!  In theory, this was great news.  The reality was that our connecting flight in Houston was delayed almost 5 hours.

Does he remind you of Dennis the Menace - he should!

If you've never spent 5 hours in an airport with a severely sick child, totally jacked up on steroids, running wild - all while trying to keep you bags in tow and not lose your shit - well then consider yourself blessed!

Thankfully, Jackson was so worn out that he slept the whole way to St. Louis and I was able to recharge as well.

We finally made it to my sister's house in St. Louis around 1AM...more on that next!

Read more...

We didn't make it...

Well we didn't even come close to making it 6 weeks without seeing a doctor. We only made it one week, to be exact. Why does this keep happening?!?

I'm in search for a bubble to put my sweet Jackson in at the moment.  So, if any of you have ideas or recommendations on how I can keep this kid out of a doctor's office, I gladly welcome them!

10 days after Jackson finished his last dose of his antibiotic, the cough came back. After two whole weeks of not one cough and a happy boy, I'm completely devastated. Monday morning I heard the cough and my heart broke. I hoped that it was just a fluke, but by yesterday he was coughing all day and all of last night.

We went back to the allergist this morning and he believes that Jackson has come down with yet another infection.  However, I am not sure if I buy this or not...

He still doesn't think this is allergy related, so I question whether or not I need to take him back to our pediatrician?!? We're starting another round of antibiotics this morning and he got a steroid dose as well.  I'm hoping that the second round of antibiotics will continue to fight whatever is bring Jackson down.

The glimpse at life with a well baby was too wonderful to stop fighting for. I love my baby, but y'all just don't understand what a different kid he's been for the past two weeks. Falling back into the whiny, clingy, pissed off toddler last night was just so frustrating. At least now I know that this is because he doesn't feel well and not his "terrible two" personality.

Read more...

Clean bill of health...

Y'all, I can't hardly believe that I'm actually typing this - MY JACKSON IS HEALTHY!!!

We had our follow-up appointment this morning with our allergist and their diagnosis seems to be right on - Jackson has most likely had a bacterial infection in his lungs since he was sick around Halloween.  We just never found the right antibiotic and steroid mix to totally kick the infection out of his system...until now!

As of today, Jackson's lungs are official clear, his cough is gone, and there is no need at this point for any allergy testing!!!

Mr. and I cannot tell you the relief this brings to us.  Seriously, Mr. even got teary-eyed during the appointment.

We'll keep Jackson on the Flonase everyday and dry max as needed.  These are just because we live in Louisiana and who doesn't have some sort of allergies right now?!?

We can drop the Xopenex from his breathing treatment and only use it as needed for a cough or rattle, which again can be expected just because of the climate we live in.

The doctor wants us to continue Pulmacort daily as maintenance at least through the Spring.  He imagines that Jackson will require this drug seasonally, which is fine.

The last medication Jackson will continue to take is the Prevacid, just for the next month to see if he was having any silent reflux issues.

And the best news, Jackson doesn't have to go back to the doctor for another 6 weeks!!! The real test will be if we make it that long without going to the doctor...which hasn't happened, ever.

The grand total in medical expenses this month topped over $1,000 - but having a healthy boy at the end was worth every penny.  Jackson is like a new kid I tell you, and it's amazing.  He is so happy and you can tell he feels good.  I'm rethinking the terrible two preview, maybe it was just a desperate cry for help to make him feel better!

my happy boy with his Popsicle

a little water fun after dinner

this chair can finally be used for lounging instead of breathing treatments around the clock!

Read more...

Another day, another doctor

Y'all, I think I'm going to have to change the name of my blog to "mother who spends her life in a doctors office with a sick kid"! Seriously, something has got to change.  Between co-pays and prescriptions for Jackson, I'm going to go broke! However, I have high hopes that things are going to get better.

During Friday's appointment with our pediatrician, Jackson got a cortisone shot and we were told that Jackson needed to be allergy tested ASAP.  Well Friday night was by far the worst night, ever! I expected the shot to help and boy was I wrong.  We rotated between breathing treatments, hot steam shower, the recliner, our bed and the couch.  Jackson's cough and wheezing was just terrible.  Words cannot describe the pain and struggle Jackson was in. Not to mention, he also ran 100 degree fever most of the night.

I'm no doctor, but since when do you run fever with allergies.  And if this was an allergy/asthma coughing attack, then his fast-acting rescue drugs should have helped, but did not.

Since none of us were able to sleep and staying inside didn't seem to help, we decided to walk in the Race for the Cure Saturday morning.  Surprisingly, Jackson did really well.  He coughed a little during the walk, but nothing at all like the night before.

Again, I'm no doctor, but if this was allergies then wouldn't he be worse outside with Spring in full bloom?!?

Saturday night was amazing, Jackson slept from 10PM straight through to 8:30AM.  Hallelujah, the medications must finally be working!!!

We all woke up Sunday feeling so refreshed and hopeful.  However, as the day progressed we were singing a different tune.  The coughing kept Jackson from napping and playing and he got very pissy.  The days of coughing were finally catching up to him and bringing him down fast.  With every cough, you could just watch him hold his chest in pain.  Talk about heart breaking and feeling so helpless.

First thing Monday morning, I called our pediatrician and told him something was just not right.  I begged for something to help Jackson's cough - he said to give him honey.  I mean seriously, honey.  I try and keep my blog PG, but I'm sorry, you've got to be fucking kidding me.

Well, all I can say is thank God for my momma! As I've said before, she is a pharmaceutical drug rep and spends her days with allergists and pulmonologists.  So literally within the hour, she had her top docs looking at Jackson's medical history and working together to figure out what in the hell is causing him to be so sick.

We were able to get in to see an allergist yesterday, and we finally feel like we're heading in the right direction.  Here's how our appointment went:

Is it possible that Jackson has allergies?
Absolutely.  He has a tone of clear mucus in his nose, which is causing a good bit of drainage down his throat.  

Are his allergies bad enough to make him this sick?
Not likely.  A child younger than 2 should not be this sick just from allergies.  There's something else going on here.

Does he need to be allergy tested?
Maybe, but again, we need to find out the root of the problem first.  And this isn't it.

Shouldn't his maintance (pulmacort) and rescue (Xopenex) medication work better?
Exactly, Jackson's on a very good dosage and he doesn't seem to be responsive to either.  We did a treatment in the office and confirmed that it didn't really help.  This would indicate that the big problem isn't asthma, which is a good thing.  I would love for Jackson to be asthma free!

So, what gives?!?
Looking back on all of the medications Jackson's been on since January, he was not properly treated for Pneumonia.  We did steroids and breathing treatments for the RSV, but no antibiotics for the bacterial Pneumonia infection. In her personal opinion, we're dealing with an unresolved case of Pneumonia.  Jackson should have been hospitalized when he had RSV and Pneumonia, with out a doubt.


His ears looked great, no blockage at all.  She said not to worry about the hearing test, Jackson is obviously not deaf.  He's a boy and he's sick.  We need to get him well and then see.

Now what???
Jackson is on a super strong antibiotic for the next 5 days, and he got more steroids yesterday and today.  She changed up his medications a little bit, including a different GERD medication twice a day.  Silent reflux could also be a factor here.  We need to dry up his nose and get his lungs cleared up!

In a perfect world, by this time next week, we'll have a perfectly healthy Jackson! Fingers and toes are doubly crossed hoping that this finally fixes our precious boy!!!

Jackson's revised medication list

My little boob man before the Race

Oh.So.Pitiful.

Riding:)

Read more...

Back to the doctor

I'm sure y'all are just as tired of hearing about Jackson's health as I am writing about it. However, it's nice to look back and use this as documentation to remember what's happened when. I reference these posts a lot before doctors appointments!

Jackson is never well, never 100%, never as good as I believe he should feel.  Some days are worse than others, and well sick has just become our normal.  Jackson is still a wonderful sleeper, and thankfully, he doesn't let the snot nose, wheezing and coughing bring him down.  I truly believe the sound of his cough is much worse than it actually feels.  Wednesday and Thursday night and morning, Jackson coughed and coughed and coughed.  Once these coughing fits start, they last for a good hour or so.

Last night was the worst night we've had in a long time.  Jackson randomly ran fever on and off all night.  It never goes above 100 degrees, so I rarely give him anything for it.  As fast as it comes, it goes.  One minute he's warm, the next he's nice and cool.

At about 9:30 last night the coughing got so bad I went into his room and got him.  We slept together in our recliner, upright, for as long as my neck and back could take it.  Then we went into our bed and slept on a couple pillows up for a little while.  At about 1AM another coughing fit started and it was a rough one. 

I gave him another breathing treatment and by about 3AM we were all back to sleep for the rest of the night.  I decided to let Jackson sleep in his crib with the humidifier on full blast and turned our monitor up to hear for him.  I just worry that he'll cough something up and choke, it scares me to pieces.

When we woke him up at 8AM this morning, the coughing started once again.  I felt terrible waking him, but it's a work day and there was no other choice.  I called our pediatrician and asked for the first available appointment this morning.  I went ahead and gave Jackson his cocktail of medication and we were on our way.

We went back to the pediatrician instead of our ENT because this is clearly a lung/respiratory issue not his ears, nose or throat.  His doctor couldn't hardly believe Jackson sounded the way he did after seeing the list of medication the ENT has him on.  His cough was in full force and he was very wheezing for just finishing a breathing treatment.

Outcomes of today's appointment:
We're all on the same page that we have to get Jackson well and figure out the root of the problem. 

Jackson's ear's aren't infected, but his tubes are blocked due to the amount of congestion he has.  Which is most likely why he failed his hearing tests.  He'll continue to fail until we get him well. Ear drops will be needed for the next two weeks and again anytime he's sick - which right now is all of the time!

We're going to treat him for GERD/Silent Reflux for a month to see if that helps the cough.  This will be a new prescription given 30-minutes before dinner.

We are doubling the amount of Pulmacort Respules and giving him one large dose a day, instead of breaking it up twice a day.

Xopenex will still be needed to relieve coughing, as needed every 4 hours.

We're replacing Singular, Dry Max/Vazotan, and cough medicines with Flonase.  If we dry up his nose, and clear up the congestion with the Flonase, then the post-nasal-drip will stop with the coughing.  Fingers crossed!

We are going ahead with the full panel allergy test, ASAP.  Jackson's allergies and asthma seem to be too bad to wait until his 2nd birthday.  I'm slightly overwhelmed at the thought of spending two days a week in a doctor's office for allergy shots in our near future, but if it works, it will be worth it!

Read more...

Coughs, Urgent Care, Doctors, Failed Tests...

I'm not going to lie. I'm a mess. I'm still processing.  I'm spending at least an hour a day on the phone with doctors. I'm trying to make sense of everything and I'm all over the place. So, I'm just going to start from the weekend. 

Friday and Saturday Jackson had a runny nose, and a cough. He sneezed about a gazillion times. Nothing alarming, just once again, he came down with a little cold or allergies. By Saturday afternoon the coughing got bad. I had a big awards dinner and called my parents to cancel our night out. But, my mom is a nurse and sells half of the respiratory drugs Jackson takes, so we decided to let them babysit after all. We dropped Jackson off at 8, bathed and ready for his breathing treatment. When we came back to get him around midnight, he was all snuggled up in my parent's bed sound asleep. My mom said he didn't cough once, not once.

Oh how things changed when we got home. Jackson coughed and coughed and coughed. I sat up with him from about 1AM to 3AM. I gave him another breathing treatment and prayed the coughing to stop so he could rest.

And at 3AM I put him back in his crib and the next time we heard him was close to 11AM. As soon as he woke up, we gave him his morning meds and breathing treatment. Even though he slept late, the night was full of interruptions and he was exhausted. By 1PM, he was asking to go back to bed. I laid him down and the coughing fits started again. I gave him another breathing treatment, and he was able to sleep for about an hour and woke up coughing again.

That was it, off to the urgent care we went. Wouldn't you know, that boy did not cough once when we were there. Not once. The doctor thought I was crazy. However, they did do a chest x-ray to be sure the RSV and Pneumonia was all clear. She told us that see could see the scar tissue on his lungs, but the fluid was gone. We were sent home with a prescription for antibiotics and told Jackson has bad allergies.

I did not fill his prescription because in 12 months Jackson has taken 9 antibiotics. That is just too much for his little body.

Monday Jackson woke up 75% better. He slept great, barely coughed and his nose was hardly running. Monday night he coughed for about an hour on and off in his crib. Nothing in comparison to the weekend.

This brings me to Tuesday. We had our scheduled follow-up with Jackson's ENT (it had been a month since we were put on the list of drugs to clear up the RSV) and he was due for a hearing test from his tubes.

The doctor sat with us for a long time. I told her everything that had been going on and my concerns. She sucked out all of his nasal mucus and changed up his medication a little bit. She thinks if we completely dry up his nose, the cough will get better. Everything made sense. We have a maintenance plan list of medications and additional for when he flares up. She ordered a serum allergy test for today to be sure we are dealing with allergies and sent us on our way to the hearing test.

We met the audiologist and she put us in the sound booth. I held Jackson on my lap and she began playing with Jackson outside the booth. Then she started the beeps and training Jackson that if he looks at the box when it beeps, Goofy will appear and dance around. Jackson loved Goofy and every time he went away, he'd say "Oh uh" and would point for him to come back.

When the beeps were loud, Jackson turned his head in reaction to them. However, the softer they got, the less and less he'd look. Then he stopped completely looking in correlation with the sounds. He would just look because a little bit of time had passed and he knew that it was time for Goofy to appear. He's a smart one, my kid!

I'm sure I had hives up to my ears. Holding Jackson and knowing that my sweet baby was not hearing everything I was hearing broke my heart. I never want my son to fail at anything, and I just knew he was failing this test.

The audiologist never said that he failed. She said that they like to see kids his age around a 15 and he scored a 33. I asked her what was next and she said a ABR test. This test is done when they are sleeping (after you deprive them) and they take brain wave measurements for a definitive reading on what they actually hear. There's also a big difference between hearing and listening.

I left there not really knowing what to think when we got home. Mr. was at an LSU baseball game for the evening, so it was just me and Jackson. I put him to bed and buried myself in work. I didn't want to process, I just wanted to wish everything away and for Jackson to be well...Well at 9:44PM Jackson started coughing. The coughing soon turned into gagging and gasping for air. I couldn't give him another breathing treatment because it had only been 2 hours since his last one. So I held him and sang to him and cried for one hour. One hour I held Jackson and just begged for help. And at 10:44PM, he stopped coughing. I put him back to bed and that was it for the night.

I called the ENT on my way to work yesterday and asked for a nurse to call me back.  I just needed to talk to someone.  And at 12:15 my phone rang.  It was our doctor, herself.  She spent an hour on the phone with me talking me through everything. 

First her main concern, Jackson failed the hearing test.  Failed.  We're not sure what he can hear or what things sound like to him.  Failing this test coupled with the fact that Jackson doesn't talk yet is a point of concern.  However, Jackson does dance to a beat.  He knows the pattern of 2-way conversation.  And he follows direction.  I can tell him to throw something away or go get the red ball and he will.  All of these things are good.  We will be scheduling the ABR test asap. 

Next we went on to talk about his list of medication and when and what to give him based on how he's doing.  I feel like I finally have a good grasp on this.  We'll be doing breathing treatments twice a day indefinitely. 

Once Jackson turns 2, we'll do allergy testing.  Today's serum test will give us an idea, and confirm that all of this is due to allergies.  I'm nervous that there's something more going on and we just haven't found it yet.  I need to listen to all the voices in my head, we will get to the bottom of this! I know Jackson has allergies because of the dark purple circles he gets under his eyes, the doctors all call these "allergy eyes".  I just won't rest until I know for sure.

This has just been one hell of a week.  I'm emotionally drained.  I want my baby to be well and to feel good and hear all that the world has for him to listen to. 

I'll keep you all posted, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for the emails, texts, messages and prayers.  I can feel them and it means so much! Please keep the prayers coming!

Read more...

Treatment plan for Jackson

Last Thursday and Friday were cold days for us in South Louisiana. We had a little freezing rain and ice, but nothing compared to pretty much the rest of the country. It was just enough for Mr.'s office to close both days, but not mine.

With that said, Jackson got a clear runny nose and began coughing again in the middle of last week. I figured that he just had a cold. He was sleeping great and didn't seem sick at all. Between the hot and cold weather, everyone's allergies and sinuses were a mess.

But by lunchtime on Thursday Jackson was refusing to eat and had a fever. Lovely. Just lovely. I called our pediatrician's office, but they had closed due to weather.

So I called Jackson's ENT. I had a little breakdown with the receptionist and she got us into the doctor's schedule!

I went home, grabbed Jackson, and went by our pharmacy {which is another story in it's self. they are no longer our pharmacy. Did I mention I'm a hormonal mess?} to get a print out of every medication Jackson has been prescribed in the past 6 months.

The print out of medications was so helpful.  We've been to our pediatrician, the ENT, and a walk-in clinic.  So it was nice to have one doctor take a look at the big picture.   Jackson has been sick once a month since the fall.  He gets a two week antibiotic, he's well for two weeks, and he gets sick again.

Our ENT is sure that this was all due to his ears.  He would have been well after his tubes/adenoid removal, but feel victim to RSV and pneumonia.  Otherwise, his ears are doing beautifully and his tonsils looks great.

When I say that we had such a thorough visit, it's a complete understatement.  The doctor explained everything to me so well and talked through what medications Jackson needed and why! I think she sat with us for close to an hour.  In her opinion, we should have treated Jackson for at least one month and up to three months.  No one told me this, the two other doctors both said to stop once the cough and wheezing stopped. 

Long story short, the steroids and medication he was on helped, but its been a couple of weeks and they've worn off.  Jackson doesn't have RSV again, but his lungs/bronchial are inflamed and basically really pissed off. 

To fix that, and get Jackson totally well, we're now on a combination of two breathing machine/nebulizer medications, twice a day for at least the next month.  We also have two prescription cough medications that he gets orally, twice a day for the next month.  And a singular tab, once a day from now on. The best thing about this plan, it doesn't include one antibiotic!!!

Jackson can't be tested for allergies until he is two, and we will begin that process then.  Hard to believe my baby is 20-months-old today.  That's just a short 4 months shy of being 2!!! Oh time, please please please slow down.

At least I get so snuggle with my sweet boy twice a day for 25 minutes while he gets his treatments:)

this was from last week.  thankfully, Jackson is a creature of habit and enjoys the treatments much better now:)

Read more...

Pear Tree Winner!

Alright lucky girls, Jackson "picked" a winner this morning for this month's Pear Tree Greetings giveaway! Jackson's wanted a football theme for Superbowl Sunday today, notice his shirt and helmet:) Anything to make this sick boy feel a little better, right?!? If you check out the video, you can see that he's obviously not himself. Breaks this momma's heart!


So here's to saying that the first comment never wins:) That may have some truth with random picking, but it's all fair game when the numbers are pulled from a Saints helmet...or fall out and momma goes with it cause Jackson was just not feeling it!

Oh and Jackson expects to get one of the 24 free Valentine's cards:) I'll be sending you an email with your free code!

Read more...

RSV & Pneumonia

My poor baby is sick, really sick.

Jackson got progressively worse all of last week.  By Saturday night he was terrible, and still running fever since last Tuesday evening. Jackson's little teething/cold from Friday had turned into something fierce. He was gagging and gasping for air. His cough quickly turned into a bark, and the wheezing about gave me a panic attack.

On Sunday the breathing treatments were not helping - at all.  I took Jackson to an urgent care and the doctor said that Jackson had RSV and/or Mycoplasma pneumonia. He didn't even run tests of him because he was so "text book". We left the urgent care and headed to our trusty pharmacy for more prescriptions.

More antibiotics, more oral steroids, more breathing treatments.

Sunday and Monday night were rough. Watching your child struggle to breath is so hard. I just want to crawl inside of his body and breath for him. When we woke up Tuesday morning, I went straight to our pediatrician's office. I just didn't see any improvement in Jackson and holding him down for 15 minutes, every 4 hours for a breathing treatment was wearing me down.

Our pediatrician was in shock when he saw us. He could not believe that Jackson's little cold turned into this - He confirmed that Jackson definitely has pneumonia and tested positive for RVS.

Jackson got a big shot of stronger antibiotics in his thigh. Then a stronger steroid breathing treatment...which scared all of the babies in the waiting room. Poor boy had just had enough, not to mention he also had an allergic reaction to the shot in his thigh. So, now we're doing a inhaler instead of the breathing machine, and this makes Momma happy!

After Jackson's pretty traumatic doctors appointment, we dropped off more prescriptions to be filled and then headed to the hospital to have some lab work done. We're all concerned as to why Jackson keeps getting so sick. Jackson was not happy when they had to draw his blood, but luckily the lab was next door to the gift shop so I got Jackson a lot of balloons:)

Today was a better day. The antibiotics seem to be doing their job and Jackson is breathing much easier! We got his blood test results back this afternoon, which just confirmed his diagnosis and didn't find anything wrong or alarming. Thank you, God!

I've been working from home all week, and trying to keep Jackson quiet. The more active he is, the more he wheezes. Surprisingly, I have been able to get a lot of work done. I'm hardly sleeping so I can listen for Jackson's breathing, so I have a lot of time to work!

I can't help but wonder if Jackson's having all of these respiratory issues because he was born 4 weeks early. I hate that my body wasn't able to cook him as long as he needed to be. And although he looked perfectly healthy and was almost 8 pounds, maybe his lungs needed more time.

I'm seriously considering putting Jackson in a bubble, for the next 18 years!

Read more...