Pneumonia

No new picture of my smiling boy to add this time. Just this picture from a few months ago when he was last sick and a note that I have updated his weight (on the frame at the right) to reflect what we saw at the urgent care clinic last night and again at his pediatrician's office this morning. The little guy if fighting the nasty RSV virus which can be pretty serious at this age. He had a little cough on Monday, but by Wednesday he had a harsh, wet cough and labored, fast breathing. A few chest xrays and a nasal swab (not fun for either one of us) and he was diagnosed with RSV and pneumonia. He's on antibiotics and getting albuterol through an inhaler every 4 hours, but he's not out of the woods just yet. The pediatrician said that day 3 or 4 is usually when RSV peaks, so hopefully we're getting close to having the worst of it behind us. But Sammy's mommy isn't sleeping well and she probably won't until she hears him breathing normally again. We go back in to check his blood oxygen level and his chest again tomorrow morning, and hopefully things have improved since the 85 mmHg blood oxygen level we saw this morning. My chest physically aches every time I listen to his deep hacking coughing, and I'm anxious to have my healthy smiley boy back. Sam, as always, is mild-mannered and content. You wouldn't know he was sick except for the cough and the rapid breathing and his desire to be held a little longer at bed time. He still smiles when I hold out a spoonful of peach yogurt and laughs when I sing "How Much is that Doggie in the Window." He's just panting like that little doggie and he pulls his stomach and his chest in and out to get more oxygen. Poor little guy.