For the past week, Grace has been waking up in the middle of the night coughing. She stays up from about 2 in the morning on and coughs the rest of the night. She's been miserable and exhausted (though you wouldn't know it from how much trouble she's still making :) ). We tried humidifiers, saline, the doctor's meds, etc., and nothing has helped. The doctor at the Urgent Care had told me that the phlegm in her lungs from the RAD could take a little while to come out, but this was getting ridiculous.
So, I took her into the doctor today, and her pediatrician was extremely worried about her: fast pulse, low oxygen, lots of effort to breathe. After a breathing treatment, Grace improved a little. The doctor was pretty sure she had asthma (said there was no way she had RAD), but wanted to get a chest x-ray to make sure.
We got the chest x-ray (cute story below about this), filled up on her breathing treatment meds, and headed home. As soon as we got there, the doctor called. She told us that the radiologist had found a "foreign body" in her right lung, and wants her to go to a Pediatric Pumonologist ASAP. At first I freaked out... what does a foreign body mean exactly? Scary stuff.
About two seconds later, I realized exactly what the foreign body was: a peanut. Choking on peanuts is what began this whole coughing-wheezing-breathing problem thing to begin with. And her having aspirated one into her lungs makes complete sense. So much sense.
I feel so horribly, terribly guilty. How could I have let her walk around for almost 2 weeks with a peanut in her lungs? How could I have given them to her in the first place? I have been reading about how many children die from aspirating a peanut... I had no idea. How could I not have had any idea? Her (prior) doctor had even suggested nuts to us as a healthy (fattening) snack, as long as I watched her. I had no idea that they were so dangerous. They are! Do not give your children peanuts until they are 4. I've read a gazillion baby books... how did I miss that fact? Everyone else in the world seems to know it. How uncomfortable has she been with it there? I can't even say just how bad I feel. My poor girly-girl!
Hopefully, she will get into the doctor tomorrow (cross your fingers) and we can find out how to get this taken care of. The craziness just never ends here. I wonder what it would be like to be normal for once. :)
So, we will keep everyone updated on that.
And needless to say, there will be no more peanuts allowed in our home. :)
Now, onto the cute story: At the radiologist, the tech had Grace sit up to the plate (no idea what the technical name is), and wrap her arms around it, so she could take the xray. She told Grace she was going to take a picture, and it would be over soon. Grace's face just lit up at the word 'picture.' She put both of her fists under her chin, tilted her head, and gave the cutest smile ever. The tech just cracked up, "Not that kind of picture, sweetie, but you are very good at that." Even with a foreign object in her lungs, she's still a ham.
Good to know.
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3 comments:
Alison, sorry to hear about Grace. As soon as I heard I gathered the kids together and we said a little prayer for her...and for you and Michael. We hope all goes well.
Also, Amanda was telling me about Adam's warts. I wanted to tell you about something we found that was helpful for Gage. I researched on the internet and found that freezing them off and alot of things found in the drugstore are not helpful...and sometimes painful. Several people suggested something called "Wart Stick". It is only $6.99 at Walgreens and we think it's great. It looks like chapstick. You just rub it on and cover it with a band-aid. His wart was gone after only a few weeks and never came back!
Allison, you ARE a good mother, because you don't just take the doctor at his word and wait and wait. When it isn't working out, you make sure you pursue until they find out what the problem is. You have helped Grace, just like you did when Adam was a baby. A Grammy like me is just so glad her grandbabies have a wonderful mommy like you!!!
My brother has had worts on his hands befor and the doctor thought that it had to do with sweaty hands. You could have Adam wash his hands more offten. Also I have heard that Ducktape (Yeah it works on everything)keeps the air away and in a way suficates the worts. Its suposidly makes thim disapear. Dont know but you could try.
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