Much Better!

Isaac is feeling much better since being on antibiotics. His lungs still sound wheezy on both sides, but we will continue to work on that with neb treatments. He had fun today trying out his new firetruck that he got for Christmas!

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year!! I know I will because it's my birthday!!

ER Visit

Well Isaac never had his Ear, Nose and Throat procedures done today. I had to cancel because he was sick all weekend. I'm hoping that 3rd time is a charm and maybe we can finally get it done in 2011. I rescheduled the procedures for January the 10th. (Shh, don't tell Isaac! )

While we were making dinner on Christmas Eve his heart rate went up to 175 beats per minute while he was just chillin' in the bed. I knew that meant trouble! By Christmas morning his temperature was high and he was very congested. He wasn't his happy and smiley self. The nurse came over in the afternoon so that we could go to a family party....a much needed break, I was so exhausted!! We had a blast, but when we came home the nurse said that his fever was higher. He also needed 4 liters of oxygen while sleeping.

By Sunday morning, he was lethargic, pale and his urine had a strange smell to it. I decided that it would be best to take him into the ER. I requested a urinalysis, chest x-ray and trach culture. His urine and chest x-ray was questionable. It looks like sisters cold got the best of him and in the meantime he acquired a urinary infection. The doc sent us home on antibiotics. Isaac is already regaining his color and not having the "in the zone" look on his face. Hopefully he will be back to his smiley self soon!

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!! I haven't spent much time in blogland lately.....we've been busy around here eating, cooking, wrapping, shopping, watching Christmas movies and hanging out in our PJ's. There are many festivities planned the next 2 days starting with dinner with my Mom and presents, breakfast at my in-laws and more presents and then a big family party at Sam's relatives house tomorrow night. Isaac is joining in on all of this, except for the party. He gets pretty tired in the evening so he will hang out with nurse J. They will have a good time watching "Frosty The Snowman" together and playing with his new toys.

After Christmas, on the 27th Isaac is going under anesthesia to have some ENT procedures done. We tried getting these done a few months ago, but the anesthesiologist sent us home because his Potassium levels were critically low. Now his levels are within normal range so we are ready to give it another try. He will have a bronch, ear tube replacement and a look at his nasal passages (because he only drains on 1 side). Big sister is getting over a chest cold and he seemed more congested yesterday than usual, but I'm hoping that it's nothing to worry about. I will be sure to update on how it all went.

Have a Merry Christmas!!

It's Here!

And we even got the canopy too!

It's Not Scary.....

That's what I tell Isaac about the Christmas tree, but every time I put him next to it he gets really scared. You can see the look of hesitation on his face. He rolls over to the other side, but sometimes I catch him rolling halfway over just to take a quick peak at it. Silly boy!
I feel bad for him because he can't enjoy the tree or certain toys because they scare him so much. I can't blame the guy for thinking the world is a scary place. I mean, he's been through some scary stuff his short little life. The sensitivities are definitely neurologically related though. He simply can't handle loud noises, bright lights or new textures. His therapists have been working with him on this by bringing him quiet toys. We noticed that if they bring toys with bright colors he associates them with loud noises. Last week his teacher brought white cotton balls for him to pick up and place in a bucket and he wasn't scared of those at all. The OT has suggested that we start a technique where we brush his arms and legs. Here is a description of what we are doing. We're supposed to do this several times a day. We do what we can, especially with Isaac's full medication schedule. Autumn has lots of fun doing this for her brother and she likes making him VERY sleepy.

Just For Smiles....

My adorable little Santa having fun in the stander..............

Snow!

We have so much snow here, I've never seen anything like it this early in the year. It's beautiful and fun, but with a medically fragile child there are just a few things to consider. We need to have a game plan if the power goes out. Luckily he uses liquid oxygen at night, but we have to make sure that his other equipment is charged at all times. Getting him transported him to the nearest Children's hospital if we need to could be challenging too. Luckily we only live 20 minutes away. Some other things to think about are if the nurses will be able to get here or if they will be able to leave. During the big snow in December '08, we had a couple of nurses stuck here for awhile. One even had to sleep on our couch until Sam could get her car shoveled out!

So far, so good.

Here are some pics of our winter wonderland. Autumn and Brownie were playing on the deck last night and had a blast!
Our swing set over the weekend.
Gotta love a man who shovels snow with a smile on his face!
This morning after ANOTHER snow storm. The snow is getting heavy and icy.
Isaac has the right idea. He stayed indoors and snuggled up with his sister and a good book.