One Case of RSV – No MRI’s – Plenty of TLC

What a week! Tru had two very crucial appointments scheduled this week. Today he was to be seen at Kennedy Krieger for his “third opinion” for treatment options for his leg. Tomorrow he was to have three MRI’s performed to learn more about his spine, knees, and ankles (among other things) to prepare for any and all upcoming surgeries.
Well Tru had other plans!
He has had some cold symptoms since Thanksgiving week. While it seemed to linger I kept an eye and ear open and he seemed fine. But when I picked up Tru from school on Tuesday I thought I detected a difference in his breathing. Then in the car I could hear every breath he took. With each breath there was a loud rattling and then he began wheezing. So I picked up Lin-Ley from school, fed the kids dinner, and dropped off Lin-Ley at Aunt Diane’s (Jody’s co-worker and family friend) house. Tru and I arrived at the hospital emergency room at 7:30PM. Long story short – he had four breathing treatments, three x-rays, and was diagnosed with RSV. I had heard of RSV before but was not familiar with it. The nurse simplified it as an adult sized cold in a baby’s body. Tru was sent home at 1:45AM with oral steroids and a nebulizer for at-home breathing treatments.
Back to Diane’s house (now it’s 2:00AM) to retrieve Lin-Ley who I’m sure would be long asleep. Nope – she had not been asleep yet and apparently as soon as I closed the door to Diane’s house she had declared that she was starving and asked Diane what she had to eat. For six hours she and Diane snacked, watched cartoons, talked and played with Moe-Moe (Diane’s dog). There was no rest involved!
Of course five minutes into the ride home the kids were both knocked out. I brought each one in and put them in their beds fully clothed.
My mission – get Tru well so that he can keep his appointments later in the week.

Today – two days later – Emergency Room – Take 2:
When Tru woke up this morning he was wheezing worse than ever before. I gave him three breathing treatments and it did not seem to help. I called his doctor and spoke with the triage nurse. She told me with his symptoms to get to the emergency room quickly. So we took Lin-Ley to school and headed back to the emergency room.
Tru was acting just as cheerful as ever and charming the nurses. In walks the doctor and examines him including his ears. While examining his ears I thought that the doctor was being a little rough (granted – Tru is a true wiggle worm and a very strong one!). Tru was screaming and the doctor announced that he had just scratched Tru’s eardrum during the exam and blamed it on Tru for not being still. Hello – he is 2 years old! Tru was then miserable and turned into a totally different child. He was inconsolable and finally cried himself to sleep. I brought Tru in to be healed and the doctor’s first action was to give him more pain. I know it was an accident (that could have easily been avoided by not shoving an instrument into the child’s ear) – but I was mad!!
Back to the point… They gave Tru two breathing treatments. The wheezing somewhat subsided and then the doctor told me, “Well apparently the breathing treatments do not work that well for Tru.” You think?? I was ready to leave then and luckily Tru was discharged within a few minutes of the doctor’s revelation. We will follow up with Tru’s pediatrician tomorrow.
Unfortunately all of this emergency room action meant that we had to cancel both of his appointments for this week. It took over a month to get both appointments and I spent most of last week fighting, arguing and pleaded with my insurance company to get the appointment at Kennedy Krieger approved. Hey, I’m up for some more arguing!

In other medical news:
Tru had his first surgery on Nov. 20, 2007. He had two procedures at the same time but nothing to do with his leg. It was…… boy stuff. Let’s leave it at that. The surgery went well and he is doing great. The anesthesia really threw him but around 2AM the following morning he snapped out of it and was ready to play. He is a trooper! Here is a photo before the surgery in his little hospital pajamas. After the surgery – not so happy!

And now a declaration of love:
Wednesday morning (the morning after Tru’s first E.R. visit) I was giving him his first at-home breathing treatment. Lin-Ley heard the nebulizer running in Tru’s room and she heard Tru screaming (he hates the treatments). She ran in, saw what was going on and said, “Mom! Stop hurting Tru! I love him!” I explained that I was not hurting him but helping him breathe. She thought about it for a minute, started coughing and said, “Oh. Well I’m sick too. Can I have a turn next?” Ah… love….