It's March! Spring is so near, I hear more and more birds each day. It's quite lovely...and then I remember what last spring brought. Four months of sickness. I'm hoping it won't be nearly as bad now, since Killian is on daily medications.
March starts allergy season - trees to be exact. Last year, right around his birthday, we thought he had a cold. Any virus, cold, sickness, etc. lasts a little longer in Killian's system - he's just not strong enough to fight it like the rest of us. He would be sick for 2-3 weeks, finally get better for a week and get sick for another 2-3 weeks. It was pretty frustrating - exhausting. The sneezing and coughing ALL night. Humidifiers, vaporizers, honey, cold medicine, saline drops, oh yeah! Then the poor thing had croup cough! How could I forget that?! Yes, it was mid to late March and we had a 60+ degree day. I called the pediatrician (after I called my mom, who was right) and the Dr. said she could hear him in the background, definitely croup. She gave us some suggestions - the steam shower to cold outside, freeze pops...the problem was it was too WARM out. She said if he had breathing problems (unlikely) to bring him to the ER.
In great Killian style - 2 am he was wheezing horribly! Reminded me of myself when I had asthma attacks after a big race. We tried outside, like I said - too warm. Who knew? it was March! I remember I hadn't slept in 2 days, Killian had very little...off to the hospital we all went. They gave him steroids to open his airways and said in the future to bring him outside in the cold. I kindly (as best I could) informed that it was 62 degrees outside. I checked the bank on the ride there.
Ahhh Spring!!
I worry when, and if, Killian will become immune to his medicines. He's been on this triple med - daily dose since June. It's definitely working! During the winter, we stopped the nasal spray - he ended up with a sinus infection and an ear infection 2 weeks after that. He had only been off the spray a couple weeks. The we stopped the anti-histamine for 2 days before he awoke with red, itchy, watery eyes. Last week, his steroid for the nebulizer ran out and we had to wait 2 days for the refill. That started up a cough. I hate having him so dependent on all of these meds. And these are just the ones to KEEP him healthy! When he does get sick, he's on so many more. As a child, I was never sick. I had perfect attendance every YEAR until my teen years. This is just not something I'm familiar with. Throw the food allergies in there and my head is spinning! I'll just say he gets his picky eating habits from me.
It was great to hear the dietitian tell us how well he eats because we didn't think so. On top of the life threatening dairy allergy, and being a picky eater, Killian still avoids many foods he wasn't able to eat with the peanut and egg allergies. So we worry. That day, Tony dropped us off and parked the car so we wouldn't be late - Manhattan, you know. We started and a few minutes later, Tony came in. I had JUST said "he's very tall for his age, but he's also very thin. I just want to make sure he's eating well enough." With that, Tony walked in. The dietitian chuckled. If you know my husband you also know he's 6'2" and slender. Muscular and thin. JUST. LIKE. KILLIAN. The dietitian took one look at him, chuckled and said "I would agree and worry too, until seeing your husband!" Okay, so maybe I worry too much? I think we already covered that, ha! Sometimes you just need someone else to say or point something out before you believe it, I guess! I instantly felt some relief but she indulged me and asked about Killian's daily eating habits to be sure he wasn't just thin from a lacking diet.
We left feeling pretty great! And we also realized it wasn't Killian - it was us. He's a slow eater, but really just at dinner. We have sat for up to 2 hours a night fighting with him to eat. She finally told us it's our responsibility to decide what, when and where he eats. It's Killian's responsibility to decide how much. That was difficult, not going to lie. Especially since he heard and understood every word she said to us. He now had the power! BUT, it's been great! We throw out less food, we clear the table in less than an hour (easily) and most importantly, no screaming, crying and fighting at the dinner table. He understands if he doesn't finish, that's all he gets until breakfast. His weight hasn't changed but his and our habits have. She complimented us on his diet and our several meals together. We were a bit puzzled about that part, but again - Manhattan - I don't know how many families slow down to eat together there...?
Aside from not eating much egg, the dietitian pointed out he gets fruits, veggies, grains and a protein in almost every meal. High Five for us, we weren't expecting such a great visit! He's tall and skinny, like his dad, so what. He's healthy! I feel like that's not something we get to say a lot. HEALTHY. Behind the meds and the allergies and the asthma our boy is HEALTHY.
I'm looking forward to the Spring because I can let him run a little more without having the cold steal his breath away. Walking from school to the car these past frigid months has sent him into coughing fits. That's bundled up, with a scarf over his face. Walking. Spring and summer hopefully will mean just keeping up the steroid treatments and lots of baths at the end of the day. I didn't allow him outside all summer on days the grass was cut, or at least during the time the grass was getting cut. I'm hoping that was just paranoia. He was on the daily meds by then, but it was our first time with the new seasonal allergies. It's hard. Fresh grass pollen - gets all over you while you run, roll around and play outside. I didn't know if that would trigger asthma too. Hives? I still don't know, we played it so safe last year. Now that we have a better idea of what to expect and we also know how to handle things - I think I'll let him play outside MORE this year. Killian certainly gets his days in the sun, but I shouldn't have him on lock down because Tony or a neighbor mow the lawn...
I just want to move. Where there's no cold air to close his airways, little to no pollens to make him sick....hopefully he'll grow out of some of it. If not, I hope Tony and I do a good enough job for Killian to transition right into it, as an adult, and not feel the sadness and frustration that we have.
I think I'll close with a true Killian-ism! He just makes me so proud - why not end on a happier note:
A couple of days ago, Killian had a snow day so we went to the Bounce House at the mall. There is a GIANT slide, but you first have to climb the inflatable "rock wall" to go down it. A younger boy, I'm guessing between 3 and 4, was on the wall. I wasn't paying attention but I heard the boy's mom yell to the dad "He did it!! He did it, looks he's up there!" About 10 minutes later, Killian came over and said to me "Momma, did you see that little boy that was climbing?" I didn't...but I said yes. "Well! He wanted to climb but he was scared so I said 'If you just imagine it in your brain and say you can, then you can!' And he did it! He climbed up!" Proud Momma Moment brought to you by Killian!
No comments:
Post a Comment