The Week of Sickness

What does snot, coughing, and fevers mean?

It means last week was spent nursing my child back to health. Jaycee's combination of sleep apnea, lung cyst, asthma, and heart history means that a simple cold can go straight to her lungs and result in a hospital admission. Not every cold puts her in the hospital, but every cold does cause a temporary change in our schedules.

Here's was last week entailed:
-3 nights of waking up at 2 am or 3 am because Jaycee was sick
-Approximately 32 breathing treatments
-14 nebulizer treatments of hypertonic solution, which breaks up her mucus
-Approximately 29 vest airway clearance sessions...each lasting 20 minutes
-Several doses of Tylenol and Motrin
-5 days of antibiotics
-2 trips to the doctor
-Multiple spot checks with the oxygen saturation monitor

And did I mention I tried to work a couple of days last week too?

Yes, I was tired. It's hard to keep track of all the medications. It's hard for me to relax when I fear Jaycee's breathing could change for the worse at any minute. Yes, there were times I wanted to lay in bed and recuperate myself from the mental strain of taking care of Jaycee while she's sick. It seemed like when I wanted to relax, it was time for me to do another medication. I just had to power through and keep going. It was hard at times. Moms have to sacrifice and do what's best for their kid.

So all of the work did pay off. Jaycee did start to get better without a trip to the emergency room or the hospital, which was a huge deal for the both of us.