Coughing, Itching and Teething - Oh my!

Unfortunately it has been a little while since my last post. Despite my intentions to post every week, it just doesn’t seem to be working out that way. I have been unable to sit down for enough uninterrupted time to type out the happenings of the past little while.

Things have been hectic. I guess that is becoming the story of my life. Matthew has been sick for several weeks now. He started with a runny nose Aug 22. He had a sporadic cough. We figured it was just another cold; all the babies at daycare had the same symptoms. Two weeks passed and he didn’t improve when all the other babies got better. After almost 3 weeks, I carried him to the doctor. They found that he had an ear infection just beginning. So he started a course of antibiotics. He never let on that his ear was bothering him. His demeanor during the whole sickness has been pretty good, except at bedtime. When he was over halfway through his antibiotics, his cough got significantly worse. He sounded like a barking seal. So back to the doctor he went. Poor little guy was diagnosed with the croup. Not sure where he picked that up from, but anyway. We added a round of steroids to help the swelling of his vocal chords. He took his medicine like a trooper.



Then later that week, when I went to nurse him at daycare for lunch, he had these splotchy red welts on his face. The welts seemed to grow and multiply while I was there. His teacher confirmed my suspicions – hives. So off to the doctor again we went. At this point there is no way to know for sure what caused it – antibiotic, peaches (his new food), or something else he came in contact with. So we added benadryl until they went away. Needless to say we stopped the peaches for now. During my examination of his hives I discovered something – his first tooth! It is a sharp little thing. He won’t let me see it. Every time I try to look he hides it with his tongue.



I can't believe that he wasn't crabby with the congestion, coughing, ear infection, breakout and teething. But his attitude was his normal sunny disposition, thank goodness.



We have also been pretty busy with Brian’s mom. She was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer a few weeks ago. Brian spent pretty much a whole week at the hospital with her when she was first diagnosed. It was touch and go for a few days, so we carried Matthew up there to lift her spirits. His visits were short because his patience was short and we didn’t want him exposed to too many germs with all that was going on with him.

She is now home waiting to start chemo and radiation. The doctors feel that if they treat it aggressively, then maybe it will work since it has spread to only a few lymph nodes. We are all hopeful that the treatments will work and that she is able to handle the treatments. Chemo and radiation are very tough on the body for healthy people. Cathy has been sick with other ailments for a while, and I pray that she is strong enough to go through the cancer treatments. It makes me very sad for Brian to have to endure this. And I am equally sad that Matthew might not get to know one of his grandparents. I was blessed enough to grow up with all four of my grandparents. I even have memories of one of my great-grandmas. Grandparents are very special people. They are a source of wisdom, stories and love. I want Matthew to have what I had.