Summer... almost!

The kids are out of school now! I am so looking forward to a schedule that is not packed so our family can enjoy spending time together.

I have to work on Tuesday :( and then we head to the beach! My side of the family is going to Nags Head this year --- there will be about 30 people there at various times throughout the week. It's always a blast --- crazy, but a blast!

Last Monday afternoon, Zach started running a fever. Once we got his fever down, he acted fine. Tuesday, he stayed home with Daddy and he ran no fever so we thought he was ok until 5pm when it started again. I took a look at his throat, which looked like he had 2 red-hot fireballs (you know the hot candies?) stuck back there. When I saw that, Zach did tell me that "his tongue hurt". The child hardly ever complains! I declare that he does not feel pain the way other children do, with all that he's been through. Anyway, I took him in on Wed. mornint and the dr. said his throat looked "impressive" but the strep test came back negative. She decided to treat him with an antibiotic anyway because the strep test is only about 90% accurate. He seems to be back to his old self again and was able to finish out the week at school.

So now, as a reward for taking such good care of Zach, I am the one suffering with a sore throat and now a "like-a-faucet-runny-nose" and sneezing. UUUGGGHHH! I woke up at 5:30am and could not go back to sleep. I kept trying to sneeze but could never get it out. My eyes are watering and watering. Please pray with me that everyone else can stay healthy for our beach trip.

Also, I have a couple of other prayer requests... Our neighbors, Jo and Al, have a new grandbaby. They knew something was not right all during the pregnancy but the possible diagnosis changed with each doctor's visit. He was born on Thursday, and they know he will have surgery sometime because his esophagus and stomach do not meet. I do not even know his name yet, but you can pray for Carter and Amy, his mom and dad. Many of you with heart babies know how they are feeling right now.

Also, please pray for Emma and her family, who go to church with my mom. I think Emma has the same heart defect as Zach and she had surgery on Thursday. I do not know any other details yet but will update when I know more.

Hope you have a blessed Memorial Day Weekend! We have so much to be thankful for in our country and we owe so much to those that made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and those who are serving us at this moment. Remember them this weekend!

Dancin' Fool

Click on the link to go to Zach's 4K blog --- scroll down to the last item in the latest post to watch a video.
This is a video of Zach on a field trip that their class took this week to see "Mr. Al".

http://prek4a.blogspot.com/

So, I guess you might can tell from the video, but Zach's side/arm is feeling much better. The Tylenol did not help all that much but Dr. Raunikar recommended ibuprofen, which is better for muscular/skeletal inflammation, which Zach has not taken since he was a toddler because of nosebleeds (ibuprofen thins the blood). Nonetheless, it really has helped a lot and he has not had a nosebleed yet. :) It is good to know that we have another option for a painkiller/fever reducer for him. He complained the other day when I picked him up under his arm, so I think it is still tender, so we are continuing to dose him for a few more days. All we can figure is that whatever position he was in during his cath caused him to have soreness.

Now that we are through with the flu season (it was raging for a few weeks around here!) and we have gotten through Zach's cath, we are going to take Zach back to Sunday School in the morning. It will be so good to have all 4 of us in church together again!

Hope you are all having a wonderful Spring weekend!

Mystery Bug - Be Gone!!!

We really thought Zach was on the mend after my last post but he started coughing more and more on Thursday --- and had a fever over 102 Thursday evening. We called and talked to the answering service and the doctor advised that if we could not get his fever down to take him into the ER. Fortunately, we were able to get it down with Tylenol. Daddy slept with Zach in the recliner so he could be sitting up more.

Friday morning we were on the phone at 8am and got an early appointment. The doctor we saw always seems to listen more aggressively to their lungs than any of the other doctors --- he had helped Rebecca last Fall when she had allergies with a cough that would not quit. We may switch and start seeing him regularly. Anyway, he could hear something going on in Zach's left lung and bronchial area. They tested for RSV (another nose swab) and tested for walking pnumonia (another finger stick) but they were both negative. Nonetheless, he prescribed Azithromax, a steroid, and breathing treatments (he cleared this with our cardiologist first).

Coughing MORE is not Zach's idea of getting better --- unfortunately that is exactly what these meds are doing. Helping him get the gunk up and out. Bless his heart, he could not get to sleep for coughing last night. We tried him sleeping in our room. He had coughing fit after coughing fit so daddy took him to the recliner. Still more coughing fits. Did I mention that each coughing fit results in Zach gagging and sometimes hurling? So, Mommy slept on the couch next to the recliner so she could help manage cleanup. Not a fun night.

Oh, and did I mention that now I have a sinus cold??? Sigh.

Despite my whining, we do have so much to be thankful for. God is so good and I am trying to keep an attitude of gratitude. First, I have to go blow my nose.

We are getting ready to get all the Christmas decor down from the attic. Zach keeps asking when we are going to put up the tree, so maybe the excitement will help him feel better. Pictures later of our progress...