August 29, 2010

Wednesday:

Well, Monday and Tuesday were a bit of an adventure for us. After the nurse left on Monday, Michael had ... a spell? We aren't sure what it was, but he sounded off on his O2 monitor every minute for 40 minutes. This was not one continuous alert, but repeated alerts where Michael's O2 levels would drop too low, he would recover, only to drop again. This is not uncommon for short periods of time, but 40 minutes is unusual. We called the emergency after hours line at the pulmonologist (as well as the insurance company) and Megan had to decide whether to take Michael to the emergency room or wait until the next day to see the doctor. It was a hard choice, but we thought it best to wait. We had no night nurse Monday night, though, and Michael continued this breathing pattern almost the entire night. A few times we almost did pack up to go to the hospital, but in the end we stuck it out to wait for the doctor. Needless to say, only Michael slept on Monday night.

The doctor is not entirely sure what triggered Michael's O2 levels. It may have been related to his increasing reflux, or he might be getting sick. They tried a nebulizer treatment, and it seemed to have beneficial effects on his lung sounds. The pediatrician tried another one on Wednesday, with comparable results. So, this will be a new regime to add to our daily routine, along with a new reflux medication added to the one he already takes.

In the meantime, Michael is sleeping soundly today. He is almost lethargic. This may be more of the same or it might be that he is relaxing because of the benefits of the nebulizer. We will have to wait and see.