Friday to see if he is better. The pediatrician thinks he may be a little asthmatic, which is why colds seem to always go to this chest. We are now using a nebulizer more frequently with him. The viral meningitis, was probably his most scary illness. Chad came home from work early last Friday to help me out and noticed that Henry's soft spot was really swollen. I took him the pediatrician and they decided that it was most likely viral meningitis from his cold. Overall, he was doing okay and not running a fever so they told us to watch him closely over the weekend and we went back in on Monday. By Monday his head was much better, but he sounded worse and the cold was definitely in his chest. He seems to be breathing better now, so we are hoping he will get a clean bill of health tomorrow. Chad and I were expecting a few illnesses in the house as Josie ventures out more and is around other kids, but had no idea it would hit us so hard. We have pretty much been operating in a fog. It is a little harder to deal with these kinds if situations in KC since we don't have Gramma or a babysitter in the same town. Gramma Scott did come help us for a couple of days before spring break, which was great, but we definitely need to find someone here that could help us out from time to time. Josie had another busy week with doctor's appointments. We had her follow-up swallow study yesterday to see if the airway operation improved her ability to eat. The study showed that thickened liquids are still penetrating into Josie's airway. This was disappointing in that we were hoping to be able to move to regular liquids and do away with all the thickener. They wouldn't even try normal consistencies after they saw the penetration with thickened. After the swallow study, we saw the ENT who did the surgery. Overall, she was pleased with Josie's breathing, but also disappointed in the swallow study. Josie has what is called a laryngeal cleft, which means that there is a slight opening between her esophagus and the voice box, which allows fluid and food to enter the airway. This is specifically what the doctor was targeting with the foam injection that Josie had in January. It basically fills that hole, so that liquid and food cannot enter the airway. During the appointment, the doctor also took a look at Josie's ears and tubes. Low and
behold Josie had a terrible ear infection during her cold last week that we didn't know about. She perforated her ear drum again and her tube fell out. Poor kid. This had to hurt for a long time. She didn't run a fever or mess with the ear to give us any sign that she was fighting an infection. This is the second time she has done this in her left ear, which is the good one. Now, we are scheduled to go back in three months to see if the hole in her ear has healed. If it has, the doctor is going to schedule Josie for a new tube and also do the foam injection again in her airway to see if it helps the cleft. Overall, Chad and I were both hoping for better news, so it was disappointing. The folks that conducted the study did say Josie's airway appeared safer than the last studies, so we are at least making progress. This weekend we are headed first to the lake for a Dora birthday celebration for Josie with the Stewart's and then to Pittsburg for a Backyardigan's celebration with the Scott's:) It is hard to believe Josie is already two!! It is exciting to think about the possibilities and growth the next year will bring her. I'll share some bday pictures in the next post!
