5 prescriptions later...

Took Colin in to see Dr. Queyquep this morning.  We came out with drops for his eyes, drops for one ear, antibiotics for the slight crackles in his lower lobes (trying to ward off a true bronchitis), possibly two nebs for his lungs (wanted Xopenex but it requires a prior auth so we may have to do one or two nebs of Albuterol before we get the Xopenex).  And, we're to give him probiotics twice a day.  Hmm, I guess that's it.

Funny thing is, I thought he was much better today.  I thought we'd just get something for his eyes, which are red, watery and producing a goopy green discharge.  But one ear was full of debris, very wet and retracting.  I asked her what retracting meant in this case and she said that it was kind of pulsating due to the pressure.  Ugh.  And, since he was starting to have some crackles, we want to ward off any secondary infection.  Oh, and his temp was 99.9 at the office and he was still under the influence of ibuprofen, so I guess we'll keep up with the rotating schedule of Tylenol and Ibuprofen. 

As promised, I got him a chocolate munchkin from Dunkin Donuts so it made him happy. 

Long story, but he was supposed to make salsa today during his Unified Arts class with Mel.  But Mel had to cover for a para that was out, so we decided to let Colin sleep in a bit and have Priscilla come at her normal 8:50 time.  He'll get to do his 'cooking' tomorrow.

Casey is off to his outing to the UVM campus to visit the Francis Colburn Gallery (William Science Hall) and the staff art exhibit currently showing at the Davis Center.  I hope he has fun.  It could go either way--you never know with him!!

........................

Casey was nervous when he first got to the gallery but then he settled in.  Julie sent me these pictures. 

He said he was confused about the art.  The picture of the brain interested him but 'confused' him he said.  At least he was commenting on the art, which is what we want :)

It has arrived...

The cold bug has arrived at our house.  Casey has it.  Both Nurse Julie and Nurse Staci came down with colds this weekend (they weren't here over the weekend but were here earlier in the week),

Casey had an ear infection starting around Friday morning...Pretty yucky, some blood and some blobs of mucous came out...so maybe that was his start.  But, he was pretty much fine all weekend respiratory-wise but he was kind of fussy and restless Friday night but slept like a log on Saturday night.  Last night you could start to hear his voice changing and getting a bit froggy.  This morning he insisted he was fine but he was definitely starting to get drippy when he was at school.

So far he's hanging in there.  He's needed more coughing and we're just getting thin stuff out.  Funny how his oxygen levels stay between 98-100% when he's got 'junk in his trunk.'  His heartrate is definitely elevated.  He asked to go to bed early and listen to music so that's where he is now.  He says he feels hot but his temp is fine.  Parts of his body are icy cold while others feel hot to the touch. His nose is dripping and his eyes are watering.   I just loaded him up with some Airborne, Tylenol and some decongestant.  He's listening to the radio and watching America's Funniest Home Videos and humming/moaning/vocalizing like he feels yucky.

I guess it's no school for him tomorrow.  Bummer, because PT and OT were going to work on making a special splint for his switch. 

And, Colin, Nurse Nancy and I were supposed to go in for Picture Day and to try out the evacuation plan.  But, I've heard lots of kids are sick.  (Colin and Casey are in different schools) We could just go in for the pics and the evac and then go home and not go to any classes but still....there's always Make Up Picture Day but that falls in the yuckier sicker season.  Sigh.

On another note.  I went to my primary today about the ringing in my ears.  I've been noticing it lately but I could have had it for years and just not noticed/put it out of my mind.  It's been really bugging me lately though.  We live near a pond and in the summer we can hear the 'peepers' at night when the windows are open.  It's a sound I used to love but now I hear it ALL the time!  Imagine hearing peepers day in and day out.  Not fun.  If I'm really busy I don't notice it much--it's mostly at night when I lay down and I try to sleep.  But it's been creeping into my my daytime life now.

I took a hackneyed hearing test (it looked archaic and one nurse was showing the other nurse so it was kind of weird) which showed my hearing is good.  No ear wax, no fluid.  It's just one of those things that happen sometimes when you get old.  Maybe I'll be lucky enough that it will just go away and not get worse. 

Colin has the 'suds'

From my Facebook status...I want to add this here so I remember when he was sick and how he handled it.  

"It's official. I'm declaring that Colin has the 'suds.' (Amy and other Sponge Bob watchers can relate :) ). So far it's all in his head. He has a headache, lots of oral secretions and stuffy nose. Thankfully, it is NOT in his lungs and we'd like to keep it that way :) Casey will not be going to see Les Mis tomorrow with school. He's going to go out in the community and bring his DynaVox to UPS, shop for shoes and shop in Hannaford's. He'll work on driving his chair in the community and work on some math skills. No need for a power struggle."