Another Rough Night...And Day

So apparently Robben is not better after all. Last night Todd called me at volleyball practice to tell me that Robben was wheezing. Then, on my way home, he called to ask me to pick up some pedialyte because the vomitting had resumed. The coughing was constant, which leads to wretching. I ended up sleeping (so to speak) on the nursery floor to keep an ear out for him. He coughed every 5-10 seconds until about 2am, then I laid him on the floor with me for a while, then put him back in bed around 3. We slept then until about 7am. Then the coughing resumed, with some wretching, which produced nothing because he had nothing left to give up. Poor baby. I called Dr. Mojibi when her office opened and they said they could see him at 10:50. I'm not kidding you, we were there until 4:50! Dr. Mojibi checked him out, which is not an easy task considering he doesn't want to be held down or physically controlled in any way. It took 3 of us grown women to hold him down long enough to get an oxygen saturation reading. And listening to his breathing was close to impossible. She couldn't get a positive reading on anything so she gave him a breathing treatment (albuterol) and had him rest for a while while she saw other patients. When she came back in, she still wasn't satisfied with what she could determine, and didn't want to treat him for the wrong illness, so she ordered a chest x-ray. We then went over to Sierra Imaging, where we proceeded to wait for 2 hours. I suppose that was lucky, because they already had a full schedule but they put us in line anyway. Finally, at about 4, I went to the front desk and told them I had to get the pictures taken and make it back to the doctor's office before they left for the weekend. So they took him next. Why, if they can just slip someone in like that, didn't they do it sooner when he was hacking and screaming and I was bouncing him around outside for upwards of 30 minutes? Anyway, a miracle occured when we laid him down for the x-ray: he was perfectly still. They said he was a perfect angel, which I agree with, but they should have seen him at Dr. Mojibi's office!!! So once they got him into the x-ray room, it was only about 5 minutes. Then I headed back over to Dr. Mojibi's and as I was walking in, the radiologist called...

Diagnosis: Bronchiolitis & pneumonia!!

Prognosis: He's already on amoxicillan for his ear infections, so that should take care of the pneumonia. Beyond what can be treated with antibiotics, he just has to ride it out. The nurse said it usually clears up very quickly. If he gets worse, he'll have to go to the hospital for oxygen, etc.

Treatment: Keep him as comfortable as possible. Stay on amoxicillan for illnesses, Motrin for pain and fever - supplementing with Tylenol when necessary, and add an inhaler. He will be taking breathing treatments every 4 hours for as long as the coughing persists.

I think Robben has a new most-dreaded activity!

Let me tell you how lucky we were in all this. Robben is currently uninsured. His medical ended on 2/28, and I had an application in to Anthem Blue Cross. It was taking much longer than promised, and today I got notified by email that he was denied! Denied! Why? The email said they've sent a letter stating their reasons, but I can't imagine any good ones. The only issue he's had was his prematurity, and there have been no repercussions from that. We'll see, but Todd's done with the whole thing. We're just going to put him on the major medical plan we have for everyone else and pay the regular doctor fees. So today, in addition to seeing Dr. Mojibi, he had an x-ray and more medication prescribed. I was thinking it was going to be a couple-hundred-dollar day. Here's where we got lucky. The x-ray only cost $78!! And then, Dr. Mojibi's nurse found a sample of the inhaler AND the little attachment thing to administer it to babies. They had expected that alone to cost close to $100, so we all rejoiced! I left the office - last one out - very happy with the care I received, as well as the consideration for our finances. And Robben was just glad to be leaving!!!

And as if to add insult to injury, he developed a diaper rash this evening :(

Even when the little man is deathly ill, he's still in great spirits. This is a blessing and a curse: it makes it difficult to know when there's something wrong.