Cautiously Watch and Wait

The last few days have been a bit of a struggle. Charlie seems to have caught his first cold. He's got a runny nose and a nasty cough. He's been pretty miserable.

Thursday we called the pediatrician's office to see if there was anything additional we needed to do. Unfortunately, Charlie's doctor was off for the day so we spoke with the triage nurse. Frankly, she pretty much freaked out when I  told her his O2 sats were in the low 70's despite my explanation that this was not entirely unusual for Charlie given his circumstances. I think she was ready to send an ambulance to our doorstep.

I ended up calling the cardiologist for advice. Ultimately we decided to cautiously watch and wait. (This phrase seems to haunt me!) If we would have taken him to the ER they would have admitted him immediately, but they would do the same thing we were doing. Checking his sats, encouraging him to cough, watching for dehydration, and let him rest. And as everyone knows - a hospital is NOT a good place to rest!

The nurse came out yesterday and did a very diligent evaluation of Charlie. He only gained 2 oz over three days which is not very much for our champion eater. So it's clear that his body is burning extra calories with labored breathing and lots of coughing. Plus he's not eating quite as well since he's so congested. She said his lungs continue to sound clear so his coughing is working and he's keeping up with the drainage for now. If the coughing doesn't keep up and the fluid drains into Charlie's chest we'll have a one-way ticket to the hospital.

There has been a tense feeling around the house the last few days. While we certainly didn't think we would avoid all of cold and flu season, it's come a little early for our liking. We are constantly discussing his color, saturations, eating, coughing, breathing, etc. Mom and Dad are on pins and needles...

Oh yeah, then yesterday our big boys came home with a letter saying they may have been exposed to chicken pox at preschool. Because that's what you like to hear when you regularly take your immune-suppressed baby who hasn't been vaccinated yet into the preschool classrooms. Our pediatrician thinks he'll be fine with mommy's immunity from the womb, but it is another thing to watch cautiously.

Please pray that our little man keeps having a forceful enough cough to clear the mucous out and that he doesn't somehow end up with chicken pox. And prayers for mom and dad's peace of mind would be appreciated too...See More