"TttEEEzzz"

Say Cheese Owen.... "TttEEEEzzzz"

This little hunk o' love is feeling MUCH better. He still has some gunk in his chest, but it isn't slowing him down. Kamryn is also feeling like her old self. I, on the other hand, caught some nasty strep and feel aweful but don't have time to let it slow me down. Carson is feeling congested, but caught up on some rest this weekend. For the family that never gets sick... I think we're just getting the winter bugs out of the way before winter actually begins.
Owen just celebrated, sick in bed, his 19 Month Birthday! Owen's biggest accomplishment this month has been talking more. His vocabulary is building and he has alot to say. Just last month he would say "ah" and point to what he wanted. We've been working on actually saying the name of the object or at least saying something other than "ah." Now he'll say "eh" (yes), "ni-ni" (night night), "baaafff" (bath), "toot-toot", "choo-choo" (train), "beep-beep" (oximeter probe, yes he asks for this all the time), and many more. We're working on trick-or-treat and it sounds like "Chi-ch-cheee." It's great to hear his little voice more, as soon as he'll talk on video, I'll get it up here.

Owen has also been working on standing more. I'm pretty sure crawling is never going to be on his to-do list. He can't pull to a stand, but if we help him up, he'll stand for a few minutes before his little thighs shake from exertion. Of course, we also need to find a motivator to keep him standing. He has learned that it's very easy to get out of standing.
We got Owen's Gtube surgery scheduled for September 16th at PCH. He'll be admitted to the PICU afterwards and if all goes well, we'll be home the next day. We're excited to get rid of his NG tube, but at the same time, it freaks me out to have him put under anesthesia when he's in heart failure.

We've been working on planning our vacation to California in October, since we have to go to Stanford for a cardiology clinic. If anyone has any great ideas of beaches, aquariums or restaurants to visit, let us know! We're planning to break up the drive a little this time.. 12 hours straight is not fun. We'll start by driving to San Diego, then up through LA and then to San Fransisco and back. We're excited for this much needed vacation!
Hope you had a great weekend!!

Sicky #2

Guess who was up last night with a fever and a case of the pukies?? Nope, it was not Owen, he slept like a rock. It was little Miss Kamryn. She said she felt tired and gunky when I picked her up from school yesterday. Sure enough, she has the exact same symptoms as her baby brother.

The best part about Kamryn being sick, with the exact symptoms as Owen? She can tell me exactly what she feels! She is only feeling puky because the mucus build up in her chest, not because she's sick to her stomach. She doesn't have any of the "typical" aches and pains you can get with the flu. The congestion is making her feel ick and she feels exhausted.

This gives me an idea of what's going on with the little guy. He has been puking off and on but it does seem it's only when he has congestion built up in his throat. He has been tolerating most of his formula feeds. He hasn't had a fever for 24 hours now either. He did take a 5 hour nap yesterday and proceeded to sleep through the night. Clearly, he's fighting something off, but I do not believe that it is the flu. I've held off on giving him the Tamiflu for the time being since he is doing so much better.

Kamryn on the other hand is acting normal. Congested, but otherwise feels better this morning. She got a "get out of school free" card today, since she was puking and fevery. Is fevery a word?

So today we are forced to relax, the kids will sleep and I will continue to disinfect every square inch of my house. We don't want Daddy to get sick and we don't want these germies hanging around our home.. they are not welcome here.

Influenza A

After a long night of checking O2 sats on the oximeter, cleaning up pukies, and giving tylenol for his fevers... I think we might have a diagnosis. Influenza A.

I took Owen to see Dr Laks (Pediatrician) first thing this morning. We swabbed his throat and nose to rule out strep and the flu. The strep and Influenza B tests came back negative. Influenza A had a very faint positive sign. Several doctors were in debates on whether to really call it a true positive.

Dr Laks said to keep a close eye on him and said it will rear it's ugly head by Saturday. If he gets any worse by then, we need to take him to Phoenix Children's. If he still has symptoms by Monday, we'll do some blood cultures.

Dr Laks just called after she spoke with Dr Stock (Cardiology) and they agreed to start Owen on Tamiflu, just as a precaution. They said to watch for neurological side effects, yikes. Any increased irritability and we need to stop the Tamiflu. Got it.

It goes without saying, that we will be homebound for the next 7 days or so as to not spread any germies to others. I just gave my house the VIP scrubdown!! Owen is sleeping like he hasn't slept in months. I just switched him from clear liquids to regular ol' formula and I pray he won't puke it up. We've had a break in fevers for the last few hours. Maybe he's already fighting off this bug. I sure do hope so.