As the day progressed she got slowly worse, and by the time we saw Doctor Naiker it was obvious to him as soon as he saw her that she wasn't well. He looked over Sophie first, clearing her of the slight infection that had been rising on Tuesday and recommending we just finish the course of antibiotics and she should be fine this time. Then it was Ellie's turn.
Her ears are clear at this stage, and her throat. Surprising, because until her grommets go in she will be highly susceptible to ear and throat infections. But that's not our problem. The problem is her chest. Last week when Doctor Naiker saw her she had a slight rattle and wheeze but he didn't think it required antibiotics, and we both thought it was just the tail end of her illness. She had kept getting better each day until this morning. Now though, she has serious congestion, which is causing an almost constant wheeze and the horrible sounding rattle. Underneath that creaky grin, our Ellie is one very sick girl.
He prescribed a course of antibiotics, and also a three-day course of prednisone. We have used pred-mix a lot with Sophie in the last two years, so I know how amazing it is, and I know Ellie will be breathing much easier in a day or two. But the use of the steroid, and the new chest infection, put us in doubt for the next operation date. It's all down to Ellie now. Can she shake this in time?
She's been sick for three weeks now, and I have to admit I'm a little anxious. Not because of her symptoms - I'm a pro at chest infections, throat infections, ear infections, thanks to Sophie - but because she isn't staying better.
When Sophie was eight-months-old she got a simple cold. And for the next 17 weeks that cold got worse, until she was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. That was the beginning of her long and scary journey with a reduced immune system. Sophie can't fight off the simple viruses that cause the common cold, and they run rampage inside her, turning into infections and pneumonia at the drop of a hat.
It's been scary watching Sophie get so sick, never knowing if that runny nose was going to put her in hospital. And now I'm worried that Ellie will have the same problem, which is the absolute last thing she needs on top of everyone else. I can only imagine how hard recovery from surgery would be if she had a faulty immune system.
There's no test that can tell us if the girls have the same problem, all we can do is wait and see. Tonight she is struggling to breathe and very upset and uncomfortable, but the pred-mix is doing its job. Please, please please, let Ellie get better. Let her have enough good guys in her body to fight this off and keep her healthy.
No comments:
Post a Comment