SICK. That has been the word of the day around our house for the last few weeks. It all started about 3 1/2 weeks ago when I noticed Addison getting a really bad cough. At first I was worried about RSV. With her being a preemie I knew she was at high risk for it. I called the doctor to ask if I should bring her in and the nurse said that they wouldn't really do anything for her if she had it except to watch her closely to make sure her breathing was ok.
Taking 3 kids to the doctor is quite the chore, and I didn't want to do that if they were just going to tell me to go home and watch her closely. So I decided to just keep a close eye on her at home. A few days later her cough was worse. Especially at night when she would sleep. It was an awful hacking that sometimes ended with her vomiting. One night she was coughing so hard she choked and stopped breathing. Luckily I still keep her right next to my bed, I flew out of bed and yelled at Chris to get up and grab the sucker. We sucked all the junk out of her throat and she was ok. Our nights were long. I wasn't sleeping. She would have a coughing fit about every 20 minutes and I would immediately wake up and be on full alert in case she had more troubles. On top of all of this I noticed her thrush was back. We had had enough. I called the doctor, packed up the kids and in we went.
While we were at the doctor Addison wasn't coughing much. I was trying to describe the cough to the doctor but was doing a poor job. It was hard to describe just how awful her cough really was. He listened to her lungs and said they sounded clear... (thank goodness). He was just about to send me home with some thrush medicine thinking Addison just had the common cold with a bad cough. I had her lying on the table getting her dressed when she went into a coughing fit. The doctor immediately turned around and said "OH, that is a scary kind of cough".
Addison has whooping cough. When the doctor told me, all my mommy panic sensors went off. They had warned us about whooping cough in the hospital, wouldn't let me leave til I had the vaccination. The nurse who came to our home told us to have ALL adults who would be around her vaccinated. She told me it had already killed 5 babies this year. She warned it would be very dangerous for Addison to have. She explained that adults can have whooping cough but show no symptoms at all (except for ins some cases a persistent mild cough) they then pass on that cough to infants, who it is deadly to. Her awful Acid Reflux was making it worse, because she had so much junk already in the back of her throat. The doctor tried to be reassuring but it didn't do much good.
We left the doctor with 4 prescriptions, quarantine orders, and a teary eyed mom.
We are blessed to have such amazing friends and family. The day after we found out there was a huge fast in Addison's behalf. How grateful I am for the power of fasting and prayer. It is real. I know it.
It has been a long three weeks. The quarantine orders were for Addison's sake. ( She was not contagious after the first prescription was finished) but the doctor warned if she got any other sickness on top of this cough we would be in a bad situation. Whooping Cough has about a 6 week recovery time. So we are on the backside of it and hoping to kick it completely before Jenny come home from her mission on the 15th of December.
Addison coughs less now. The nights are getting easier and a little less interrupted. We feel blessed she is pulling through this without any of the major side effect that can come with it.
And sick or not, she is still one of the cutest babies I know.
The kids have been such great helpers. Addison had needed lots of attention from me. And since we can't leave the house the kids have been left to entertain themselves at home. It is times like these that I am SO GLAD we had them 18 mo. apart. They are such great friends and play together so well. I have come downstairs several times to find them played a new made up game. They have built houses out of couch cushions and played school with all the stuffed animals. They have just been so great and such good helpers.
Kaden was helping with Addison while I folded the mounds of laundry that had piled up.
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