Sick... again!

The past two years of Jackson's life have been a roller coaster to say the least! Even though we have a very happy and beautiful child, little man has had a rough road health wise. When he was three months old, he contracted RSV, a pretty typical childhood virus for daycare babies. Basically a really bad chest cold, it causes a ton of respiratory problems and leaves the lungs more susceptible to asthma, etc.

Well, after months and months of Jackson being sick, and using the nebulizer and steroids daily it seemed, the doctor thought we should take some action. We had tubes put in and adenoids taken out in December of 08, which was supposed to keep the infections down, thus alleviating his respiratory symptoms. Unfortunately, though he hasn't had an ear infection since, it did nothing to stop the on going infections and respiratory problems.

We were so frustrated!!! We finally decided to visit a pediatric pulmonologist, and we could not have been more relieved. Not only did we find a doctor who was aggressive, but we found one who wanted to leave no stone unturned. After diagnosing him with severe asthma, he also had a battery of tests run. All of which revealed that not only was his asthma bad, but he was also aspirating his liquids directly into his lungs and he has reflux!!!

Once we had all of that diagnosed and we were finally treating the right things, we thought Jackson would finally turn over a new leaf and he would learn how it feels to be well! Once again, we hit a road block - we just could not stop the on-going infections. And every time he had an infection we found ourselves in respiratory duress and Jackson taking more medications than can be counted on two hands. Just as we would finish one treatment plan, two days later he would contract something else.

This past June, they decided it was about time to take a more invasive look at what was going on with Mr. Jackson. They put him under to complete a bronchoscopy, pH probe and sinus CT. Not only did we find out Jackson's reflux was worse than expected, but we also learned that the sinus cavity behind Jackson's left cheek was completely filled and infected with the right sinus not far behind. There was just too much infection to fight with the antibiotics and steroids we had been using. They decided to put in a picc line and give him 28 days of a heavy duty antibiotic, rocephin. By the end of July, we finally had Jackson well, for the first time - EVER!!! We were relieved.

The relief, unfortunately, was short lived. Just three short days after Jackson returned to school, he came home with a stomach bug and fever. Then the next week brought snot. After that only lasted a few days, we thought Jackson's system was finally able to handle a normal cold. Then a few days later, more and more snot! After about ten days, we took the dreaded trip to the pediatrician, where we were sure she would tell us that he has yet again, another sinus infection. And in fact, she did diagnose a sinus infection and put him on 21 days of antibiotics.

She gave us a huge warning that this season already, she has seen more kids than ever. She urged us to take Jackson out of daycare, for fear that his system will not be able to handle the cold/flu season this year. Basically, what she did was scare us to death!!!

Of course, Jackson waits to get sick until Trenton is scheduled to leave for a business trip. He was feeling much better and the fever had finally subsided by Wed. Trenton came home Thursday night to find a much healthier, yet stir crazy, son at home. Since we had our first sonogram scheduled for Friday morning, we decided that we would drop off Jackson at daycare for just a few short hours - sort of a test run. After just a few short hours, we got a phone call from school... Jackson was throwing up!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?We got him home and a fever reappeared, so surely caught some sort of bug.

Though the throwing up was short lived, he just wasn't himself and we had to stop the antibiotic for a day. He is on his way back up again, but who knows how long this will last. We have no other choice financially right now than to send him back to school - but both Trenton and I agree something has to change. Lets just hope we can keep him healthy enough while we figure out an alternative to daycare!!! Prayers are welcome!