Health Updates

Since we've been back, Jonah has contracted pneumonia. Amma also has pneumonia. They both got it around the same time, about last Monday. I'll first update you on Jonah and then tell you what I know about Amma.

Jonah started coughing last Mon. and on Tues. had a fever all day with rapid breathing (tachypnea) and coughing and congestion and Wed. I took him to his dr. He had a 104.6 fever. They ordered a breathing treatment immediately and didn't hear fluid in his lungs but ordered a chest x-ray. As we were awaiting the results of the chest x-ray, I thought about Amma. Dr. Sun (my cousin's husband, a pediatrician) had been keeping me updated on Amma's condition and she was diagnosed with tachypnea (rapid breathing) and then pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital on Sunday or Monday. I was hoping Jonah didn't have pneumonia too. When I described Jonah's coughing and trouble breathing, Dr. Sun suggested I listed with my ear to his back and if I hear fluid in his lungs, I could do percussion on his back for 2-3 min. to help him cough out the secretions. He thought he could have bronchiolitis. I researched bronchiolitis, and it's a viral condition with fluid in the lungs, sometimes confused with pneumonia, which is bacterial.

Jonah's chest x-ray showed the beginning stages of pneumonia in the lower lungs. The dr. prescribed Omnicef, a stronger antibiotic, for the pneumonia, and Motrin every 6 hours to take down his fever and breathing treatment (a nebulizer, humidified oxygen) 4 x a day. He recommended I continue to nurse him, so I do, 7x a day. I asked if he could tell from the x-ray if it's bronchiolitis or pneumonia, and he said they can't tell, but they want to treat it with antibiotics as a precaution. I thought this would be okay, since he's never had antibiotics in his life. This is the 3rd fever he's had in his life, and the second one was when we got on the plane to Taiwan.

I was exhausted, still coughing and weak, not fully recovered from whatever illness Greg and I contracted, so we prayed that the Lord would provide nutrition and asked for help with meals. What a blessing and outpouring of love! Our church organized meals through our Sunday school class and Flock Group and we still have meals in the fridge and more offers for meals. Praise the Lord! Greg, Jonah, and I were able to eat dinner together on Fri. and Sat. and lunch and dinner on Sunday. On Thursday, when I was overwhelmed with Jonah's diagnosis and treatment schedule and sleep deprived, our flock group leader, Theresa Fronius, came to our house and cooked dinner and took care of Chuy and played with Jonah while I took a 30 min. nap. I was able to focus on taking care of Jonah and do his breathing treatments and give him meds while she handled the dog and the food. Her selfless time and gracious efforts encouraged me and made me thank God even more! He provided the nutrition that we prayed for. Jonah's been eating well, 2 meals on Sat., 3 meals on Sunday and a big breakfast today so far!

His fever came down on Friday and I thought he was responding well to the meds because he had good energy and appetite. Sat. morning he woke up at 5:30 just restless so I checked for fever. He felt normal, so I nursed him. Turned on the light at 7:30 and saw a rash all over his face and then saw it was all over his body. I read on the prescription that this was a sign of an allergic reaction to Omnicef, so I immediately called the dr.'s office. The nurse suggested I bring him in to be looked at. Thank goodness that Northpoint Pediatrics has Sat. morning clinic hours from 8-10am. Good thing he had no fever and his breathing sounded good. The rash could be accompanied with trouble breathing and swelling, but he didn't have any of that. Praise the Lord! So they prescribed a new antibiotic that we have to take for another 10 days. The pharmacist said that since Augmentin ES is in the same "family" as Omnicef, that he may be allergic to this one too, but we won't know until his rash clears up, in about 48 hours. So they suggested giving him Benedryl every 6 hours to help with his rash and Augmentin every 12 hours. I was concerned to give him Benedryl too, since he's never had medicine in his life and then when I gave him Omnicef, it caused a rash and an allergic reaction. I've never taken Benedryl, because I have asthma so I can't take it, and I was tired and exhausted and emotionally drained. I had just read an e-mail that Amma was doing worse with her pneumonia in the hospital, just after she was doing better for 2 days, and Dr. Sun thought it could be 1-2 days, it's hard to predict. He wrote that he hopes she has a good "final journey." So I was sad about that too, since I love my Amma and I will miss her so much!

Thankfully, just then there was a knock at the door, Mirriel Chandler, from our Sunday School class was bringing a meal over for lunch on Sat. and I talked with her and she prayed with me too. She prayed that the new medicine would help his body get rid of the pneumonia and that he would not get worse. She prayed for Amma's salvation and that even when she is lying there on her bed that she would open her heart to God and ask for Him to save her. We appreciated her prayers and continued prayers and her delicious meal. She even offered to help me this week if I needed help at home. Praise the Lord the way He provides relief!

Greg and I thought about Benedryl, and I asked others about it, and all said it's very mild and there's usually not a reaction. I thought it could help his rash get better, because we don't want him to have breathing troubles from it, but it could clear on its own in 48 hours. So then we thought, we'll give it to him at 2 and 8pm and then not until the next day when he wakes up. He slept 12 hours Sat. night and we continued to give him the Benedryl. His breathing treatments went well, and his rash seemed to be more blotchy, but not itchy or bothersome. After giving his last breathing treatment of the day, last Benedryl and final dose of the Augmentin, nursing him and putting him to bed by 8:30, I was exhausted. I hoped he'd sleep through the night.

I checked my e-mail and found out that Amma kept encouraging everyone to hold it together and to take care of each other. They were all "tearing", Dr. Sun said. They finally told her that she has lung cancer and she wanted to go home. She's more comfortable at home, so she has her oxygen still but they signed the "no resuscitation" agreement so it could be any day now. I called my mom and told her this, and she didn't know that Amma had pneumonia. I thought she knew that Jonah and Amma had it, and I hoped he didn't because I knew Amma did. The good thing is that Amma does not have tuberculosis, though she thought she did, and I was concerned that we would have to get him tested (in a month, Dr. Laurel Couts suggested).

Dr. Laurel is such a great friend. She and her husband Ryan (Greg's friend from HS) were at Jonah's birthday party, and she was so helpful with him and helped me so much, with cutting the cake and things. I was grateful to be able to talk with her through all of the questions I had for Jonah's dr, that I didn't get a chance to ask him, since he didn't see Jonah, but only the nurse practitioner did. The nurse practitioner added more concern on Wed. when she thought he had hand foot and mouth disease which has nothing to do with respiratory, so it threw me all off, and added more stress, because I knew that this was unnecessary and I just wanted to see his dr. On Sat. when we went in, another nurse practitioner thought the rash could have been viral, and that he could have caught it anywhere. I said, "he's just been at home with me." She said, "you haven't taken him anywhere in a week?" Unbelieving, I said, "no, just here, to the dr. on Wed." I guess she didn't realize that he has pneumonia, and we've been sick. Of course I'm not taking him anywhere. When the dr. at the clinic saw his rash, she thought it was an allergic reaction to Omnicef too, and prescribed Augmentin ES. I love nurses and dr.s and health care professionals, but I'm going to request not to see the nurse practitioners anymore because in these 2 encounters, I've had wasted time and energy and undue stress on Jonah because of their far out misdiagnoses!

Praise the Lord for insight and good medicine and drs. and nurses who take time to listen and think before jumping to conclusions. We're thankful that Jonah is strong and though he's weak during this illness, he's smiling and playful and takes the time to laugh that "woody woodpecker" laugh. It sounds raspy and low and congested, but he still smiles and shows off his 4 teeth!

Back to the present. Jonah's napping now. He slept well last night, woke up at 6:00 to nurse, and his rash was looking better. It's almost gone, not really on his face anymore, hardly on his torso, and just on his legs and arms. It's as if it's leaving his body. Who knows, he may develop a rash tomorrow from the meds, but if he does, we'll know what to look for. I almost forgot to do his first breathing treatment this morning, before his nap, so I did, and then put him in the crib and he sat up and talked to me and stood up, and I looked at the time, and realized it was 10:00 and he probably wanted to nurse. So I did, and now he's resting. I'm so glad he had a good breakfast and some play time this morning. He had diarrhea this morning on the toilet, but it's a side effect of the meds. At least he's getting rid of the pneumonia through his waste. Oh, and that's another thing, in Taiwan he used the toilet, and would hold it until we went to the toilet as best as he could, so we saved a lot of diapers, using 1 or 2 a day. When we came back and he was jet lagged, however, he started using his diaper as a toilet. I knew he'd get back on track when he was back on schedule, and I thought maybe after the pneumonia, but these past 3 days, he's been using the toilet well and is more hydrated.

I just talked to my mom about Jonah and Amma, and she had talked to her sister this morning at 5:30 am. She told my mom that Amma is doing worse and is in the hospital. I thought that she wanted to go home and that she was at home, but maybe it was confusing talking on the phone, and my mom might have heard that Amma was doing worse and was in the hospital. So, my mom is preparing to go back to Taiwan. She's not doing well, and is on medication. She needs to have surgery in Houston soon for her thyroid, but doesn't want to worry about it right now. She may go before the funeral, but otherwise it would be 2 weeks after the death, so she's not sure what to do now. We're praying for her and James since they have a lot going on now and a lot of decisions to make and they're not fully recovered from all the travel.

We're so grateful for our God, the great Physician, he gives us strength to get through each day. We're praying that Amma will be comforted and that she will ask for Jesus to save her. I know that I may not know until Christ comes, but I have a peace that He's in control, not me, and that it's between Him and her now. Praying that my mom will have a clear mind and guidance as to what to do concerning her own health and with traveling to Taiwan again to see Amma either before she dies or for her funeral. Praying that Jonah will continue to get stronger and breath easier and that the meds would help his body to rid itself of the pneumonia. Praying that Greg will feel better today (he woke up feeling sore and like he was run over by a truck or that he did heavy yard work), so he can have a good, full, productive work week.

God is good. All the time. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Praise the Lord for He is good. It is good to sing praises to our God!