Saturday, September 27, 2008

It's been a LONG week and Jackson has not slept in 6 consecutive nights. He started having trouble sleeping on Sunday, and by Wednesday it was clear that he was sick with a cold or some type of respiratory infection. Thursday I came home from work early as Michelle said he was very fussy and just didn't seem like himself. When I heard his horribly labored breathing, I called the pediatrician, and put Jackson on the phone. She agreed that the breathing was labored, and asked me to take him to the Primary Childrens emergency room. Luckily my mom was able to come over and go with me, as Lonnie was in Chicago on business, and I knew it would be a long, slow process at the ER. After being checked over thoroughly, Jackson was found to have bronchiolitis. Here's what bronchiolitis means: Bronchiolitis is a common illness of the respiratory tract caused by an infection that affects the tiny airways, called the bronchioles, that lead to the lungs. As these airways become inflamed, they swell and fill with mucus, making breathing difficult. Bronchiolitis most often affects infants and young children because their small airways can become blocked more easily than those of older kids or adults typically occurs during the first 2 years of life, with peak occurrence at about 3 to 6 months of age is more common in males, children who have not been breastfed, and those who live in crowded conditions. Hopefully this will be the last time that he will have it, but his pediatrician said there could be potential concern for asthma at a later age, but we won't know anytime soon. Poor Jackson is as exhausted as we are, as he has to expend so much energy to breathe that he just doesn't feel like himself. We rotate between milk and Pedialyte, as he has a hard time eating because he is so congested, and we want to be sure he doesn't get dehydrated. In the midst of all the sickness and exhuastion this week, he still made time for smiles and laughs for Michelle. She did a GREAT job this week, and was a lifesaver as I would have had to take work off this week if she was not home with him, as I would not feel comfortable having him in daycare. Lets hope next week goes better, and Jackson is feeling back to his old self soon!