Keep On Keepin' On

Last week I had the pleasure of spending some one-on-one time with Matthew.  I hate that a lot of my one-on-one time with the kids comes because of doctors appointments, but...what are you going to do?!?!  We take what we can get in these busy times and try to make the most of it!

So Matthew and I headed out of town to his annual allergist appointment.  After several years of these appointments I've learned to keep my expectations in check and to take a "wait and see" approach.  The first year I thought his allergies would all be gone and I was so upset when it turned out they hadn't. The doctor suggested that Matthew may have outgrown his egg or milk allergy enough to try a food challenge (where they feed him tiny amounts of the allergen to see if he reacts).  But he had the skin testing done and sure enough, all the bumps appeared.  And they were all still huge.  Still allergic to eggs, dairy, peanuts and tree nuts.  Nothing has changed, and we will just keep being vigilant to keep him safe.  We will keep on keepin' on, and we will pray that next year we will finally see change!

I was really glad we were going to see the allergist actually because he is also the doctor that manages Matthew's asthma.  For the last couple of years, his asthma has steadily been improving and hasn't been much of a concern.  But in the last month we have noticed him struggling more, coughing a ton at night, and in the week before the appointment he had woken up in the night four times coughing so hard.  One time he coughed so hard that he threw up :(  And two days before his appointment, we had a very scary episode.  I heard him cough a couple of times, then he started to kind of yell.  I thought he was going to be sick so I grabbed a bowl from the bathroom and ran into his room.  He was making a funny noise and I tried to put the bowl in front of him, but he smacked it out of my hand and started trying to say something.  He was shouting, "I need....I need...." but he couldn't get any more words out.  I realized with a start that he could not breathe.  He could not breathe even enough to get the words out.  I ran and got his inhaler and after I gave it to him he started breathing normally again.  It was so very scary and I made him sleep on the couch with me for two nights just so I could be close to him.

Thankfully seeing the allergist helped.  We now do a breathing treatment in the morning and at night (and will for a while) and he is much better.  Phew!  Breathing issues are scary.  I'm so glad that we have access to good medical care and medicine that can help him.  I'm so thankful to be the one waking up at night to take care of him.