Bronchitis and Pneumonia

In late October, Amelia developed a cold with a persistent cough. The cough was intermittent throughout the day and much worse at night. We tried natural honey cough medicine, Vick's vapor rub, steamy baths, etc. The cough worsened to the point of her vomiting. One Friday night she woke up wheezing and we had to rock with her downstairs. Thankfully our children's clinic has Saturday sick hours. I scheduled the first available appointment.

Despite being up most of the night, Amelia was excited about our mommy-daughter date. She sat in my lap and we read most of the books in the waiting area. We played games in the doctor's office while waiting for the pediatrician. It was all fun until she had another coughing episode. She was barking and gasping for breath. 

I was naive to assume Amelia had a bad cold and the doctor wouldn't be able to do anything. The pediatrician came in and said, "I've been opening every door, trying to find the source of the coughing. She needs a breathing treatment!"

Amelia took her breathing treatment like a champ. She was initially frightened by the mask, but I told her Jackson would be jealous that she got to be Darth Vader. That made her smile.

Amelia perked up even more when the doctor told her she could take her new panda bear backpack (aka the kid's nebulizer) home. I was relieved insurance covered it.

We left the doctor with a diagnosis of walking pneumonia and bronchitis. We were instructed to do the breathing treatment a minimum of 3 times a day for several days.

Unfortunately, our morning excitement did not end with the doctor's office. We had taken a friend's van that we borrowed for the week. The van would not crank. I ended up having to call Jesse to pick us up and the friend had to get his van towed and get a new ignition switch.

Amelia and I ate brunch at Waffle House (because the office was already closed, it was cold outside, and we could walk to the Waffle House). The waitress made her a special Minnie Mouse waffle.

Amelia continued to have a rough weekend, but the breathing treatments provided immediate relief. She was happy to give herself treatments because they made her feel better. (The antibiotics proved to be more challenging to administer!)

The masks were too small to fit her without her having to hold them in place. We quickly switched to the apparatus that goes directly in the mouth. (I asked Jesse if he knew what it was called. He immediately said, "a bong?")

It didn't take long to kick the bronchitis and pneumonia out of her little system. I'm so thankful it wasn't worse and we didn't have any scary emergency room episodes. I know to pay more attention to persistent coughs now!