At Least The Pediatrician Is Close By

This morning, Raquel woke up very happy and looking much better. But as the morning progressed, she became very congested and was coughing a lot - to the point where she was choking. When I was unable to feed her lunch without gagging, I called the nurse at the pediatrician's office to see if she recommended a decongestant of some kind. She could not because Raquel is under the age of 4. What she did recommend was bringing her right in to have her oxygen count checked again. So, I grabbed her shoes and off we went - fortunate to get the last appointment before the office closed for lunch.

Raquel wasn't very cooperative with the blood oxygen test. It seems simple enough compared to other tests she's had done. They just attach a little device to her finger and after about 45-seconds have the results. If she's cooperating, that is. Today, the doctor tried both hands, both feet, and her earlobes to no avail. I finally had to turn on my cell phone and play her music, while pinning her down with the other arm so she couldn't move. We finally got a reading of 95, just one point higher than the test taken on Tuesday. So, the doctor wanted to give her an oxygen treatment and then do the test again.

What good times that was. They placed her in my lap and I had to literally put this oxygen mask over her mouth and nose for SEVEN minutes, while she kicked and screamed and scratched. It seemed like an eternity. Once that was done - and she was beyond upset - we had to wait another ten minutes for the oxygen to get working in her system. She was too upset to participate in another oxygen test, but the doctor heard a loosening in her lungs and phoned in a prescription for an inhaler so I could pick one up on the way home. She was too upset for me to stop and the reality is I don't know how the doctor thinks I'd be able to give her one - have her inhale, hold for 10 seconds, then exhale? Not. I have to pin her down just to do nose drops!

The oxygen treatment did seem to help. She was breathing much better this afternoon. Tomorrow morning I take her back to the pediatrician - my 4th day in a row of being there - so she can make sure her lungs are healing the way she had planned, and give her another oxygen test. Wish me luck...