Albuterol - He's been getting this for the last two weeks, and since yesterday he's been getting his "nebs" as they call it, first every 2 hours, then every 3 hours, back to every 2 hours, and now back to every 3 hours. Albuterol via a nebulizer is apparently the only truly effective way of treating RSV. There's a shot available, but it costs something like $1k a pop and is apparently reserved for premature babies and the elderly. Incidentally, we've been told that if we have any elderly family members (defined as "80's or so..."), we should probably avoid bringing Ami' into contact with them. As far as I can tell, Albuterol does one of two things: First, it apparently allows him to breathe a little easier; and second, it turns him into a ball of energy. He had his last treatment at 0930, and he's been kicking and screaming ever since. That I am not a fan of!
Antibiotics - I mentioned in my last post that for a fleeting moments the whiz doctors around here believed Ami' had come down with pneumonia. Based on that diagnosis they had started him on an antibiotic, only to terminate that course of action when apparently someone decided he didn't have pneumonia after all.
Steroids - For the next five days he gets (orally) a dose of some steroid that is supposed to open up his airways, thereby promoting better breathing and (not quite sure how...) better expulsion of the 2 tons of mucous he must have sitting in his chest.
On top of that stuff, the Resident requested that he be given an IV. That was later abandoned when they realized that the IV they had initially hooked up was so botched that they would have had to re-stick him, a task I don't wish upon anyone. As it turns out he's been knocking back Pedialyte and formula with ease over the last four hours or so. Based on two rather wet "number 2" diapers, the Resident also ordered that he be tested for Rota virus. I mentioned that he had just received his Rota virus vaccination about two weeks ago and asked that they confirm that they still wanted to run the test (thinking that this would involve another shot). The response was "affirmative, we still want to run the test." Fortunately the "sample" was spooned out of his diaper. Again, not a task I would wish on anyone.
So that's the quick and dirty run down on his latest meds. Stay tuned though - tomorrow they just might pump something else into the poor boy. About the only good news to report is the fact that since this evening he has not had a fever - a significant improvement for sure. The news that he doesn't have pneumonia is also very welcomed, though they've been bandying around another term with alarming frequency - Bronchiolitis. This LINK pretty much sums up everything Ami' has been going through for the last six weeks or so. The most alarming part of the article for me is the section that states that "[c]hildren who have had bronchiolitis may be more likely to develop asthma later in life." Napi has a history of asthma on her side of the family and that was enough to place Ami' at risk for developing asthma. This only pushes him more in that direction and asthma isn't exactly something I want my kid to experience.
