RSV, Bronchiolitis and Ear Infections... OH MY

It's been a hectic week at the Brink household. It all started last week when Collier developed a cough. The following day, Noah ran a fever and slept majority of the day. By Friday evening, both boys were congested and coughing. GREEEAAAT. Could the timing have been any worse? I think not. We were supposed to be leaving the following day for Birmingham, where we would spend the next 3 weeks while Noah participated in the physical therapy program at Children's Hospital. Not just any therapy, it's like physical therapy boot camp and you need to be feeling 100% in order to get the maximum benefits. We've been on the waiting list since March 2010. When they finally called me in Novemeber to schedule which month we could participate in, we decided February would be best because Collier would be 3 months old. And now both boys are coming down with colds?

We decided to continue on with our plan and head down to B'ham and hope for the best. It was obvious that the boys were both feeling bad but I just kept hoping and praying that Noah would be better by Monday, his first therapy day. Jamie headed back to Florence with my parents on Sunday afternoon and left me and the boys with my aunt at her house. When Collier woke up from his nap that evening I discovered that he had a 101.6 fever. My aunt and I both started getting worried... I finally found an after-hours clinic where we could take both of the boys to be seen. The verdict was that Noah had a bad cold with a horrible sounding cough and Collier had bronchiolitis and an ear infection, however they didn't test either for RSV. After 2 hours at the clinic and another hour trying to find a 24-hour pharmacy, we FINALLY got home a little after 9pm. I barely got 3 hours of sleep that night and Noah was supposed to have his first therapy session the following morning. Around 5 that morning, after having been awake for over 2 hours, I decided it would be best to cancel his visit since he wouldn't feel like therapy. Thankfully, my aunt had taken off work with plans to watch Collier. Instead, we both spent the day caring for the boys... Collier cried all day long, and only napped for an hour the whole day. Noah was running a fever on and off and was feeling pretty pitiful. Jamie decided to drive back down to Birmingham to help us out, thank goodness! That night, Collier cried until 11pm when he finally settled down and went to sleep. The next day was just as bad, except I noticed Collier was doing a little crackling sound when he breathed and Noah was still running a fever, would barely eat, and was throwing up almost every time he coughed. Around 1pm, I called our pediatrician's office to tell them what was going on with Collier and they recommended we have him checked out again. At that point, I decided I just wanted to see OUR doctor at home so we made an appointment for 4:30 and Jamie and I THREW every bit of our luggage in our cars as quickly as possible, and headed home. We made it home just in time for our appointment and they did an RSV test, which came back positive. She told us that since it's so contagious that Noah most certainly had it too. Three days later, they are finally feeling some better but both still have terrible coughs and congestion.

Since Noah isn't 100% he will miss this week's therapy visits in Birmingham but we are going to let him do the remaining two weeks. However, we have a new game plan... instead of me and the boys staying in Birmingham the full two weeks, Jamie and Noah will drive back and forth while Collier and I stay home. I have been devastated at the thought of Noah not getting to do this program, especially since the next time they could get us back in would be July! I'm so happy that Noah is feeling much better now and I think he'll be feeling even better and able to give it his all next week. I'm a little sad that he's only getting to do two weeks instead of the full 3 weeks, however, it's better than nothing. Plus, there's a chance that they will work us in to do another 2 weeks at a later date.

Today is Jamie's first day back at work and I honestly don't know WHAT I would have done without his help (and my aunt's help on Monday). One sick child is hard enough, but two? I know I'm going to have to get used to it because this won't be the first time that they are both sick at the same time, however, it's hard to comfort and care for two sick ones when you only have one lap and two arms! Our week has been spent doing breathing treatments, suctioning little noses, cleaning up throw up (from all the congestion), distributing lots of different medicines, and rocking, bouncing and cradling little ones. I have washed my hands at least 20 times a day and it'll be an act of God for me to not wind up sick.

After all of this sickness we've dealt with I'm debating keeping the boys as close to home as I can (even no church) until it warms up and the chance of catching another sickness decreases. I've had ENOUGH of this cold weather! Plus, it's just way to risky when you have a young baby... and 2 sicknesses in Collier's short lifespan of 3 months is 2 to many if you ask me.