sickie strikes again

I honestly cannot believe that we have come down with a cold in the middle of summer. Really? What crazy thing has happened in the germ world to cause this many sickness in one year?

Sickness never really overwhelmed me with Eloise. Okay, well maybe it did but I wasn't a crazy person when it happened. I'm crazy now.

Since Lily's last cold in which we discovered she has Viral Induced Asthma, I knew that the next cold would be a bit stressful. But I didn't expect it 6 weeks later and in the middle of July!

Yesterday when she started having symptoms, I knew. She barely slept last night, and did the whole gasping for air thing. They gave us an inhaler, which I'm glad I had filled in advance (I got a free $10 gift card at Target) because I needed it at 3 a.m. last night.

We had to take her in again this morning b/c she wasn't responding to the meds. Or rather, her mother wasn't making her scream long enough to inhale them properly. Her levels were low, but not as low as before (probably b/c I didn't wait as long to take her in). We now have an action plan. I have an asthma kid that needs an inhaler everyday and SHE HATES IT! Screaming bloody-murder hates it. But we need to do it twice a day. If she sails through the next cold without an attack, we are okay. If not, further treatment is needed.

The good things. This asthma is not the kind to develop into full blown asthma. And it's also the best trigger (colds) to have. It's treatable and will just take some patience and time. It's not a terminal illness, but one with a few inconveniences.

Here's what I've learned. RSV as an infant doesn't just last for that particular cold. Lily was diagnosed with RSV at 10 days and every subsequent cold is a continuation of that. I am now very aware of when I, or my children, have a cold and if there is an infant within 10 feet. I used to brush it off and think, "oh, it's just a cold", but who knows what it could turn into.

What I am thankful for. God is a good God. He gives me patience when there is no way for me to muster it up on my own. (my girls were in rare form today) He gives grace for the impatient mom who yells at her kids when they don't deserve it. For a husband who lets me sleep when I'm weary and the cuddles from two busy girls who never stop moving. God is good and I'm thankful that he gave me the strength to get through today.