More doctor appts . . .

Matthew has had a cold pretty much non-stop since November. Last week his cough became worse and he spiked a fever on Wednesday night of 101.5. I called to get him an appt with his pediatrician, but she wasn't in so we saw another doctor. Matthew was very fussy and this doctor didn't handle it very well. I'm not sure why you would choose pediatrics as your speciality if you can't handle a crying child. Okay - I'll get off my soap box. Matthew's oxygen saturation was in the 60's and the pediatrician was convinced it wasn't accurate but it made me nervous. He sent us on our way and told us nothing was wrong with Matthew. This wasn't a good enough answer for me. Matthew hadn't slept through the night in several days and would cough all night with a very barky cough. We went to see Kelly in the PICU and found out that Matthew had a double ear infection and croup. While we were there, they checked his saturation and blood pressure and they were okay. She gave us a couple of prescriptions and some comfort in having her check him over. Kelly is used to seeing Matthew and knows him as well as anybody having her check him gave us some peace.

Matthew's cardiologist called later that day to see how he was doing and gave me his cell phone number to call anytime we are nervous or scared. He was nice enough to tell me that if we ever have problems with another pediatric visit and don't feel like we are getting good care to call him and he will check Matthew for us. I can't say enough about the exceptional care we have received at the Children's Hospital and from his Pediatric Cardiologist. We feel very fortunate to live this close to a great hospital.

Matthew had an echo and everything looked great. Dr. Hasselman was a little concerned with Matthew's coarctation, but they were able to get a good view and could see that it was wide open - Thank God. Unfortunately, Matthew's blood pressure was high and his saturation was lower than his normal so Dr. Hasselman decided to recheck him on Wednesday when he would be feeling better. Craig took Matthew in yesterday and his blood pressure was still high and his oxygen saturation was 76. He "normally" runs around 84 - since his second surgery anyway. He is a little puzzled why this happening. He thought maybe the steroids Matthew was on may have caused the blood pressure to be high so we are waiting 2 weeks and we're going to recheck it again. Matthew was taking a blood pressure medication but we were able to wean him off it this summer. Dr. Hasselman mentioned we may need to restart the medication again but he would prefer to give it some time and recheck it when he is over this bug. He has no answer for the lower saturation level and indicated that he isn't going to be too concerned unless it drops more - Craig thought he saw some concern on his face in the office. So we will recheck it in 2 weeks too!

Short story, Matthew has high blood pressure and low saturations and we are not sure why. Craig and I are a little nervous and some what anxious for answers but we know he is receiving great care and they are doing their best to keep an eye on him. I have no idea if he could need his next surgery earlier than anticipated or if that is even possible. His second surgery happened much earlier than any of us were prepared for. We will wait and see if things are better in two weeks and try to hold off on the worrying until we know something is wrong.

I know one of the nurses in the PICU told us, "Welcome to the roller coaster ride of your life. You will have many ups but you will also have many downs." Wow, was she ever right. Just when you are sailing along something happens but the ride has been worth every up and down just to have Matthew with us.

I hope I haven't sounded too negative, I had to write to get some of the weight off my shoulders right now. I try not to worry but that is a lot easier said than done.

On an up note, Matthew has really mastered walking and is all over the place. It is so cute to see him waddling and climbing. He really knows how to work his charm. You should have seen him working all of the staff at Dr. Hasselman's office. He was getting anything and everything he wanted. He would randomly point at things and they would give it to him. He would flash that big smile and they would find something else to give him. What a stinker! Although, he knows how to work me too - he is a little bit spoiled and don't tell Craig, but I will admit that I would be the guilty party for this. I just hope and pray that I haven't created a monster. But who can resist that smile :)

We will let you know how things go in two weeks. Thanks for listening to me. I feel better already. Please keep Matthew and his doctors in your prayers so we can figure out what is going on.

Have a great Super Bowl weekend - Amy