Home Again

Well, we're back. We'll see how long this time. I have a feeling that we're going to become regulars at PCMC. My "cousin" James joked that we've joined the PCMC frequent flyers club. Miles is already starting to feel somewhat comfortable there. He knows what's going on when we get there. He knows that he has to sleep in a crib, and he knows that he'll get poked and prodded and eat lots of medicine. He is quite the trooper. In the beginning of this whole ordeal, he wasn't very fond of the nurses, but now he smiles and says "hi" when he sees them. There is one in particular that he reaches for and really seems to like. I believe her name is Heather. A couple people there are starting to recognize us too.

So, what can we expect in the future? You know, I really can't say for sure. We're (including the doctors) all pretty sure that this will be an ongoing issue. They are officially calling this asthma. Not much of a surprise considering his family history. I asked a respiratory specialist if this was going to happen every time Miles gets a cold. That is esentially what has caused these past two episodes. He basically told me yes. Eventually, he will most likely be put on an inhaled steroid as a controller medicine. Why not put him on it now? Part of the reason is because they still want to observe him. There is the possibility that this was worsened because he was already in a fragile state due to his recent surgery. They also want me to meet with his physician about options. That will happen either tomorrow or Sunday evening (yes, Sunday, weird huh?). For now, I have been instructed to keep him away from anyone who is, could possibly be getting, or has recently been sick. I have to kick into Nazi mode again. If he gets a runny nose, wheezes, or even coughs, he has to have albuterol every 2 hours for at least 48. Crazy. If it keeps us out of the hospital, we'll take it though.

While at PCMC, I was required to go to a respiratory therapy class. Ben thought that it was kind of stupid of me to go because what was someone going to teach me about asthma? It was very informative though. I learned a lot that I should be doing that will not only help Miles, but will probably really help Ben and I as well. For one, it turns out that a swamp cooler is about the worst thing ever for an asthmatic. That's something that will take a little while to correct. In the meantime, we use a wall unit air conditioner and the super awesome fans that we got from Costco a couple of years ago. Luckily, we're going into fall, so that's good. I also learned that I need to put filters in my heat vents. I didn't even know that that existed. Makes sense though. Apparently, they sell them at Walmart and are pretty cheap. It's also really bad to use a humidifier. Interesting. And if we can avoid much carpet, that would be best. It would be especially important to not have carpet in Miles bedroom. Everyone knows that our flooring needs to be replaced. I'm all for limited carpet. I hate carpet. Too hard to keep clean. My question is this though, is there a way to transition from wood to tile without it looking stupid? I could use advice on this one. We also have to wash all bedding at least weekly in water at least 130 degrees. I also have to get hypoallergenic covers for the mattresses and box springs. In addition to those things, we have to test for triggers by slowly and systematically removing things from his environment like scented candles and hairspray. The biggest thing that they really hammered down was that he cannot be around people who are or have been sick, regardless of severity. In the therapists words, "I don't care if it is Christmas day. If there is a sick family member there, you stay home. You'll probably offend people, but you'll avoid this (referring to being in the hospital)". With all of this in mind, I hope that you will all understand (and I know that you already do) if we are not able to be at everything. We want to be. Believe me when I say I'd much rather be with family and friends than home alone-ish all day every day. And family, I hope that you all understand that with all of the household changes that have been strongly suggested, a big vacation has pretty much been bumped to the bottom of the list. A cabin trip is about where our vacation budget is right now. We just have to prioritize I guess.

Anyhow, this is what we're up against. We'll keep you informed of any changes.

On a super happy note, Miles is starting to wals. I can't even tell you how excited I was yesterday. He yelled, "Hey, mom.." I looked over, and he smiled big and walked about 5 or 6 steps to me. He knew what he was doing. Such a good boy!