Last Friday afternoon, Ethan's teacher called us and let us know that it seemed Ethan had an allergy attack at school. She said his eyes were swollen and red, and she didn't want us to be shocked when he got off the bus. His eyes were better by the time he got home. One of his eyes was red around the edges of his eyes, but no more swelling. He has had some sneezing in Springs past, but really not anything big.
Over the weekend, he also had a couple of nosebleeds during the night. We gave him some Benadryl over the weekend to help with the allergies, but on school days, that isn't a good option since it makes him sleepy. I have a message in at his pediatrician's office to find out what he can take that might not make him sleepy. I never try over the counter meds with him without first checking with his doctor. He is on so many daily meds for seizures, reflux, and asthma, I just don't want to add to the meds without a doctor's advise.
I grew up with allergies, and still take daily meds to control my allergies, so I expected that one or more of my children would have some allergies. Ethan is the only one that does. Sometimes I just wish my sweet little Ethan would catch a break!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Long Time, No Blog! LOL
Wow, it has been a long time since I blogged. Ethan has been doing great with his gtube feedings. He likes to snuggle up in his beanbag chair and watch a movie while we do his feeds. He just watches us do it, and then when his feeding is done, he either snuggles in to watch his movie, or jumps up and starts running around the house. We went to his 8 week post-op check up and they showed me how to replace his button if it should come out or Ethan pulls it out. It really is very easy, just a little disturbing to see a hole in your child's tummy.
Ethan has been remarkably healthy this winter, and there is no doubt in my mind it is mostly due to his better nutrition. His moods are better and he has more energy. His little cheeks have gotten so chubby! =) He has only had one bad cold, and when he was congested and gagging when he was eating or drinking, he still had nourishment with the tube.
Ethan's little brother Noah just had a very bad week. He had strep and ran a fever for 5 straight days. One night at 3 am it was actually up as high as 104.8! It took a change in his antibiotic to get the strep under control so the fever would finally subside. Praise the Lord, no one else in the family got the strep.
This week is spring break, so all the boys are home with me. Ethan came to me several times in the last couple of days crying and wanting me to put my hands over his ears. He did this about 3 weeks ago when he had an ear infection. I was sure since he had finished his antibiotic for the ear infection about a week or so ago, and was wanting me to hold his ears again, that the infection had not cleared up. Ethan is still non-verbal, so we have to rely on his body language to try to figure out when he is hurting and where. I called his pediatrician's office and got him an appointment to check his ears. It wasn't his ears at all, it was his throat that was hurting. The doctor said his ears looked great, but his throat had lots of little ulcers on it. It is a viral infection, not the strep that his brother had. So, it will just have to run its course. This is one of the most frustrating things about Ethan's autism to me. I just wish he could tell me where he hurts instead of us trying to guess.
Ethan is very lucky to have had the opportunity to attend Special Equestrians in Alabama for the past several years. It is a theraputic horse riding facility about 30 minutes south of us in a town called Indian Springs. He LOVES riding the horse every Saturday morning! They have spring, summer, and fall sessions each lasting about 9 weeks. The spring session just started a couple of weeks ago after a long winter without riding. It is such a blessing in all of our lives. His little face just lights up when you ask him if he is ready to go ride his horse. I believe if anything can make him talk, it will be the horse. They have many great volunteers and some decicated staff that have been trying very hard to get him to say his first words. There have been at least a couple of times that the side walkers have told us that he has made the "G"sound in go when they as him to tell the horse to go. I will never give up the hope that I will one day hear him say the words "I Love You, Mommy." Please take a moment to click on the link above for Special Equestrians above and watch the You Tube video on their webpage. It will bring tears to your eyes!
Thank you Lord for the gift of Ethan. We have and will continue to learn so much from him.
Ethan has been remarkably healthy this winter, and there is no doubt in my mind it is mostly due to his better nutrition. His moods are better and he has more energy. His little cheeks have gotten so chubby! =) He has only had one bad cold, and when he was congested and gagging when he was eating or drinking, he still had nourishment with the tube.
Ethan's little brother Noah just had a very bad week. He had strep and ran a fever for 5 straight days. One night at 3 am it was actually up as high as 104.8! It took a change in his antibiotic to get the strep under control so the fever would finally subside. Praise the Lord, no one else in the family got the strep.
This week is spring break, so all the boys are home with me. Ethan came to me several times in the last couple of days crying and wanting me to put my hands over his ears. He did this about 3 weeks ago when he had an ear infection. I was sure since he had finished his antibiotic for the ear infection about a week or so ago, and was wanting me to hold his ears again, that the infection had not cleared up. Ethan is still non-verbal, so we have to rely on his body language to try to figure out when he is hurting and where. I called his pediatrician's office and got him an appointment to check his ears. It wasn't his ears at all, it was his throat that was hurting. The doctor said his ears looked great, but his throat had lots of little ulcers on it. It is a viral infection, not the strep that his brother had. So, it will just have to run its course. This is one of the most frustrating things about Ethan's autism to me. I just wish he could tell me where he hurts instead of us trying to guess.
Ethan is very lucky to have had the opportunity to attend Special Equestrians in Alabama for the past several years. It is a theraputic horse riding facility about 30 minutes south of us in a town called Indian Springs. He LOVES riding the horse every Saturday morning! They have spring, summer, and fall sessions each lasting about 9 weeks. The spring session just started a couple of weeks ago after a long winter without riding. It is such a blessing in all of our lives. His little face just lights up when you ask him if he is ready to go ride his horse. I believe if anything can make him talk, it will be the horse. They have many great volunteers and some decicated staff that have been trying very hard to get him to say his first words. There have been at least a couple of times that the side walkers have told us that he has made the "G"sound in go when they as him to tell the horse to go. I will never give up the hope that I will one day hear him say the words "I Love You, Mommy." Please take a moment to click on the link above for Special Equestrians above and watch the You Tube video on their webpage. It will bring tears to your eyes!
Thank you Lord for the gift of Ethan. We have and will continue to learn so much from him.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
We Couldn't Wait!
My parents and I were watching Ethan run around in their backyard yesterday, and were commenting on how he looks like he is filling out already. We went ahead and unwrapped the scale he was getting for Christmas. He has gained 8 pounds in the 23 days since his surgery!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!
Friday, December 18, 2009
What a Difference a Little Time Makes!
Ethan is doing so great since his surgery! The site is no longer sore, so he doesn't mind the tube feedings at all. He just relaxes in his bean bag and watches cartoons while we feed. We can already see a difference in his mood and energy level! We are so glad we finally decided to have the tube placed. We avoided it and avoided it until he was sick this fall with a simple cold and wouldn't eat for three days. He was so lethargic and gaunt after that until he was able to keep food down again. We knew it was time. When Ethan gets sick with a simple head cold, it can be very bad for him. He can't clear the congestion and when he eats or drinks, he starts coughing, then gagging, then everything comes back up.
Ethan's last cold was I think in October, and that is when we began the proccess of doctor's appointments to place the g-button. We were very lucky he wasn't sick during the process and especially at surgery time! He woke up this morning very congested, coughing, and gagging. We feel so much better knowing we can now keep him nourished solely through the tube until he can eat by mouth and keep food down again!! No more going three days without keeping anything down for our sweet angel! No more worrying about dehydration and having to go to Children's Hospital ER to see about IV fluids! Hopefully with us being able to feed him with the tube when he is sick, he will get better quicker since he will be stronger.
We haven't weighed him yet to see what he has gained so far, but we he will be getting a scale from his Nana for Christmas. I can't wait to see what he weighs!
Ethan's last cold was I think in October, and that is when we began the proccess of doctor's appointments to place the g-button. We were very lucky he wasn't sick during the process and especially at surgery time! He woke up this morning very congested, coughing, and gagging. We feel so much better knowing we can now keep him nourished solely through the tube until he can eat by mouth and keep food down again!! No more going three days without keeping anything down for our sweet angel! No more worrying about dehydration and having to go to Children's Hospital ER to see about IV fluids! Hopefully with us being able to feed him with the tube when he is sick, he will get better quicker since he will be stronger.
We haven't weighed him yet to see what he has gained so far, but we he will be getting a scale from his Nana for Christmas. I can't wait to see what he weighs!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Ethan's Hospital Stay
Just a few pictures I took while we were at the hospital having Ethan's G-Button Surgery.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Surgery Over!!
Ethan had his surgery today to place his feeding tube. He did great! He was in some pain at first, but hasn't had any pain meds in almost 10 hours now. He is being such a little trooper!! We will be at the hospital for 2 days so we can "test drive" the tube tomorrow and get a feeding schedule worked out with a nutritionist. I am going to try to figure out how to upload pics from my phone. If I can't figure it out, I will post them when we get home Wednesday.
Thanks so much for all the well wishes and prayers! The Lord has had His hand upon Ethan throughout this whole process. Praise Jesus!
Sent from my iPhone
Thanks so much for all the well wishes and prayers! The Lord has had His hand upon Ethan throughout this whole process. Praise Jesus!
Sent from my iPhone
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)