Getting Sick Again

Aaron's getting sick again.  I hate the way it raises my heartrate just when he catches a cold, or starts having trouble with his feeds.  The last few times he's done this, he's tolerated it well enough to stay at home.  But still, I worry and start planning for the "what ifs".

He has two ear infections, much more gas in his tummy, slightly higher oxygen needs.  I don't think the frequency of his alarms has changed, but his activity level has.  Normally, when he's playing around, his movements cause the vent to think there might be something wrong.  Or he's wiggling too much for the oxygen sensor to pick up.  Now, he's sleepy or sleeping, and the vent alarms, or his oxygen dips.

Oh, and he's got all those fun secretions known as snot coming out of his nose, too.  When he's awake, he almost thinks it's funny to blow those bubbles, at least until I come after him with suction.  Yeah, not too fond of that.  At least he can move to try to get away.  I'm trying to be grateful for the small things.

Yesterday, the Wolf/Bear den combined for a field trip to the fire station here in Alpine.  Andrew asked the two guys doing the tour if either of them had ever helped save Aaron Peterson's life.  Both of them said they'd been here, on more than one occasion.  I'm so grateful for their help.  We have such wonderful medical personnel, all the way from the paramedics to the staff at PCMC.  But I wish so badly that we only knew them socially.

I love my bug with all my heart, but sometimes I long for the days when my baby would catch a cold and I'd try to figure out if they needed to be seen about a possible ear infection, or maybe we just needed to keep trying to chase them down to wipe their nose before they used a sleeve.  Now, I can see myself if there's an ear infection (he gets a bloody discharge) and treat it with the drops we always have on hand.  No, I don't miss hauling into the pediatrician's office.  I just miss that that was my biggest worry.

As for me, the prayers for my shoulder are certainly helping, as are all the things my family has pitched in to help with.  It's still painful, and I still can't work, but most of the time it's more of a dull ache.  And while I hurt when I wake up, it doesn't keep me from sleeping anymore.  That is HUGE.  We still don't have any answers yet as to why or how long it will go on.  Sometimes things move very slowly...