The Cold Bug Hits

Zane is sick. He managed to make it through most of the winter without catching anything. A simple call to the pediatrician to see if I could administer over-the-counter cough medicine resulted in an office visit and an intense regimen to get him well. This is because walking pneumonia is apparently going around. While Zane thankfully has nothing more than a cold, he needs to be 100% well for his sedation at the end of the month if we’re able to go.

Here are the new steps added to Zane’s schedule to get him well:

• Five nebulizer treatments per day (supposed to be six, but we can’t make that work). As Zane’s grandparents know, this can be a challenging feat. Each treatment ranges from 10-20 minutes, depending on the medicine. One of us has to sit with Zane and hold the mask on because—like most rascally four-year-olds—he doesn’t like to keep it on.

• Two 20-minute steam baths per day (supposed to be three, but we can’t make that work). Rule: no unsupervised trips to the shower/bath for kids in the house. So, I hang out with Zane in the bathroom—sometimes with a book.

• Three extra ounces of fluid in the form of Pedialyte (supposed to be 6-8, but we can’t make that work). Zane already spends three daytime hours being tube fed. We need to fit the extra fluid in between feeds. His small stomach can only handle a certain volume before he throws up. 6-8 ounces may be nothing to most of us, but it is a lot to Zane. I’ve found he can only tolerate an extra ounce between feedings. Thus, three ounces instead of 6-8. Otherwise, he’d be hooked up to the pump all day.

• Three doses of elderberry syrup. I can do this!

Normally, this would be par for the course. But this is DI (Destination ImagiNation) week for me. The tournament is Saturday. As the Regional Director—well, to say the least—it’s been busy and hectic. So this added regimen is a bit exhausting. Yesterday, I gave Zane a nebulizer treatment while on a business call; I conducted a second call in the bathroom with the shower running.

As for Justin, he’s pretty much been on his own until Jeff gets home from work. He made me pinky promise that he’d have his mom back by Sunday. I can do that, too!

I am not one to wish away time. But, needless to say, Sunday cannot come soon enough.