When I don’t post for a while, there is a backlog in my brain – but first things first: Christian is doing much better.
A week after we’d been home from Korea, Christian had a fever on and off again for five days running. Day three he began coughing and the mucus started drip drip dripping. I was on board for letting the virus run its course, because I know from Dr. Sears’ website (our favorite), that this was a pretty typical scenario for a bad cold virus which is not treatable with antibiotics.
However,
the fifth night, his fever spiked to 103 and Christian was delirious and unhappy all night long. Nobody got any sleep (again) and I reached the end of my health patience rope. I scheduled a sick appointment with Dr. Bob (the son of the original Dr. William Sears) the next day, even though Christian’s fever had already gone back down.
Dr. Bob could not hear any pneumonia in Christian’s lungs (there is a characteristic sizzling sound, he says), and thought that an x-ray wasn’t warranted, but that considering the duration of Christian’s fever (five days) and Christian’s slight shortness of breath, that there was probably a touch of pneumonia (bacterial infection) in his lungs.
So, Christian is now midway through his first ever course of antibiotics (amoxicillan).
I am satisfied with our choice to treat with antibiotics, but a part of me still suspects that Christian would be recovering at the same rate even if we had not done gone with the antibiotics.
He’s doing fine, but not eating much. He’s nursing a ton, and feeling fragile. Today, a full week after the fever first hit, he actually wanted to go downstairs and play.
Chad’s sick now. He’s been horizontal for three days now. Yikes.
This one’s a doozy. Be careful it doesn’t get you!