Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Counting them one, by one.....

For the rest of the week I am counting my blessings here for the whole world to see. I will start by telling a story....

At the end of July my son developed a cough. It did not seem serious, more like an irritation than a sickness he had no fever and was not complaining of any pain nor acting abnormal. I chalked it up to the fact that we have had an extremely dry and hot summer. A couple of weeks later it changed. It sounded deep, and it started to be productive, he was coughing through the night and waking frequently. The change happened over the weekend and I told myself that I would need to take him to the doctor on Monday. That Sunday night he spiked a high fever. At the doctors on Monday, my son was diagnosed with asthma. I was stunned. He had never shown any signs until now. The doctor prescribed and antibiotic, a steroid and an inhaler. He told me that the nighttime coughing should be gone in about 3 days and that the daytime cough should be cleared up in 5. I was told to bring him back in a week if he did not improve.
One week later we returned, he was worse. The coughing had intensified and he had a clearly audible wheeze. When he was out playing he would come to me and tell me his "heart hurt" and he just wanted to sit and rest awhile. We saw a different doctor who preformed a chest X-Ray. The X-Ray showed an infection in his lungs. The infection was causing an asthmatic episode. The antibiotic he had been prescribed was not effective for this type of infection. ARGH!!!
Over the last 5 weeks my son has take 3 antibiotics, 2 bottles of Robitussin DM, 2 rounds of steroids, and an inhaler 3-4 times a day. He has endured 5 trips to the doctor, 2 X-Rays, Chest Therapy exercises, and blood work. I will never forget his words after the nurse at the lab drew his blood. He looked at her with tears in his eyes and said "That was so painful, that I will never come back here again." I cried.
As you can imagine, these weeks have been terribly frustrating and often times I have been near panic. I have played the "woulda, shoulda, coulda" game over and over. Everyone in our family, and our church families have been praying for him. I chide myself for not asking for prayer from my friends in blog world. Being new to blogging I was reluctant. I now know that had I requested, you would have responded in earnest, I am grateful for that, and I will not hesitate again.
Yesterday, he went for the his 5th doctor visit and his lungs are clear. The nightmare is over.
Through the combination of medicine and the countless prayers offered in his name, God has extended his healing touch and I praise him from the depths of my heart.

9 comments:

BittersweetPunkin said...

Amen! Oh...I will include him in my prayers for the Lord to keep him in good health...you are a wonderful Mom and you did everything you had to...we all suffer from the "bad mom syndrome" sometimes...I know I have a few times. Love him.....that pic is beautiful btw...took my breath away...
Blessings and Prayers,
Robin

blessings said...

I have children with asthma and it can be so very frustrating! It took respiratory distress before my oldest son was finally diagnosed. He's 16 now and better for the most part. Still has to use a nose spray at the change of seasons and if he gets sick, we have a nebulizer. My youngest had to be on a monitor until he was 2. Don't chide yourself. Praise Him! Your lovey came through fine. "We are MORE THAN conquerors..." Blesings (all week!!)... Polly

Melissa @ The Inspired Room said...

Glad you shared your story (and also shared it with me in response to my son's story!).

Love the picture, what a sweetie!

Prayers for continued health for both our boys!

Melissa

Nunnie's Attic said...

Oh sweetheart, you did nothing wrong so please don't beat yourself up over it. Hindsight is always 20/20. And believe me, I will pray for your son. My whole family has asthma so I know how hard it can be to deal with. I have scarring on my lungs from a "problematic asthmatic episode" or so I was told.

The good news is your son is healing and your faith in our Lord has been strengthened. The bible never said we wouldn't have problems, just that God would be there to support us through it. I'll be praying honey.

Love,
Julie

julia said...

What a beautiful photo Rhonda. Your son is absolutely adorable! I am so happy that all is well now. You truly ARE blessed.

cherry said...

I thought you were gonna say he had pnemonia. My son had it two summers ago. I know how you feel...so glad he is doing better. I will pray he stays that way! I perused your site and love all your thrift finds....you are a girl after my own heart. Not to shabby of a couch either. cherry

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Bless you and you son. What a scary experience you both went through. The power of prayer...is amazing.
Penny
P.S. thank you for letting me know the name of my flower! I am going to plant them next year!

willzmom said...

Just stopped by for a visit and had to comment. We all doubt ourselves as mother's, but you did all the right things. I'm so thankful that he's better and 'out of the woods'. I'll come back and visit often!

Meggie said...

What a beautiful child! So glad that all is well and his lungs are now clear. Don't hesitate to ask for our prayers in the future. We bloggers are here for you!!