Joshua has his first official ear infection. After 6 weeks of being home with constant runny noses, I felt sure that one of the boys would get an ear infection. I knew that it was just a matter of time...
We took Joshua and Josiah in on Tuesday morning for their second round of vaccinations and I debated over whether or not to have the pediatrician step in to check Joshua's ear. Because this was a "nurse" visit, I just wasn't sure that I wanted to pay the extra copay for the doctor to step in for 5 seconds and give me a prescription or better yet, only to have her say that his ears are fine. So, we left the office to head home.
Back up a couple of days...Joshua started running a low fever Saturday night, but I checked and he had a new molar coming in. So, I gave him Tylenol every 4 hours to help with the pain and fever. He ran a fever off and on until Tuesday morning, when we took them in.
Back to the story :) A few hours after we got home from the doctor's office, Joshua starts TUGGING at his ear, like he's trying to pull it off. So, I call Dr. Albert's office to schedule an appointment. Of course, it's lunchtime by now and they don't have any openings until the following morning-Wednesday at 11:20. At this point, I'm still not convinced that he has an ear infection...
On Wednesday, I took him in and sure enough, he has a horrible ear infection in one ear and is well on his way to a bad one in the other ear. That will teach me to always listen to my "Mommy Instincts". It's been awhile since I've had toddlers, so I have to laugh this off and chalk it up to me getting back into the swing of things!
As the doctor and I were talking, I was discussing all of our "diaper issues" with her. I could see the wheels turning in her mind...she's looking through his chart and says to me "You know, Heather, Joshua is the one who tested positive for Shigella (see previous post)... but I didn't treat him for it, because he didn't have any other symptoms and everything says NOT to treat it unless you have definite symptoms. However, I'm wondering if he really does have Shigella in his system and that may be part of the problem." She prescribed a broader ranged antibiotic to fight the ear infection, but also eradicate the Shigella, just in case.
At this point, I'm ready to call in professional diaper changers, so I'm ready to consider anything that might fix it! We were still waiting for the results of both of their stool cultures to come back.
Lo and behold, Dr. Albert called me this afternoon to let me know that Joshua still tested positive for Shigella, but was negative for giardia (hmmm....). Josiah, on the other hand, tested positive again for giardia. So, we're changing the medication for the giardia to Flagyl (the NASTY tasting stuff) and we're treating both of the boys, since there's a high probability that Joshua's stool culture is wrong.
So...hopefully we'll get the digestive issues treated and they'll be out of lives for good!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Joshua has an ear infection...would you like some Flagyl with that??
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Giardia
Jessica and Christopher went back to school last week, on August 13th. They are enjoying their classes and trying to get back into the routine of school. None of us can believe that the summer went by so quickly!! Matthew will be coaching Christopher's flag football team again and Jessica is training for volleyball. She was able to play in a summer league with the high schoolers from Summit-the only 8th grader asked to play with them. It was a great experience for her, especially since she LOVES volleyball!!
Joshua and Josiah are continuing to do well. We're still having some gastrointestinal issues that we're trying to get resolved. They completed their 3 day treatment of Alinia (for Giardia) on July 28th, but as of today, there's still no change in their diapers. I'm changing an average of 10 dirty diapers a day for each boy. So, their pediatrician has ordered a repeat of the stool samples for both of them and we are currently waiting for the results to come in. From all that I've learned online, alot of the Giardia from Ethiopia is resistant to treatment, mostly due to the fact that it's so common over there. When people have it over and over and over again, they become resistant to treatment. Our pediatrician prescribed the Alinia because it's a newer medication and only takes 3 days to complete, whereas the other treatment is very difficult in several ways. 1. It tastes HORRIBLE 2. It's very hard on their system (can cause severe abdominal pain, more diarrhea, etc) 3. many times the treatment is harder than the giardia itself, which I honestly can't imagine.
The other issue with testing for Giardia is that it's very difficult to catch. It's really random luck of the draw. It isn't passed with each diaper and that's where the luck comes in. I have friends who've adopted from Ethiopia and their children tested negative for Giardia multiple times over a 6 month period. But, they did have it and were treated with Flagyl (the nasty tasting stuff) and got better immediately.
I'm hoping that their pediatrician will be proactive and will treat them again, even if the stool samples are negative. If she doesn't, I'll be making an appointment at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston as they are one of the leading International Adoption Physician Networks in the country. I'd appreciate your prayers for healing so very much!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Life with twins and teenagers :)
So, as I've been taking advantage of Jessica's (13) and Christopher's (11, almost 12) help over the last few weeks, I am constantly amazed at how God has blessed me with them with them. I am so thankful that this was a group decision and that we were all totally sold out to the idea of adoption. It never would have worked otherwise.
To know that we all felt God's leading to adopt and that Jessica and Christopher are still so helpful and energetic with the twins, after the "honeymoon" has worn off, is more confirmation that we are where we are supposed to be. Now, don't get me wrong...I'm sure many of you are thinking to yourselves "Boy, are they in for a shock! Wait until the "new" wears off." I am not delusional, I promise. I do know that Jessica and Christopher will struggle at times, but when I see them pick up one of their baby brothers and see their face light up with joy, I know that they are totally in love with their new little brothers. I see Christopher run in the room and say "How's my sweet baby brother??" and I am constantly hearing "Mom, do you need my help?" and I know that I am so blessed.
We've been getting ready for school to start on August 13th. While the rest of Austin and Texas and probably the whole world, will be starting in late August to early September, our school decided to start early. Thankfully, both Jessica and Christopher are ready to go back to school, no doubt, in part, so that they will be away from fussy babies for most of the day (not that they're complaining-yet). They are finished with their summer reading and enjoying the freedom that the next 2 weeks will bring.
I am slowly, but surely, getting into a routine with Joshua and Josiah. They're eating better and seem to be gaining some weight, not that they are in need of more rolls on their legs and arms...
We went to our first Austin Ethiopia event as a family this past Saturday. Mom was here with us and we all went to my friend Heather's house for a backyard BBQ. I was surprised by how many of us in Austin are either currently in the adoption process or have completed it. There were ALOT of little Ethiopian children there. It's so neat to know that Joshua and Josiah will have a group in Austin that they can grow up with and relate to. I know that it will be a blessing in the years to come to know other Ethiopian children that have been adopted.
More later...
Friday, July 25, 2008
Interesting what we found out today...
We had to go in for the second round of vaccines and a chest/rib xray for Joshua and Josiah today. Thankfully, Matthew was able to go to the appointment with me. I don't know what a single mom with twins does to survive. Really! How, on earth, do you manage 2 babies at one time?? I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what I'm going to do to survive when the day comes that I have to do something by myself with these guys! Like go to the grocery store or doctor's office...Yikes! Am I pitiful or what??
Chest xrays were completely normal. However, we have results for the stool samples. Both of the boys tested positive in all 3 samples for parasites. Yes, I know that it was a likely probability, but I was hoping for the best. ICK! ICK! ICK! They have to take 3 days of medicine and hopefully that will clear it up and we won't have to repeat the process all over again.
And, Joshua tested positive for a bacteria in one of his samples, called Shigella. If you Google it, you'll find lots of lovely info on this particular bacteria. The strange thing is that Joshua didn't have any of the symptoms of Shigella. If he had it, we'd have definitely known it. It's a BAD bacteria! So, Dr. Albert seems to think that Matthew may have cross-contaminated one of the samples when he was changing the diaper, since we never figured out what he was so sick with in Ethiopia. When I looked Googled it, sure enough, Matthew had the worst of the symptoms. So, it looks like we've discovered what the cause of Matthew's horrible sickness was. YAY!!
