My Buggie Had Pneumonia

Wooo-weeee y'all . . . things around here have been rough the last couple of weeks! I wrote in my post about Fall Break that Brooke, Brenson, and Brecklyn had all been sick. Chris took Brenson and Brecklyn to our pediatrician the day we got home from our Fall Break trip. Brenson was on day three of a fever and severe cough, and Brecklyn was just starting to cough and have a low-grade fever. Our pediatrician ran tests for the flu and strep, checked ears, throat, nose, and lungs, and concluded that they just had a virus that would have to run its course.

All the girls went back to school the next day (Tuesday), but Bren continued to struggle. His cough was keeping us both up all night, he was having dizzy spells, and his fever was up and down. Every time I thought he was getting better, he'd have another severe coughing spell (that lasted for hours) and his fever would spike again. I sent this photo to Chris on Tuesday so excited Bren was sitting up and eating, but by that afternoon he was super sick again.

Again, on Wednesday, I sent these photos to Chris thinking just maybe he had turned a corner for real. After about 30 minutes of doing a little artwork with his sisters, he went back to bed and didn't get up again all day. 

On Thursday, I asked Bren to go into my bathroom to brush his teeth. When I went to check on him, he was lying on my bathroom rug saying he was too dizzy to stand up. I immediately called our pediatrician to have him seen again, and this time he was diagnosed with pneumonia 😢. We started him on an antibiotic treatment, continued to load him up on water and vitamins, and let him rest as much as he could.

Brianna brought home Bren's homework for him, and one day a card signed by all his classmates came with it. He was tickled!

His teacher sent him some books she thought he'd enjoy, and it was so nice to see him smile!

Unfortunately, the improvement I expected to see just wasn't happening. He seemed to be a little better on Saturday, but definitely not doing as well as I thought he'd be. He was still unable to hold any food down (he would get choked on mucous and throw up every time he ate). By Sunday, I noticed his breathing was faster than normal and shallow sounding, and when his fever spiked again on Sunday night, we thought very seriously about taking him to the ER. We decided to wait to see our pediatrician (again) first thing Monday morning. Monday made day 10 with a severe cough, fever, dizziness, and no appetite.

Chris had gone to work on Monday morning, but he met us at the pediatrician's office for Bren's appointment. As soon as he got there, Bren climbed in his lap and rested his head on Daddy's shoulder.

Our poor little guy felt so terrible, and we just wanted him better.

😢

After chest x-rays and blood work, our pediatrician determined that Bren was still fighting pneumonia. It wasn't worse (so thankful!), but it also wasn't better. He changed up the antibiotic, added a steroid treatment,  and told us we could go home. I was so grateful that we didn't have to go to the hospital! I had prepared myself that he might be admitted - and had even packed a few things just in case - so it was a big relief to me that our doctor felt like Bren could continue to fight it at home. 

After just a few doses of the new meds, I saw immediate improvement from Brenson! He even felt well enough to play for the first time in well over a week!

Bren with a LEGO car he built

Also, I was very thankful that he finally felt well enough to sleep. Because of his severe cough, he hadn't slept well in days, and therefore I hadn't slept well in days! Dr. F told us that he would catch up on the lost sleep as soon as we got the pneumonia under control, and he was right. I couldn't believe how much Bren slept once he finally started getting better.

More LEGO play with my little man

By Wednesday, he was not only feeling much better, but he was HUNGRY. It had been almost two weeks since he'd eaten a good meal. I didn't take him out for Bible class that night, but Chris brought us home our favorite Mexican food for dinner before he took the girls to church. I laughed when I saw how Bren marked his salsa.

Brenson only! Pneumonia (spelled his way, lol)

Danger 😂

He finally went back to school today (on Halloween!), and I can't say enough how thankful I am that he's doing better. I know that this wasn't even bad compared to what some families go through, and it truly made my heart go out to parents who deal with chronically or terminally ill children. I know it will take him a while before he's one hundred percent again, but I'm just happy he's on the uphill!