August started off by us finding out why Cooper has been coughing so much. In case you didn't know, Coop has been coughing for the past few months dating back to March. He went to the ER one night in March and we were told that he had the croup. His cough has gotten worse in the past few months, so we finally decided to take him back to an allergist and see if we can get a diagnosis. He was tested for allergies back when he was 2, but did not test positive to anything. When Brooke heard him while we are the lake, she suggested that we go see her allergist.
It was a pretty overwhelming day for us. As soon as the PA listened to his lungs and heard him coughing, she immediately gave him a steroid medicine and a breathing treatment. His pulse ox was at 92%, which I hear isn't that great. Next, they began testing Cooper for allergies. It was pretty traumatic for him. He got so upset on top of his coughing, that it made him throw up. The bright side of the day for Cooper was visiting their train table at the office. He was running around in his underwear playing trains while we were waiting for his results.
And the verdict is...he is allergic to DOGS (big time), CATS and MOLD. As you know, we have 2 dogs and 1 cat. Our dog, Bandit, and our cat, Smudge, live inside. Jose, the lab, lives in the basement. It was *Great* News! If you know me at all, you know that I am an animal lover and would do almost anything for them. We left the doctor with a nebulizer, two kinds of inhalers, an antiobiotic for an ear infection (that I was not aware of) and a steroid medicine to get his cough under control. Can you say "Mother of the Year"???
So, needless to say, I have been busy around the house cleaning and vacuuming our living quarters. Cooper got a new bed and mattress since he was still sleeping on an old toddler bed mattress, which possibly could have been moldy/musty since it had been in storage for many years.
It worked out great that the week after Cooper and Caroline were going to stay with Gram and Grand-Bob for the week to get some quality grandparent time. I decided to scour and clean Cooper's room and actually ended up painting his room. Reluctantly, I got rid of his baby-themed room. Kind of sad... Cooper came home and starting crying because he didn't like it, which really made me excited about spending my child-free week painting! :)
Cooper has gotten so much better since he went to the doctor. His cough is gone and he isn't sniffing and snorting like he used to. We went back for a check up last week and the doc has lowered his inhaler dose already and his pulse ox was back up to 98%.
2 comments:
So what about your animals???
Our dog and cat are about 15 years old. We are trying to just hold out until the animals are gone and not replace them. Why, do you want our dog??? :)
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