Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Under the Weather

We had a wonderful weekend away at a beach house with our entire small group (7 families, 18 kids). Unfortunately, I think because it was hot and the house had no A/C, Abbie got overheated and too dried out. I noticed her lips turning blue as I fed her on Sunday - the first time I'd ever seen that. I hooked her up to the pulse ox and saw she was at 85. Good thing I'd packed a tank of oxygen "just in case". Her secretions were so thick she couldn't cough them up, and I think she got a mucous plug in her lungs. Frequent shots of saline spray through her nose loosened things up after a while, and she settled down at 1 liter of oxygen through the night.

By Monday morning the oxygen tank was empty, so it was a good thing Abbie could maintain her sats on her own. The weekend had taken its toll on her, however, and she was exhausted. Lack of sleep is her biggest seizure trigger, and sure enough, on Monday morning she began having bouts of seizures. I had her emergency medicine with me, but it can really depress breathing, so I didn't want to give it to her when she wasn't breathing well, I was out of O2 and we were an hour and a half from home. Thankfully, as soon as she nodded off for a catnap the seizures abated.

She started sounding junky in her chest yesterday, so I took her to the pediatrician today. She sounded clear in the chest and looked good otherwise, so this was just a little bump. She is handling her new diet beautifully, which is encouraging to me.

So, all that doesn't make it sound like we had a good weekend, but we did -- it was very memorable. I will try to post some pictures soon, as well as a better description of the absolute paradise that belonged to us for a few days.

I must admit that I am not bouncing back from my oral surgery as well as I'd hoped. Please pray for Abbie and I to recover so that the rest of the family can have some of my attention again. And, please pray for Gabby's family (www.gabbysmiracle.blogspot.com). She passed away on 8/31, with services scheduled for 9/9. I can't imagine their grief, but I also probably can't fathom the grace God is pouring out on them.

1 comment:

Julie said...

Yay for Abbie!! I'm doing a happy dance for you in California. Sounds like you're doing OK, kiddo. I have seizures sometimes, caused by lupus, and I know it's worse when I'm tired and not feeling 100%. These things happen to the best of us. Just a bump in the road.
Way to go with the raw milk! Hope to see new pictures of you soon. Keep moving forward, Abbie. The reward is greater when you have to work hard to get there.