H1N1

Here we are a week into probable H1N1... that was the doctor's diagnosis on Friday anyway. Onna had been sick since Tuesday. I took her in to see Dr. Beecher on Friday. She did a blood count and chest x-ray. She said that the blood count showed viral and the chest x-ray looked clear. She said to step up the neb treatments and put Onna on Prednisone (15 mg twice a day for 5 days).

The Prednisone has been a nightmare. It tastes NASTY. My mom (she's an RN), did some brainstorming with our local pharmacist. They decided that we could put the (cut up) Prednisone tablet into a capsule. We emptied a cranberry supplement capsule. We used cranberry because if there was any cranberry left in it, it would not harm her. Once the tablets were in the capsule, it should have been easy, right??? WRONG!! Onna still refused to take it. She was AFRAID to take it because she MIGHT taste it! We tried having her take it with ice-cream, pudding, candy, you name it, I think we probably tried it. It finally came down to my brother, Eric, taking a teaspoon of mustard with her to get it down. I managed get 7 out of the 10 doses down her (with a lot of help from my family). This morning though, she was not doing better.

Her cough was worse, and she was laying around. She's been saying "I wish I could die 'cuz then I could go to Heaven." So I made a second appointment for her today. She saw "Dr" Mitch. I really like Mitch, especially when it comes to anything respiratory. He has a respiratory therapist background, and he is VERY knowledgeable. Her appointment was late this afternoon. After tolerating her nurse, we finally got to see Mitch. He does such a good job with her. He decided that we were going to put her on ADVAIR. It an inhaler that we talked about putting her on a while back. She'd be on it all the time, but it would mean NO MORE PREDNISONE!! Yeah Mitch!

Onna was sick enough this afternoon, that I was concerned that he would hospitalize her. After visiting with him (and a stern lecture from him to her about taking her medicine and that her "mom is right!") it looks like Onna should be feeling better in 2-3 days. I hope he's right.

I plan to stay home with her yet tomorrow. I was home from school last week Wednesday through Friday, and then today. I worked yesterday and she went to daycare in the morning. My mom picked her up at lunch. My mom is going to watch her on Thursday and Friday too, so that she can rest this week and not exert herself too much playing at daycare. It makes me feel good to know that she's under my mom's watchful eye.