On the inside...

Owen's chest x-ray, 9/3/2011

As I sat there, in the little Urgent Care exam room, looking at this copy of Owen's chest x-ray, I couldn't help but feel the very same feelings I had when I first saw him, 20 weeks old, during the ultrasound.  All I could think of was, "Wow.  I made that!"  I made this!  My body put this amazing little person together.  (Sure, sure, I know, Dean gets half the credit, but I'm speaking of the actual, physical product...).  My body regulated every process (spearheaded by explicit instructions from the DNA, of course) that created this little human.  It fed it, protected it, kept it at a certain temperature...  Amazing...  I see his little heart up there and I remember hearing it for the first time when he was ten weeks in utero.  His vertebrae, diaphragm, ribs, lungs...

Oh yeah.  The lungs.  Now those are a problem.  Ever since this little boy caught RSV at ten months of age, those pesky lungs act up every once in awhile.  See that circle?  Pneumonia.  No idea he was sick 24 hours before this chest x-ray was taken.  Really.  No cough.  No wheeze.  Not even a drippy nose.  Sneezing yes.  But of course, our whole family has been sneezing, courtesy of the pollen, for a few weeks now.  Owen got very wheezy and gurgly at bedtime, but steadfastly refused to have a turn on the nebulizer.  I was too tired to argue.  By 6:45 am. when I heard the very distinct sound of him coughing so hard he was throwing up, then it was time to take action.  The first round of Albuterol worked.  Four hours later, it didn't.  No idea, even then, that he was going in a very southern direction.  I didn't even know he had a temperature...  (LAME!)

Urgent Care is great.  Especially since emergency medical care concerning your children has this annoying statistical trend to occur outside of regular pediatrician's office hours.  Our local facility (a block away) is okay, but the one across town is better, so we made the drive and they ushered Owen right on in.  The nurse was terrific, the Dr. was a little annoying.  I know Owen is three, but please don't talk to him like he has a learning disability.  He 'gets' it, and doesn't need to be told that he has bananas in his ear when you turn the otoscope on him.  Geesh.  The x-ray tech (dressed in a glaring bright red shirt that screamed Husker Fan) gave Owen a really hard time for the fact that he was dressed (courtesy of his father) in OU regalia in honor of the first game of the season.

It is not an easy task to get a three year old to stand still for a chest x-ray.

But there it is.  Owen is currently on the mend.  He gets winded going up the stairs.  He enjoys a steamy shower each morning (thanks SIL for the tip) and has been able to sleep pretty well at night.  I don't know what the future holds here.  I suspect that an asthma diagnosis is pending... but he is a long way off from using an inhaler yet.  We also have some uneasy suspicions about Colin as well.  He has been very wheezy for about a month now.  I am wondering if pet hair may be a contributing factor.  Only time will tell.

Last thought.  I am forever grateful that we have the medical insurance that we do.  It is comforting to know that in times of worry - how we are going to pay for it isn't one of them.  We are very, very fortunate.  It is easy to see how one little medical crisis can set into motion a financial disaster.