Thank Goodness for Pneumonia

Lily is sick. Finally...after her fourth trip to the doctor, it was discovered that she's really not breathing too well. Lots of popping and wheezing...and pneumonia is the diagnosis.


You may ask WHY we are thankful it's pneumonia. Yes, that can be bad news. But...in this case, we've got it taken care of with lots of steroids and antibiotics and breathing treatments.


You see...the last several days - Lily has literally been a different child. We knew that she had a "cold." She was taking her steroids and an antibiotic just like she has in the past, but this time - it was like she was literally going crazy. For the first few days she was crying...screaming rather...almost non-stop. We had a handful of good hours over those days, but for the most part - it was scream central. Of course, we felt terribly bad for her. We were sure she was struggling with her breathing...and she just didn't know what to do.


But...unlike all of the other times, the steroids and antibiotics were just not working. So, we were thinking that there was something else wrong. WHY oh WHY was she so miserable? And...of course, sadly...it was making us miserable, too. Going from the happy go lucky kid that smiles even when she can't breathe - she was now a cryer. A nonstop. cryer.


By phone, I discussed this with her doctors - they agreed to take her off the medication - maybe it was making her crazy. So the verdict was - stop the antibiotic...keep her on the steroids for her lungs. Her mood changed.


She would now go into almost lethargic-like phases. She would still cry off and on - but, it was more whining and soft. She would be somewhat Lily-like for a couple hours and then would go into a phase of lethargy where she could not get enough sleep. Could not seem to open her eyes. Would not eat. Would barely answer a yes/no question...and this would last for hours and hours and hours. Even other people noticed it - not just me.


Of course, we're all now wondering what is going on. We're thinking of our family histories and all of her symptoms and possible diagnoses. Yes - we Googled. And, Googling is always a bad idea in these scenarios.


We went to the doctor preparing for lots of labs and scans and maybe even hospital visits and we walked out 2 hours later with the diagnosis of pneumonia, two very painful antibiotic shots, a breathing treatment, and prescriptions to pick up.


We can deal with pneumonia. She's had it before. She just reacted so much differently than ever before.


You'll be happy to know - she loves her breathing treatments. She's a pro. She puts the mask on herself, turns on the machine, and watches Dora during the treatment. I guess it's all the practice watching Aunt Ashley!


p.s....she's almost 100% back to Lily!! Thank goodness!