A Month of Colds, Sniffles and Sore Throats

All smiles before the cold

October was a month lost in the Bertram family....a month lost to colds, sniffles and sore throats.  Starting at the beginning of the month I got a scratchy throat that developed into a terrible cold with a sinus headache and lots of congestion.  While I stayed away from Benton, tucked in an isolation chamber of my own making, sprayed everything with Lysol and wore a mask and gloves if I left my isolation room, my cold still unfortunately spread like wildfire.  First Joe got it, then Benton then Joe's parents.  We kept Benton away from whoever was sick at the time and we made it over two weeks before he himself succumbed to the cold.

Our little country boy

It was Benton's very first illness since we had brought him home from the NICU and boy were we freaked out.  We felt terrible that we had gotten him sick despite our numerous precautions and we were just hoping and praying that he would pull through his cold like a champ.  For 4 days Benton battled the cold at home.  We would suction his nose multiple times a day, help loosen his cough by sitting in a steamy bathroom and then check his sats.  His sats remained high for the first few days but as the cold dragged on his reserve couldn't hold.  On Day 4 of his cold Benton started to sat badly and require more oxygen.  Overnight he went from satting well on 1.25 liters to requiring 2 liters and still having trouble holding a decent oxygen saturation.  We called our pediatrician and we all agreed that with his history of pneumothoraxes it was safest to go to the ER.

Smiling through the sniffles

Once we were at the ER they administered a couple of breathing treatments, gave him some steroids to help his lung inflammation and took a chest x-ray.  Luckily there was no sign of pneumonia or lung collapse.  As we sat in the ER Benton continued to require more oxygen and eventually was admitted to the hospital requiring 3 liters.  Once we were in the hospital Benton continued to require more oxygen and was flirting with ICU status.  Luckily we were able to stay out of the ICU and only went up to 3.5 liters before they were able to start weaning him again.  After 4 days we were able to go home again!!!!  Benton had survived his first cold and luckily had not required ICU-level oxygen.  Yay!

First Step: Get an Xray, Next Step: Smile in your Hospital Gown

Hanging with Mommy at the hospital

Uncle Ryan came to visit

Playing despite the IVs and the cords

Enjoying the view while leaving the hospital

As we continued to battle this cold, Benton still had his usual appointments.  Here is a short breakdown of his appointments and how he is faring medically:

• Eye Doctor - His ROP is non-existent and they just need to check on him every 3 months or so to see how his eyes are developing.  Right now he is far-sighted so it makes it harder for him to see items up close so he may need glasses someday soon.  The doctor also noticed a lump on Benton's eyebrow (which we thought was a scar from the NICU) and said it looked to be a benign tumor....so now we have an appointment with the occular plastic surgeon.  Don't you just hate it when one appointment begets more appointments instead of less?!?!
• Pulmonology - Benton's lungs are pretty much the same.  We haven't been able to do much weaning and we are still stuck around 1-1.5 liters.  They did give him some lasix though.
• Cardiology - Benton's pulmonary hypertension is pretty much the same as well though it didn't look worse during his cold which is a great sign that he didn't have a pulmonary hyptension crisis.  It means his meds are working!
• Developmental - Benton's tummy time was deemed "atrocious" by the developmental pediatrician but she said it was understandable due to his lung disease and how much harder he has to work on his belly.  She also said that he has trouble with visual fine motor skills which means he has trouble tracking small objects and quiet objects.  So now we are giving him puffs and cheerios to play with so he can work on his pincher grasp.
• Surgery - Benton's surgical sites look great and are healing well.
• GI - Benton's  gtube  looks good and they have switched us from 6 meals a day down to 5 meals a day.  They are also happy with his weight gain since he is now a chunky 19.4 lbs!!
• Speech Therapy - After a month-long setback post-surgery Benton is now accepting spoons in his mouth again and we are starting small tastes of purees, yogurt and other fun items like lollipops.
• Physical Therapy - Benton is starting to be able to hold quadriped (getting on hands and knees) and hopefully he will start scooting soon.

Getting on hands and knees!!

PT time with Daddy

Yum! Fun with Food

Showing off his motor skills

With so many appointments and therapy sessions it feels like we are constantly on the move, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  After Benton gets his RSV vaccine and his one year immunizations we don't have any doctors appointments for almost one month!!!! Please pray Benton doesn't get any infections or require hospitalization again.  We are praying for his lungs to continue getting stronger, for his pulmonary hypternsion to disappear and for him to start eating better by mouth.   Thank you for the love and prayers.  Our little fighter continues to amaze and impress us everyday and we are glad you are a part of his journey.

What a dapper gentleman

Such a cutie

Reading his Halloween book with Grandpa