The Magic of a Fishy Kiss

Update:  We’re on our way up to Riverton for a few chest x-rays.  ENT wants to see whats going on in Parker’s lungs.  PLEASE send a prayer, a good thought, etc., that this will be an easy fix and that it ISN’T anything to do with his Pulmonary Hypertension getting worse.

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I got in touch with our Pedi yesterday.  I explained Parker’s symptoms with his heart rate in the bonkers zone and is increased (double!) oxygen needs.

Her advice was to up the Albuterol to every four hours.

Parker wiggling his ear as I sing “Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle you ear, wiggle your ears together“

One of those four hour treatments came due about 2:00 a.m.  When you are the Mama to a medically fragile kid with special needs the first thing you learn to do without is sleep.

Before the albuterol Parker was hanging out on 3 liters of O2 with his oxygen at 98% and his heart rate not quite to the bonkers zone.

5 Minutes after the albuterol we back up to 4 liters of O2 and a heart rate that was pushing the  limit of way too high.

I watched the sat monitor for about an hour.  His heart rate did calm down some and his oxygen levels made it back to 98%…….but he still needed the 4 liters of O2.

drat.

Through out the night Parker had a dry sounding cough, kind of like a croupy cough, but not.  It only crept up a couple of times an hour, but it made me wonder if the three weeks worth of sick he just experienced really isn’t over yet.

Which would be a better than my first thought, which was that he aspirated something during his swallow study.

There’s never a dull moment at our house.  Today I  yearned for a boring, quiet life.   A life where the most pressing matter was the need to plant the garden, make a loaf of bread, or the time to figure out the perfect color of paint for a newly scrounged piece of furniture..

As if reading my thoughts,  the littlest Hodson boy climbed into my lap, looked me in the eye and covered my cheeks in his sweet fishy kisses.

It’s amazing what a few fishy kisses can do for this Mama’s heart. Their magic includes the ability to make every thing all right again. To remind me that if Parker can go through all the things he’s been asked to, and still wake up each morning with a smile on his face and love in his heart, then so can I.

I realize that once again this little boy with the giant spirit has been the teacher, and I the one in need of learning.

And just like that, all is well in the world again.