the coughing has become something that we’ve just acclimated to. it does seem like the frequency of the individual coughing ‘fits’ have decreased. however, the intensity of the fits have become more gripping, more physically demanding of the lil dood. they are wetter in nature then they’ve ever been, with us finally making visual confirmation of how productive we know these coughs to be. case in point, we’ve always seen him chewing something after the coughing fits. but this past weekend (1/29) i saw him expel a fair amount of phlegm at the end of one of his fits.
and we have feedback – finally – concerning when they occur more often then others. the coughing fits occur more often when/if we let him run around at will, where he is panting and making lots of vocalisations and laughing. it is during these times that he is hit with the high-intensity fits that make his whole face turn red and his eyes sink into their orbits. no shit. this association is too strong to not emphasise. however, this association does nothing to explain why some fits occur during his sleep. again though, not as often overall.
i would mention here that if there has been ‘progress’ made with regards to his treatment, it is that he seems to have less fits at night, which seem to be of less intensity. Jude’s course of treatment – the course of the condition – has spanned 4 months now. Those same 4 months have also seen his locomotion increase across the boards: frequency, intensity, duration, etc. so, a correlation between the occurance of the fits during his heightened physical activity and the intensity of those physical activities must be mentioned here.
currently, jude has completed a 2nd run of augmentin in as many months, with no quantifiable results to speak of. He has been seen quite regularly by Dr Dow (MV Pediatrics) over the past 4 weeks, during which it has been revealed that he has a persistent ear infection. the 2nd round of augmentin didnt touch the ear infection either – so we may be facing at least some resistance to this antibiotic.
so jude is now on a different antibiotic called omnicef, of which he takes 4ml once daily. hopefully, this will take care of the ear infection as well as whatever is brewing in his lungs. we are continuing the daily use of pulmacort via the nebuliser (which we now own outright). there are times in the morning where Jude – i swear – comes to expect the 7-minute ritual of TeleTubbies & Nebuliser.
some questions i need to remember to ask DR Dow:
o Is there *any* evidence of wheezing in Judes chest?
o Are there *any* definitive tests that can be performed to verify Jude as an asthmatic?
As always, stay tuned…