Pneumonia Again...

It's Mei Mei's turn this time. 

Her fever started on Tuesday, we took her to the GP on Thursday, the Paed on Saturday, and all ruled out pneumonia. When Monday the situation didn't improved, we decided to let her go for Nebulizer every 4 hours. However, after the 2nd dose, we felt something was not right and decided to have her done the X-ray. Results showed her right lung was covered with phlegm at the lower portion. So she had to be admitted right away, and doctor told us the standard antibiotics course for pneumonia took at least 5 days. 

This photo was taken on Day2, she had finally adapted to the new environment. Can you see the princess wall papers in her room? At least that's one reason she agreed to stay in this room, because it was rather noisy due to the special ventilation system, and she was very afraid of that sound in the beginning.    

SJ holding the Nebulizer mask on her own. This reminds me of her Jie Jie's experience 3 years ago. 

I didn't let Jie Jie visit her in the beginning because it could spread, and she felt very sad. So she made this card for Mei Mei. How sweet of her.  

SJ started to develop some rashes on her chest, which spread to her neck, legs and arms as days went by. Initially, doctor told us it's eczema so we were told to apply a mild steroid cream (Hydrocortisone cream 1%). By Day3, there's still no improvement so maybe it could be due to a bacteria caused by pneumonia. We're still waiting for the blood test to tell us. So far, SJ had done blood test and urine test. Doctor said it's not necessary to do the TB skin test for her since he's very sure she didn't had the bacteria.

So now, both Hubby and I took turns to camp in the hospital with her. Hopefully all the test results would turn out good.

What happened during the long hols

Well, we got an unwelcomed visitor. Yes, again :(

This time, Mei Mei got it first. Her teacher informed me that she was feverish when I picked her up from school. She vomitted a few times. We took her to the paed, but he couldn't find anything wrong with her. Except for one tiny little ulcers at her throat. So he told us to monitor her for suspected HFMD.

Indeed, we noticed more spots appearing on her hands and body the next day. Now I know why I suddenly saw pimples below her nose. At first I thought she was just heaty. So we didn't let her go to school. Naturally, we also dropped Jie Jie at Amah's house that day, with the hope that she's stronger and wouldn't get it.

By the 3rd day, Mei Mei kind of recovered. But we're told that Jie Jie's turn to be feverish! To be safe, we took both girls to the paed. He knew that we didn't want to admit them, so he just gave us some medications. Not specifically for HFMD, but mostly vitamins, something to soak them with, and something to stop the itch, and something to relieve the ulcers. He also prescribed antibiotics (Zithromax) to Mei Mei because the paed felt that her fever was rather too long for normal HFMD (she's still having flu & cough).

Well, this time both girls didn't really suffer. Even though they had spots (Jie Jie was worse), they were still as active as ever, and could even eat! Very unlike those previous times when we had to koala bear them all the time. We didn't even need to take leave this time, as MIL could handle both, since they didn't feel sick at all. I guess it's due to the colostrum and probio that I've been diligently giving them all this while. Yes, I started to give SJ colostrum too when I noticed Jie Jie was much less prone to flu, etc. after she started taking that. Initially I didn't give SJ yet as she's still breastfeeding, so I took it myself in order to boost up my milk's quality. However, she still have flu occasionally, so I decided to try giving her that. And, I find that she's much stonger since then. Besides that, I also gave them g3 juice, but stopped when SJ got bronchitis. Now that they had HFMD again, I tried giving them again. I noticed that their ulcers went off really fast. Maybe that's why they could still eat. Unfortunately, SY's hands were rather badly affected this time. Look at her palms...

 Previously it was not this bad....

So, we're stranded at home during that long Raya weekends. And guess what? Since she's going to have her exams soon, Daddy took this opportunity to do revision with her. I told Daddy that some of my friends wanted to test if their kids learn anything from school at all, thus decided not to do any revision with their kids. So I'm planning to do the same thing too. But Daddy didn't really agree, that's why he revised with her himself :) Looks like this is a good escape for Mommy! I personally think she's still too small, and don't prefer to give her too much pressure. But now that she's absent from school for so long, which means she'll miss the revision with the teachers too, I can understand why Daddy was a bit 'tension'.

Bronchitis and Father's Day

Sze Juin had fever for nearly a week before we finally took her to see the doctor. Prior to that, Jie Jie had fever first, we took both of them to see the doctors (two separate doctors) and during both times, SJ was checked and diagnosed to be perfectly OK. So only Jie Jie was on antibiotics, but they couldn't find anything wrong with SJ.

So when SJ's turn to have fever, we thought it was just a normal sore throat and took her to see the doctor. But still again, nothing wrong with her, not even a red throat. So we thought it's OK. After about 1 week and her fever still didn't really go down, we took her there again, and this time the paed suspected it's bronchitis. We're asked if we wanted to send her for chest x-ray to be certain that it's not pneumonia, we agreed. Luckily it's just bronchitis. Initially we didn't want to take her to see the doctor because if it's suspected dengue, she'll need to have her blood taken and we didn't like that. So we just stop her fever by using Paracetamol and IbuProfen.

We chose not to be admited, so we had to make several trips to the hospital for nebulizer treatment. I took the day off and my boss is so nice to let me work from home for half a day so that I can bring her there at least 3 times a day, and thank God after the 4th time, doctor found her 80% recovered. I was so relieved, because we'll be travelling in a exactly a week's time.

This was also her first time taking antibiotics Zithromax. I only managed to protect her from antibiotics for 2 years and 1 month :( Anyway, that helped her condition to improve a lot, so I wouldn't fret. Besides that, she's also on Singulair, and probiotics.

SJ holding her own nebulizer valve

She's so coperative when it comes to giving her the nebulizer treatment. Even the nurses were surprised, normally kids that age would cry or protest, but SJ co-operatively allowed them or me to put that on her. Sometimes, she even wanted to hold it herself, all through the whole process. I was so proud of her. 

Being a kiasu mom, I also took her and her Jie Jie for Ayurvedic treatment, since I wanted something to keep them from harm while we're travelling. It's OK to take the Ayurvedic herbs together with the western medicine (1 hour apart), and I felt more secured  having something with me while we're away. I'll also be bringing all the basic medications along. The paed also gave me the ventoline inhaler, in case I'll be needing that during our trip. I think we're well prepared, and since SJ's recovering very fast, I'm hoping she'll be fully cleared by then. 

Well, all this actually happened on Father's Day. So you can guess how Father's Day was celebrated this year. Anyway, we did manage to squeeze in a simple dinner together as it's also Sa Chik's birthday that day.

A Terrible Week Has Passed

And I'm so glad that it's over. SY's suffering peaked on Monday. Luckily Hubby's on duty that day, while I was at work (I'm so glad Hubby's understanding enough to back me up, as my chip just came back, the whole world's waiting for updates and I couldn't take leave then). She whined all day, hardly able to eat as her ulcers started to grow like trees. Hubby needed to give her a koala bear hug all the time to comfort her. When I went back during lunch time, we even discussed if we should ward her instead, since she hardly ate or drank at all. Luckily I managed to persuade her to take something before I went back to work. That needs a lot of psychology talk, and I was so glad that she's willing to accept that (this won't work on SJ).

After work, I quickly air the house immediately, cleaned the bedsheet and washed her clothes. Continued to make her take more food (hubby was unable to get her to drink or eat anything earlier). I was very happy when I finally got her to pass her urine (it's been a whole day!). But not too long later, I felt feverish, and experienced the most painful sore throat in years. I quickly took some paracetamols, and we decided to let SJ stay overnight in MIL's place for that day before she got the virus too.

It was my first night apart from her (minus the one night I went over for my sister's convocation while she's just 3 months old), and I missed her terribly. I needed to express my milk before I slept, as I felt engorged - something which I've never experienced for a long time.

The next morning, we got a call from MIL, saying SJ has already got a fever. So we decided to bring her to see the doctor, but before that I went to check for myself first. I explained that my daughter had HFMD, and asked him if I was also having the same thing. He checked my temperature and it was already 39++, so he told me that mine was H1N1, not HFMD because my fever was so high and I didn't have ulcers. I had a vey badly inflamed throat instead. He went on to give me 2 days MC and told me to monitor my condition, if the fever didn't go down, I'll have to go get treatment for H1N1.

Gosh, I was shocked, but not alarmed. I thought it was funny, and Hubby even laughed when he heard that. Anyway, I took the antibiotics (I hardly took antibiotics before this) and the paracetamol, before bringing the kids to see the doctor. SY was supposed to go back the next day for checkup, but since we're taking SJ there, Hubby thought that we might as well do it together to save us another trip to the hospital later.

The paed couldn't tell if SJ's having HFMD (no sign of spots), but when he checked her throat, he saw a very big ulcer at the back of her throat. So he asked us to proceed with the standard procedure - ECG and blood test. Everything was ok, so we were given the same medications as her Jie Jie and we went home.

Surprisingly, SJ could still eat and drink, so I thought it was not that serious. However, the only setback was she refused to take paracetamol, which explained why her fever could hardly go down. After several attempts of fighting with her, I nearly gave up and thought of warding her since she was feverish all the time. Despite that, she's as strong as a bull, and she even managed to grab the syringe from both of us while we're trying to feed her the medicine. I used force, and she vomitted out everything. It was terrible, and I was really helpless when Hubby went to work the next day, leaving me alone to handle the two kids by myself. Even though MIL was around, she couldn't help much. That was a terrible time for me, especially since my fever haven't really go down - I depended on a 4-hourly paracetamol and antibiotics dosage to keep things under control for myself. If I skipped once, the fever will come again. Luckily by then (Wednesday), SY has recovered and could start eating by herself. So that gave me more room as SJ hardly slept but hang on me 24 by 7. I only got to eat my dinner after Hubby came back from work to relieve me.

Despite all that, SJ was very adventurous and not someone who can give up easily. If SY refused food or drink of any kind due to the ulcers, SJ would ask for water in different cups (she even requested for my cup!), and take a sip. She also asked for food, and tried some here and there. She thought with different cups, or food, it might not be as painful. So, she's tried yoghurt, ice-cream, vitagen, yakult, etc. but never finished any of them. I thought I could breastfeed her, but she refused too. It was painful for her and she cried after she tried one time. So the 2nd time, she would tried to touch my breast, but kept on saying, "Don't want Nen Nen". Still, she'd pull my blouse. I offered her my breast, telling her, "Can see only ar, cannot drink ok". Only when I used this trick, she would want to try, and after awhile, she'll be nursing away, and slowly fell asleep. But that was not for long. After a while, she'd cry, saying "Dun want Nen Nen", and woke up again. I was really helpless then, didn't know how to comfort her, and was very tired and sick myself. Hubby told me it was a good time to wean her off totally, and I shouldn't offer her anymore milk. MIL was the happiest person on earth when I told her SJ refused to nurse.

On Wednesday night, I think she got hungry, and finally she asked me for jelly. I was surprised, and I wondered aloud, "Where should Mommy go find jelly for you at such late hour?" Then I remembered that I told her that the chia seeds were jellies, so I quickly soaked some in the water and let her try. She finished everything! I was so happy then. She didn't cry anymore later :)

The next day, I decided to let her see an ayurvedic practitioner, recommended by a friend. We took her there during lunch time, and from then till 7pm, her fever NEVER came back after she took his medicine (which were purely herbs)! We're both awed by the effectiveness of the treatment. Alas! It was not for long. That night, we had to force down 3 doses of paracetamol to get her fever down. And she's not been sleeping very well too. She complained of the pain (or is it itchiness) from the spots, especially at her buttocks and private area. She had less spots compared to her sister, and they grow in different parts of her body too. Not at the normal place on the hands and legs like her sister, but buttock and private part instead. But amazingly, the next day, she didn't have fever at all, and she's basically fully recovered! I think the ayurvedic herbs does speed things up a bit.

So, SY got it on Saturday, recovered on Wednesday, while SJ got it on Tuesday, and recovered on Friday. What a record. On Saturday, we even attended my brother-in-law's house warming party, and they were eating with full appetite! Praise the Lord!

 
What about me? I'm the slowest to recover. I got it on Monday night, and I only recovered on Sunday. Hmmm..... when I asked Hubby why my immune system was the worst (he was also down with a puss in his throat earlier, without fever and he recovered in a few days only), here was his reply:

"Do you know why people say a mother's sacrifices are much more greater than a father's? That's because when a Father got sick, he could sleep for 24 hours, but when a Mother was sick, she still needed to care for the children and did the house chores".

I couldn't agree more. I was up at 3am in the morning trying to catch up with work, on the 2 days that I was on MC. I couldn't log in at all when SJ was clinging to me like a Koala Bear earlier. And I even had to go back for more medicine (paracetamol and antibiotics) when my fever came back on Thursday night, but my supplies had finished. Sigh.... that's the price one needs to pay for being a mother.

HFMD Returns

It's not even 2 years yet, and now Sze Yi got it again. Anyway, it was not as serious as last time, and we refused admission.

We only noticed something wrong with her when she suddenly grew withdrawn, and refused her lunch. She wanted to sleep instead. Then, we noticed that her temperature kept rising. Even after giving her paracetamol and sponging her, the fever didn't go down. So, we decided to take her to see the doctor. Luckily the usual hospital we went too has a PD on duty that time, unlike normal Saturday afternoons.

When we took her to see the PD, there's hardly any sign of spots on her body. But the moment he checked her mouth and saw ulcers inside it, he's very sure that it's HFMD. I told him that I didn't want to admit her, so he proceeded to have Sze Yi's ECG and blood test taken, as well as some sample of her saliva and stool. After all that, we could leave and came back for results in the evening.

We went home, and I gave her Manuka Honey, also applied some on her ulcers. I also managed to get some enzym from my colleague and gave her that. My colleague told me that when her daughter had that, she soaked her in enzym water bath and she got well very fast. So I also did the same for Sze Yi.

In the evening, we went back to the hospital for the results. Her ECG and blood test are normal, so I just needed to sign a letter saying that I refused admission and would bear all responsibility if anything happens. I informed her school principal about this, and she told me that she would have the school cleaned the first thing in the morning on Monday.

That night, Hubby and I took turns to monitor her, because the PD had warned us of the possibility of breathing difficulty, that could affect her heart and her brain. When her fever didn't go down after taking paracetamol, we decided to give her Brufen Ibuprofen one hour later. Thank goodness half an hour later, it went down. So we continue giving her paracetamol every 4-6 hours, while monitoring her progress.

All this while, we're rather worried for Sze Juin. We checked her, and Hubby do noticed some very faded spots on her hand and legs, and I even saw two small red spots in her mouth. But she's very active, have very good appetite and does not have fever so we decided to continue monitoring her. In the meantime, I also bathed her in enzym water and gave her Manuka Honey, same treatment as her Jie Jie. Besides all that, I also boiled the kim gin hua for them, which is a chinese herb that's claimed to be able to cure HFMD as well as H1N1. We didn't really separate them other than sleeping in two different rooms, because last time, despite all our efforts in separating them, SJ still got it. This time however, most of our attempts to separate them were futile, since SJ kept going near to her sister, she even slept under her sister's pillow to prevent her sister from sleeping!

Oh yes, the Manuka Honey that I bought for them, have active UMF of 24.5++. Hubby was rather concerned about this active ingredient, so he did a google search on that. What he saw alarmed us. It seems that my perception of the numbers was wrong - it stated that only 15-18++ is adequate, and anything higher than 20 would cause adverse reaction! The effects would be mostly on the digestive system. So, we decided not to give the kids that anymore. If you happen to know more about this, please kindly let us know ya!

The next morning, which is today, Sze Yi's fever has gone, but we still continued giving her paracetamol every 4-6 hours to avoid any sudden rise of temperature. She's back to normal until this afternoon when she complained her mouth was very painful. I noticed more spots coming out, and her ulcers prevent her from taking any solids. We applied oral daktarin gel on her, but when it couldn't really sooth her, we decided to apply some of the Manuka Honey on her again. After that, she could eat apples :)

I noticed that Sze Juin's ulcers were gone, and she's still doing well. But she's been sleeping the whole afternoon away (even as of now, that's why I could blog), so I'm a bit worried. I'm just hoping God will continue to protect my little girls for me.

All Clear!

Yay, I was finally discharged on Thursday. Thanks to everyone for your well wishes, SMS and IMs. I went back for checkup yesterday, did another round of x-ray and the results showed that I'm all cleared! Hurray! But too bad, still no ice for me, not even cold drinks or water melon :( Would you believe me if I tell you that Mommy actually warmed up my vitagen like how she did on her EBM for me! Yucks! I could only drink half a bottle of that. Before that I told her my tummy was hungry, couldn't sleep. And I wanted vitagen. She told me that it's cold, NO. I throwed a very bad tantrum, so she finally relented. But... she warmed it up! Because I couldn't wait until it's not cold anymore.... so after drinking half a bottle of that, I told her I didn't want anymore. Not the typical me on a normal day.

But hey, Dr. Rema (that's how I called him) said I'm all cleared, and only gave me the strawberry multi vitamin to take back. No other medications! Ah, but I was given a lot more on the day I was discharged, and I still had to eat them. I had 1 more dosage of the antibiotics (Zithromax) to complete, together with Rhinathiol for my cough, Zyrtec for my flu and another vitamin, Enervon-C.

Btw, did Mommy tell you that my blood test showed that I had the mycoplasma bacteria? The paed told me that I probably caught it from a closed-up environment, that's either from my family members or my school. Scary, huh?

Anyway, I'm ok now. My next review with Dr. Rema would be in 1 month's time. Hopefully after that, Mommy would let me drink some cold drinks....

Pneumonia!

Sze Yi's nearly 1 month-long-cough had finally been diagnosed to be due to pneumonia. Sometime during the CNY season, she had been coughing on and off. At times, she would throw out everything and ended up crying. The reflux was so bad that she was afraid to sleep after that (this always happened when she's sleeping). We brought her to see the doctor, and she was given Rhinathiol. When it didn't get better, we went again. A different paedatrician was on duty. This time, she was given polaramine. The paed thought that it could be due to her having flu, which caused the phelgm to irritate her throat.

We did not see any improvement at all. But it didn't happen every time she's sleeping, so we thought it was not that serious. Then, her fever came. We took her to see the doctor when the fever didn't go down after 2 days. This time, the paedatrician heard something in her right chest, so she was immediately sent for x-ray. The results confirmed the paed's suspicion - she's having pneumonia. Her right lung was badly infected, while the left one was partially infected. In other words, it's full of phelgm. We were told that it was rather bad, and she had to be admitted right away.

My poor girl went thru some tough time having her left hand injected so that the antibiotics can be administered thru the drip. Apart from that, she was given Nebulizer every 4 hours.
There were also the other medicine that she had to take orally - another type of antibiotics, vitamins and Rhinathiol. Today, she got another one added to the list - she had runny nose after staying in the air-conditioned room for 2 nights. It was so pitiful looking at her, but she's a brave girl. She cooperated very well with the nurses and doctors, and even put the syringe into her mouth on her own (for all the medicine). In fact, she adapted very fast into the new environment. Last time when she was hospitalized due to HFMD, she wouldn't want to sleep on the bed. She was very clingy and cried a lot. But not this time. She's indeed a big girl already.
Oh yes, she was also given the Mantoux test, or also known as the Tuberculosis Skin Test to check if she had the bacteria that caused TB. The result would only be available after 3 days. Luckily, it's negative. The reaction was minimal, there's no swelling on her hand (look at the area inside the big circle, the date this test was given was written beside the circle).

I was told that she needed to be admitted for at least 5 days. After that, she would need to come back for follow-up check-up, and another round of x-ray on her chest. I prayed that this would end soon. Right now, we've been taking turns to stay in the hospital with her - MIL, hubby and myself. And I can't spend the night with her because I have to nurse Sze Juin at night. So, my shift was usually the day shift - which means I need to take leave. Well, this was not how I wanted to use my 5 days forced leave for this quarter... Anyway, thank God that Sze Juin's fever had subsided, so there're less things to worry - well, at least for now.