Dumb Germs

The cold and flu season has begun.  Ugh.  X got a head cold yesterday which resulted in him throwing up from 7:00 pm last night until 6:00 am this morning.  All from a stupid head cold.  It's heartbreaking to see him so miserable from something that should be a minor thing.  I believe part of the problem is his motility slows way down when he is sick.  In order to prove that, we would need him to eat oatmeal while he is sick and X-ray his gut for two hours to see how fast it moves through his system.  That isn't going to happen because he can't keep anything down and I don't know what anyone would do about it. There are some drugs, but when he tried one he had neurological side effects and it didn't do much for him anyway.  I also believe part of the gagging and throwing up is from the NG tube he first had.  That tube down his nose and throat caused so many problems for him and was so freakin' uncomfortable that whenever he has a sore throat or gunk in his throat he gets very worked up.  I will regret getting the NG tube for the rest of my life.

At X's last height and weight appointment on Tuesday he was down a pound (but grew 1/4 inch).  I am guessing he lost a pound because he was fighting this cold. Yesterday he only ate a couple Popsicles and today he hasn't eaten anything.  I'm sure he has lost at least one more pound.   I haven't heard back from the GI doctor regarding dropping down to one tube feeding, but I know the answer will be "no" because of this cold.  I wouldn't be comfortable dropping down to one feeding at this point anyway.  We may have to wait until summer to get through the cold and flu stuff.  Which is okay.  His health is more important than the number of feedings he gets.

So, that's where X is at today.  Even though he had such a miserable night and didn't get any sleep he was still entertaining us a bit this afternoon (until he threw up again).  Today I am thankful for a comfy big couch (it comes in very handy on long nights), Craig had this weekend off so I've had help,  and I am thankful I can use the tube to hydrate X with pedialyte---that makes a huge difference for him.