My 14 year old daughter has pneumonia. It began 8 days ago with high (104-105) temperature and massive headache. She’s been in bed since then except for doctor and ER visits. We spent 3 nights in the ER and had to call 911 on Saturday as her fever spiked again along with her pulse, blood pressure, and respiratory rate. She was not alert or responding well and hyperventilating.
She is on antibiotics and regular doses of Tylenol and Ibuprofen. Finally, yesterday, her temps returned to normal for a while and have fluctuated only up to 102 since. That’s a praise!
She hasn’t eaten much at all since last Monday (8 days), but ever since Thursday’s ER trip where she had IV antibiotic treatment and IV fluids, we’ve kept dehydration at bay. She also hasn’t had a full night’s sleep since last Sunday.
The biggest issue at the moment is the pneumonia has triggered her long dormant cough variant asthma. This is spasmodic, non-stop coughing to the point of vomiting. I am treating it now with albuterol in the nebulizer which I still have for her younger brother who has the same type of asthma. It has helped significantly and she is now resting without coughing for the last couple of hours. Only 1 little spell in that time. Last night she coughed for 4.5-5 hours non-stop. I have tried everything to help it, but decided to ask the doc. about using the asthma meds or saline in the nebulizer help. We return to the pediatrician for a follow-up tomorrow. Not sure when the follow-up chest x-rays will be.
Please pray that we are able to keep the fever down, that she (and I) can rest the majority of the night (it’s 11:55 now), that the cough can be controlled so she can rest, and that the infection clears her lungs. Pray also for God’s grace and wisdom for our family right now.
Thank you,
Christie
