A Terrible Cold

We've suspected for several days that Annie has a cold that is causing some infrequent vomiting. She made it very clear to us yesterday that she does in fact have a cold. Yesterday must have been her peak day. She struggled to deal with the congestion, and I used suction a lot to help her breathe more easily. We're keeping her on Robitussin around the clock, which is helping, but she's still vomiting a couple times each night due to the congestion.

Annie has also developed swollen eyelids. This might be due to her cold. But yesterday her feet also became swollen. I've been keeping her up in her chair all day the last few days to help with congestion, so I wonder if that's why her feet are swelling. That's not typical for her though, even after being in her chair all day, so we do worry about a kidney or heart problem. It's not normal for her to retain fluids like this. So we're not totally sure what's going on.

I cancelled her bladder scan study that was supposed to be yesterday because of the illness--we would not have gotten accurate results. She will still have the study done, but right now we don't have a date.

I've had to reschedule her brain MRI that was supposed to be tomorrow, because of her cold as well. Since Annie has to be under sedation for the MRI, it's not safe for her to have all this congestion when sedated, otherwise she could choke or aspirate on it. Unfortunately, the next available time isn't until November 6th. But the MRI isn't urgent, so we'll just wait until then.

Annie will see her pediatrician on Thursday to recheck her urine and evaluate her edema. We're making tentative plans for her to return to school next Tuesday, but we'll see how she does until then.

I was able to take Annie to the high school today to be in her senior class picture. I really wanted her to be included and be able to be remembered. It's one of those "chronic sorrow" experiences to have her graduating from high school. In no way is she a typical high school senior, and we are missing out on a lot of typical experiences that we won't ever get to have with her. It's strange to think that all the other seniors Annie's age are driving, dating, and making their college plans. It's such an exciting time of life for them and their families, but nothing will be changing for Annie. She is our forever little girl. But I'm so grateful that she is doing as well as she is, that she can be at home with us, and that we can enjoy her smiles and giggles. It's always humbling to think about how Heavenly Father has entrusted her to us.

I'm also grateful for all of Annie's good friends at school. She has so many teachers and friends there, some who she got to see today. It warms my heart to know that she is missed at school. Hopefully she will be feeling better soon and be back to school!