Happy Valentines Day Everyone! In my true fashion I'm spending a day of celebration visiting doctors! I spent my first 4th of July with doctors and nurses and I spent my first birthday going to the doctor! So naturally I should spend another holiday visiting with doctors!
5:45am, Mommy's alarm rang out loud and clear! Time to get up and ready for an important day! We were off to Seattle Children's Hospital for my pulmonary follow up. I go see the clinic, every 3 months or so, to make sure I am still breathing, eating and growing! Mommy and Grandma Mary got me up, fed me a really yummy breakfast and put on my special Valentines dress. When I was all ready to go, daddy came home from work and we loaded into the van and mommy drove us all to Seattle.
Traffic was a nightmare this morning and we arrived at the hospital with only 10 minutes to spare before my appointment. During the drive I was quite fussy, but mommy and daddy thought it was because I would have rather the car been moving instead of stuck in traffic. When we got to the hospital Daddy discovered that I had spit up all over my pretty dress and my carseat. That's why I was so upset all the way there. Mommy and Daddy cleaned me up the best they could in a hurry so we wouldn't be late for my appointment. We got checked in and the nurse called us back almost immediately. It was nice to not wait for a long time! I'm not very patient sometimes.
When we got back to the room where I was to be seen, the nurse made me get all undressed so I could get weighed and measured. I was so unhappy about this. I hate getting weighed and measured. I'm always afraid someone is going to sneak a needle in at any moment! I don't like that idea. After I got all weighed and measured the nurse tried to attach the pulse oximeter to my big toe but I was so wiggly that it was really difficult to do! They were checking to make sure my saturation was good. Unfortunately my number was a little low since I was quite uncooperative about it. Normally I saturate 100% but today I only made 98%. Nothing to worry about considering, I used to saturate only about 80% when I was really little! I'm growing up!
After the nurse was done with me, we walked back to the room where the Nutritionist came to visit me. I see a nutritionist in Pulmonary because I used to have really severe reflux and my growth has suffered because of that and since lung development and growth really go hand in hand I've had to up my game on growth so my lungs can get stronger! When the nutritionist came in she showed Mommy and Daddy my growth chart. She is very pleased with me! She says I'm proportionate! This is a big deal! This means that my weight and length match up! She also showed Mommy and Daddy that for my corrected age I've hit the bottom of the chart! This is HUGE success! I am still small for my actual age (nearly 21 months) and they would like to see me catch up to the chart for ACTUAL age instead of corrected age at some point but considering how small I started out and how much I've had to deal with in my short 21 months, we'll take it! I'm small, but mighty!
When we were done talking to the nutritionist, the Pulmonary ARNP came in to see me. Since I am not on oxygen, I don't see an actual Pulmonologist, just the ARNP. I cried and screamed when she came in. I still remember last May when I was really sick and how she had to put a mask on my face and make me breathe that icky stuff in. I haven't forgiven her for that yet. Anyway, she made Mommy and Daddy hold me while she listened to me breathe, looked in my ears, nose and throat. That wasn't much fun, but I was brave. She gave a rave review and said I look fabulous and that Mommy and Daddy are doing a good job with me. She is pleased that I am getting the vaccination for RSV this year! She says it's probably the reason I am staying out of the hospital when I get sick. I've already been sick twice this season with respiratory viruses. She also said she was glad that I still had my inhaler and she refilled my OraPred in case I get another respiratory infection. This saves hours so that I can get in to see the doctor before I get too sick! Mommy and Daddy are thankful for this because I always seem to get sick on weekends! After Mommy and Daddy were done talking with the ARNP, she asked us to follow up one more time with her in May after the cold and flu season is coming to an end. She wants to make sure I really do make it through my 2nd RSV season without complications. She says if I do a good job, she might release me and I can just be followed by my regular pediatrician! Isn't that exciting? All I have to do is keep growing and breathing clearly! I go see her again on my birthday in May (See I like to spend celebration days visiting with my doctors!!) The best birthday present ever would be to get released from Pulmonary clinic with healthy lungs! Keep praying for me! I'm beating prematurity, one breath at a time!
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