Sammy

We have been able to successfully treat Sam's third round of pneumonia at home. It's fairly safe to say we are through the worst of it. Our round-the-clock hydration and respiratory watch paid off and we only had a couple close calls. He'll continue his antibiotic regimen until next Friday, with a pulmonary follow-up this Thursday. He is also just days away from being completely off his steroid treatment, at which point our immunologist will be able to begin some tests to determine what kind of underlying immune deficieny is afflicting Sam. We are hoping to have a diagnosis soon so we can begin some kind of long-term treatment.

Yep, we cursed it. Things were going pretty well.

Some light sniffles last week gave way to some severe nasal and post-nasal congestion which has put a big damper on Sam's ability to eat. Caloric intake is dropping below where it needs to be. Even more concerning is his inability to shake the sniffles. Twice now it's escalated and his sniffles have turned into pneumonia.

Took him in for an x-ray yesterday and he is cloudy again. Back on Bactrim to try and clear the pneumonia at home. As long as he can breathe, we're trying to keep him stable at home, avoiding the hospital at all cost. We've also discovered a strange sore on his leg that the immunologist is going to weigh in on, hopefully today.

The relative calm of the last four weeks has been a welcome relief. Our lives have certainly not been the same with Sam in isolation - but in comparison to the weeks spent in the hospital, it's a cake walk.

Sam has been taking his Elecare formula very well, and is bulking up quite a bit. We are just 2 weeks away from being off of steroids which will be the gateway to possibly having a diagnosis. We are cautiously optimistic of some smooth sailing for a few months.