March Update: So Far So Good

We are half-way through March and Tyson is holding up 'amazingly' for March.  Those of you who follow his blog or know our family well know how much March can be a difficult month for us.  Of Tyson's five years of life, he has been hospitalized in March every year except once.  In 2012 he managed to pull through March but was hospitalized in June instead.  Last March we spent time in the hospital with both Addisyn and Tyson.  March is definitely not our favorite time of year.  Spring and Fall are difficult seasons for most asthma-sufferers, but add a complex heart anatomy to that and you have trouble brewing in spring and fall. With the changes in the temperature, lots of viruses and bacteria float around putting Tyson at risk of developing pneumonia and needing antibiotics and oxygen.  Maybe this year with the crazy cold winter we've had, the spring weather won't hit us till April...and maybe Tyson will make it through March no problems but struggle in April instead.  Either way, we are geared up and ready and I already have our hospital bags half-packed ;)

Right now Tyson is SUPER HEALTHY!  So healthy, he's been off his nebulizer for two weeks and only taking Flovent through his aerochamber twice a day.  He continues on the Singulair pill which manages his asthma symptoms throughout most of the year.  (And his regular heart meds of course.)  Brian made himself a Dr appointment on Tuesday because he developed a very serious chest cold (coughing up blood is never a good thing, is it?) This would have had serious effects on Tyson if he were to catch it, so Brian was given a five day antibiotic and his cough is now clearing up quickly.  So far Tyson is still doing great!And he hasn't had a single nosebleed since late January.  His INR level is stable as long as he stays healthy.

A few weeks ago we had a physiotherapist visit our home to teach us how to do chest physio exercises on Tyson for when he does develop a cough.  She also gave us ideas for deep-breathing exercises that will help keep Tyson's entire lung inflated and keep good air entry throughout the upper and lower lobes.  Often his pneumonia settles into the lower lobe of his lung, perhaps because he doesn't take full, deep breaths, and practising deep-breathing and staged breathing exercises will hopefully keep the fluid moving around and not brewing into infection.  We are hopeful that these techniques will improve his symptoms and possibly prevent pneumonia and the need for antibiotics or oxygen.

We've enjoyed a nice March Break with the kids.  They had some sleep-overs, we had a day out with my Spanninga seestas, we got to see the new Lego movie, and the older boys played in an all-day hockey tournament. Today Brian is busy painting Kenya & Addisyn's bedroom.  We've been promising them a new colour for a long time and it's finally time to get some rooms painted in this house.  Braden and Merrick's room is next.

If all goes well this spring and Tyson continues to stay healthy and hospital-free, our plan is to move him into the basement bedroom with Braden and Merrick, and then convert Tyson's bedroom into an office.  This will be a very big step for me - not having him in the room right next to me where I can hear him if he's coughing or not sleeping well.  But with Brian's carpentry business, we desperately need an office to contain all our paperwork and files, and have a quiet place to work, make phone calls, and do the bookkeeping. We will likely keep Tyson's hospital bed in his old bedroom (the office) for at least a while, for those times when he does develop a cold and is coughing a lot overnight.  Then we'd need to keep him closer to us at nights so we can hear if he's struggling and needing more ventolin.   If all goes well, Tyson will move into the basement bedroom with his brothers in the fall, when he starts school full-time.  Wow, I can hardly believe I just typed that.  This is happening way too fast! 

That's the March update from our household.  We're thankful for good health.