Katie's mouth sores have finally healed and disappeared. They were a little easier to deal with this time, probably because we caught them so early and began treating them with the magic mouth wash immediately. But over the past several days, Katie has begun to develop another cough. It isn't bad enough to keep her awake at night, but it is effecting her ability to run and play. Any sort of physical exertion usually ends up in a small coughing fit.
It just so happens that our insurance company started a new program this year and we received a phone call about that program last night. Katie has been assigned a case manager and been given access to several specialist RNs whom we can reach via phone at any time. Amy spoke to one nurse last night who, as chance would have it, specializes in Asthma. After a long chat about Katie's medical history and current cold symptoms, that nurse told her that Katie's symptoms (the cough) were signs of unmanaged Asthma and not just a cold since she didn't have any other signs of having a cold. She asked about our Asthma control plan - We don't have one. She asked what Katie's latest results were on her peak flow meter - We don't have one. She continued to ask similar questions regarding Katie's Asthma and we continued to answer with similarly unproductive responses. It seems that we don't know enough about asthma, and Katie's numerous oncologists and even her pediatrician have focused on her cancer and its treatment while maintaining a wait and see attitude about her Asthma symptoms. The nurse was unimpressed and made several suggestions to get us started down to path to proactively managing Katie's Asthma.
As a result of last night's conversation, we will be making an appointment with Katie's pediatrician to start the conversation about an Asthma control plan that will include a peak flow meter and possibly a change in dose as well as type of Asthma medication.
Showing posts with label asthma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asthma. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
April Update
It has been about a month since our last update, and it has been a very pleasant month. Katie has been feeling great and things have gone very well for her. After her last round of chemotherapy, she didn't even get sick. She didn't need any Zofran, any Miralax, or anything drug to keep her going. She went on with her life the very next day as if she had never received any chemotherapy at all. It was amazing. Since that time, she has been living the life of a normal 3 year-old, albeit a 3 year-old with what appears to be a little cold that is hanging on. The only symptoms are a slightly runny nose and a persistent cough.
Katie just received another dose of chemotherapy this Thursday and seems to be taking this one well too. She did ask for some Zofran yesterday, but today she is feeling fine and is outside running and playing. While we were at the hospital, we asked the doctors about her cough and told them that we had begun experimenting with Katie's inhaler as a method of controlling the cough and it seemed to work - at least a little. The doctors suspect that she is dealing with a slight case of asthma which isn't surprising given her history respiratory issues each winter. We were given an updated prescription for her inhaler and were asked to closely monitor her condition while she was taking monthly allotment of Dexamehtazone for the next 5 days. Dexamehtazone is a steroid that is a normal part of her chemotherapy, but if her cough gets better while she is on it, that may indicate that she is dealing with some asthma and a steroid based inhaler will help her control it more effectively. So if this cough disappears in the next few days, Katie may be issued a new steroid based inhaler that will let her run and play even more than she already does.
So as not to end this post reporting yet another medical complication, and for your viewing pleasure, I also uploaded a short video that was shot Easter morning while Katie ran around outside of my brother's house, collecting Easter eggs with her brother, Josh and her cousins, Kyler and Eric. It is short, but it makes me smile when I watch her running and having fun.
Katie just received another dose of chemotherapy this Thursday and seems to be taking this one well too. She did ask for some Zofran yesterday, but today she is feeling fine and is outside running and playing. While we were at the hospital, we asked the doctors about her cough and told them that we had begun experimenting with Katie's inhaler as a method of controlling the cough and it seemed to work - at least a little. The doctors suspect that she is dealing with a slight case of asthma which isn't surprising given her history respiratory issues each winter. We were given an updated prescription for her inhaler and were asked to closely monitor her condition while she was taking monthly allotment of Dexamehtazone for the next 5 days. Dexamehtazone is a steroid that is a normal part of her chemotherapy, but if her cough gets better while she is on it, that may indicate that she is dealing with some asthma and a steroid based inhaler will help her control it more effectively. So if this cough disappears in the next few days, Katie may be issued a new steroid based inhaler that will let her run and play even more than she already does.
So as not to end this post reporting yet another medical complication, and for your viewing pleasure, I also uploaded a short video that was shot Easter morning while Katie ran around outside of my brother's house, collecting Easter eggs with her brother, Josh and her cousins, Kyler and Eric. It is short, but it makes me smile when I watch her running and having fun.
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