Not sure if all of you knew but Courtney finally got to go see a Pediatric Pulmonary Specialist yesterday - in connection with her asthma and not being able to do much without being out of breath.
We had to be there at noon so I had to check her out of school at 11:15 to be able to get to St. Vincent's Hospital in Downtown B'ham. As soon as we got there, we had to get her to radiology for a chest x-ray. By the time we waited for that and got back to the dr. office - it was 1pm. We waited for a bit there and finally got called back. She did a few breathing tests (taking a deep breath and then pushing it out - like blowing up a balloon) and they tested her oxygen and her pulse. After all that, we went into the room to wait for Dr. Brasfield.
Once Dr. Brasfield came in, we ended up doing a extensive medical history of Courtney and then of her family and extended family. I hope I remembered everything! Anyways, she then examined Courtney. We know that her chest xray was normal - a very good thing and her breathing is in the normal range but basically on the line of being not good. I think it is like 1 away from being off. With her xray being normal - it limits the possible causes from 200 to about 9. Thankfully all but one causes can be tested...the one that can't is asthma. She is almost certain it's full blown asthma but wants to make sure nothing else is contributing to her issues.
With that said, we are doing a plan of action now. She is to use her Albuterol inhaler before any type of exercise or activity (bike riding, riding her scooter, jumping, etc) and she is now on a steroid inhaler (2 puffs in the morning and at night). We return to the office on Feb. 20th - to do further testing of her breathing to see if that is the right dosage of steroids to help her since they'll be in her for over 14 days (not by much but they will be).
Also on the 20th, we do all the other testing. Courtney will not be in school that day. We have to be at the hospital at 8am and her tests start at 8:30. She has to go through an Upper GI, a sinus xray, bloodwork (but I forgot what test they are running on that) and then after all that, will go to Dr. Brasfield's office for her Sweat test and her office visit (which includes her breathing test to check the steroid to see if they are working). By the time we leave there, we will have all the results of the tests and a new action plan to make sure Courtney will be able to enjoy the things she does and not have to worry about not being able to breath, coughing and chest hurting afterwards. This is our ultimate goal - for her to be able to enjoy being a kid without huffing and puffing :o)
Let me just say, I really really like Dr. Brasfield. She is very thorough and explained everything to Courtney too in language Courtney understood (not all medical terms). Now Courtney actually understands what is going on with her before her inhaler and afterwards. It helped that there were pictures too....LOL
I'll keep you updated with her appt. and testing once it happens.
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3 comments:
wow...glad the chest xray was normal. sorry to hear that she has to go through all of that testing but it will be good in the end especially if it leads to her to enjoying activities again.
I'm glad to hear that Courtney's x-ray went well, but I can relate to the whole testing ordeal (well Josh can) - she'll do great and I hope she can enjoy doing everything she loves without complications.
We're glad to know her X-ray was good. At least her doctor is covering all bases by running those tests. Please keep everyone updated. She's in my prayers that all turns out well.
Take care. Love and miss you all.
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