Somehow, and I always rack my brain trying to figure out how, our home is host to a summer cold. Those who got it first are slowly improving but the head cold, for some, has dropped to a chest cold. This is what we must avoid for Anna, if at all possible. Her runny nose began the other night in her sleep as I heard her toss and turn, breathe heavily through her mouth, and snort a time or two. I lay there listening to her, and worried. When she woke up she told me that her throat hurt... well, actually she said, "There is something in my throat." Maybe it was goop. In any case, we put her on a decongestant right away but it doesn't seem to be working too well. I just wrote the CF nurse to ask if she had a suggestion for a different type of decongestant and I got back an automatic-reply email that she was out of town until next week. Frustrating. Please keep Anna in your prayers as we battle this cold and try to keep her healthy.
On a different note, Anna has recently taken charge of her own therapy treatments. She described her respiratory therapy to me one day like this: "First you put on the medicine. The smoke comes out. You cough and feel better. That's the therapy." She also insists on snapping the buckles on the vest by herself and will often want to attach the hoses to the sides as well. It is our goal as parents to teach her to take care of her CF needs as early and as independently as possible- so that someday she will have no troubles, or even a second thought, about following the daily care guidelines for CF. If we can teach CF care as a normal routine for her, then her chances for a longer and healthier life will increase....
My goal, my prayer, is that Anna outlive me- and then some.
