An update on my Sweet boy, Samuel...

Sammy at 5 months old!

Over the past few months, we've noticed that the continuous cough that Sam had was not going away. We figured that by the time he hit a year old it would be getting better. He coughs after he eats and then a few times while he's awake and playing. We've just never heard a baby cough as much as he does. Mark was a little concerned as he has CF and coughing is a big side effect of it.

Last Wednesday (6/16/10), Mark called the nurse to tell her our concerns. She said that before Dr. H referred us somewhere that he wanted us to bring Sam in so he could take a look at him. This was at 3:20 and they had his appt set up for 3:50. I woke him up, fed him quickly and headed to the appt. He was so happy and flirting with one of the girls there, Melissa, who always calls him "handsome." Unfortunately they all know us so well from being in with all of the kids over the years.

I expressed my concerns with Dr. H and he examined Sam. I'll list out a few of the big things that I remember, mostly for me to remember :)
*During the exam, Dr. H said that Sam had a left ear infection and some sinus issues, especially with draining (visible by a very runny nose). He said that the drainage could be causing the cough. He said that if Sam just had the ear infection by itself that he probably wouldn't give him meds but because of the sinus issues as well, he wanted to put him on some antibiotics for 10 days. He wanted to see us back in a week to check and see how the medicine was doing and to see if it was helping the cough.
*Dr. H said that because I'm not a carrier of CF (i was tested even before we got married), that the chance of Sam having CF was almost impossible. That was a relief even though we knew that deep down. It just hits so close to home that we were a little apprehensive.
*Dr. H said that he was going to do a chest x-ray today but that he wanted to wait because of the ear infection. If the meds didn't help over the next week, then he would do a chest x-ray to see if that was indicative to anything.
*He also said that he would possibly check him for reflux. He said that one of the side effects that goes along with reflux is sinus problems and draining. That in turn ususally causes coughing and then spitting up, among other stuff. Interesting! I've wanted to have him tested for reflux ever since he was tiny because of his puking but they always said that he would just grow out of it. We'll see what happens, I suppose...
*His weight was 15lbs 5.5oz!
Update:
6/21/10 - Yesterday, we headed back to Dr. H for Sam's followup appt. Again, Sam got to flirt with Melissa on the way back :) Little Mr. Handsome! Here's a rundown of the appt...
*Sam has fluid on both ears. Dr. H wants to continue the antibiotics for another 10 days to see if that clears it up. He didn't say much about his sinuses although his nose is no longer running profusely and his cough has cleared a bit... although still present.
*Sam's weight was 15lbs 13oz (up 8 oz in 5 days! go bubby!)
*Dr. H wanted a chest x-ray done today (they asked me during the x-ray if there was any chance that I could be pregnant!! Ha... All I had to do was say, "um... he's a twin!" That answered any questions. This happened back when he was only about 3 months old as well. I said the same thing and got the same response... Nope, not pregnant!!!!") If the chest x-ray comes back abnormal then he'll want to do a sweat chloride test (a main test for Cystic Fibrosis). If it's normal, then he says a SCT isn't necessary at all.
*He put Sam on a relux medicine for 10 days. He also put in a standing referral on Sam's chart for a referral to a GI doc. After 10 days, I'm supposed to call in and let him know how the medicine is working and how it's affecting his cough. If nothing has changed then we are going to be referred to a GI doc who most likely will put a probe down Bubby's throat to see if they can figure out the cause for the cough. Dr. H said he's not so much worried about the spitting up that he's doing because he only does that when he's coughing. He's more worried about the cause of the cough.
*We're also supposed to go back in 4 weeks to check up on his ears and the fluid that's there... Hopefully it'll be gone!
(side note: I heard one of the receptionists saying that this year has been the worst for ear infections in kids. She said that everyone is coming in right now for ear infections. Sam has had one and Hannah has had one... I had no idea Sam had his... Hannah was a little crankly and pulling on her ear. Madalyn never had issues with them. Interesting!)

Update:
Yesterday afternoon, Katie (whom I also know and probably gets really sick of hearing from the Bettinger's! ha) called and said that Sammy's Chest x-ray was normal! Praise God!

Now we'll just wait and see how this new reflux medicine works. As of last night, he's cough has gone down considerably and he hasn't even spit up (even though he wasn't do it very much anyway... only because of the cough). We're putting our trust in God and praying for complete healing! I'll post updates as I get them!