Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Under the Weather

Well, there is that saying..."When it rains, it pours..."
I was finally starting to feel like a human being again after that nasty stomach episode yesterday. A little weak and tired, but my stomach settled before bedtime last night and I slept pretty soundly. Then, Eli woke us up at 5am, screaming, which is very uncharacteristic. He was unconsolable for an hour and we tried everything we could think of: the teething gel, a bottle, diaper change, singing, rocking...Nothing was comforting the poor little guy. Finally, around 6am, I broke out the bottle of children's ibuprofen I had purchased before coming to Colombia. I had talked to our pharmacist and asked her what she thought I might want to have on hand for a nine month old and she had recommended the ibuprofen, tylenol, the teething gel and a gas relief medication. I gave Eli the correct dosage for his weight and prayed it would bring him some comfort. I'm discovering that there is no worse feeling than seeing your child in pain and not being able to help. Jamie and I were both feeling terrible and wishing he could just tell us where it hurt.

By 6:30am he was calming down and he fell asleep in my arms. I propped myself up in the bed, next to Jamie, with Eli on my chest, and we all slept for another hour. Today was our immigration appointment, so we had to be out the door by 9am. Elias played quite happily on his quilt while Jamie made breakfast (which, unfortunately, I wasn't able to eat quite yet) and prepared some purees for Eli.  I got dressed and ready and then we switched places; I fed Eli so Jamie could get cleaned up. It was strange how quickly our little boy had returned to his sweet, easy going disposition. He ate well for me, we've seen a big improvement these past few days in his appetite, and then I set him down on the floor to play for a bit while I cleaned up. When I walked back over to pick him up, I noticed a yellow stain on the shoulder of his white onesie. Laughing, I muttered, "How did you get your food up on your shoulder, goofball?!!" As I looked closer, I realized that his left ear was oozing a thick yellow mucus and that the he had been rubbing his ear on his shoulder.

Poor little guy! No wonder he was inconsolable. I had a terrible ear infection as a young adult and the pain was so bad I ended up in the emergency room with a shot of demerol! I can't even imagine being as little as Eli and suffering that kind of pain. Surprisingly, the ibuprofen seemed to be giving him relief and he remained pleasant and content while I started freaking out about my discovery.
I wonder why mom's so upset... 
We called FANA to see if we could talk to his doctor, Lorena, and we were asked to call back in an hour or so. So, I cleaned the outside of his ear with a warm washcloth, which he did not like at all, and we packed him up and headed out to the immigration office. Maria Teresa met us in our parking garage and we all walked up to the street and hailed a cab. I guess parking is a nightmare at  immigration, so this was the easier option. On a side note, we can't get over how cheap the cab fares are here. It took us about 15 minutes to get to immigration and the fare was $6,000 pesos which amounts to approximately $3.00! The same ride would probably cost 10 times that in NYC!

Maria Teresa was not allowed to enter the building with us, but instructed us on where to go and what to do. She waited outside and we headed in with Eli. Thank goodness we had packed a full bag for our little boy. We ended up feeding him again there and changing his diaper before we were finished. Everyone was very kind and it was not at all an unpleasant experience, just a lengthy one! We got back to the apartment around noon and Maria Teresa came up to our place with us and called FANA herself. She put Lorena on the phone with me who agreed to see Eli right away if we could get him to FANA before 3pm. So, off we went again- this time in Maria Teresa's car, back to FANA to have Lorena check our little guy out.

When we arrived many of the staff popped their heads in the green room to see us, while we waited for Lorena. Then, she took us back to a tiny patient room and she listened to Eli breathe, checked his oxygen levels with a tiny device called an oxymeter that is held on his finger, and looked at both his ears. We also weighed him in at 7.8 kilograms which equals 17.2 lbs. This was good news, because Eli has been underweight and is finally starting to beef up!

We were relieved to hear that his lungs sound perfectly fine (he has a history of respiratory issues so we have to keep a close watch on this), and his oxygen levels and heart beat are both good. He has had a bit of a cough since the day we received him, but they had told us this was fine and he was recovering from bronchitis which he had in early June. We were given two medications for him on the day of the presentation: one for reflux and an inhaler to help with the bronchial issues. Lorena said that our pediatrician may decide that those medications are no longer necessary when we get home, but while we are here in Colombia, she would prefer we continue them just to be on the safe side. But, I digress...

It appears that the ear infection is a result of a very stuffy nose which is draining in to his ears and throat. The cough I've been hearing more frequently these past two days and the fluid in the left ear are both caused by this congestion. I also learned that reflux can create many problems for babies, not just the typical spitting up issue. Eli is taking reflux medication three times a day and I have yet to see him spit up any food or formula. But, Lorena told me that some of this fluid build up can be caused by the reflux. I will have to do more research on that, as it is possible I misunderstood or her translation from Spanish to English was a little off. Anyway, she wrote us a script for four more medications and sent us on our way! The staff at the little pharmacy, Olympia, which is near our place, is getting to know Jamie well. He was just there yesterday playing charades and trying to find a treatment for my stomach bug! But, they've been extremely helpful. They didn't have the antibiotic Lorena requested so they had Jamie pay for it and they ordered and delivered it to our apartment within an hour and a half.

Elias is now taking six medications which definitely complicates our schedule. He has an antibiotic for the ear infection, ear drops, children's tylenol (Lorena prefers it over the ibuprofen), a nasal saline spray, the inhaler and the reflux medication! Still, somehow the kid remains in pretty good spirits and that keeps Jamie and I smiling, too! He cries and screams when we give him some of the medicines, but recovers so quickly and is back to making raspberries, jabbering energetic nonsense, and crawling up and down and all around us like a little monkey, within minutes. We can't get over how much we love this kid!

Playing with mommy's bracelet is a new favorite pastime

Couch time

You know...This ear infection thing is working out alright for me. I'm getting sooooo much attention!

Whee!!!
He missed his nap due to all the commotion, but was very loving and sweet all evening. He ate well at dinner time, suffered through another round of meds, and fell asleep drinking his 8pm bottle. As for Jamie and I, we feel so much better knowing what is wrong and how to fix it. I'm hoping we will all sleep well tonight after such a busy day.

Clean bib...

Dirty bib...

Getting tired...

Down for the count!
Tomorrow is another early morning for our family. We will be out the door by 9:15am for our Bienestar interview at FANA. This is an interview with the Defender of Minors here in Bogotá, and it concludes our paperwork process for the adoption. After this interview, if all goes well, the Defender will file his report with all of our other documents in the court system. Then all we have to do is wait. It will likely be a week or two before we hear which court we have been assigned to and then we will wait even longer for a court date. For those who are wondering when we will be coming home, it is impossible to determine at this point. It could be three to four weeks before we have our court date. Once it is determined, we should be able to plan our return flights within a week of that date.

Maria Teresa explained to me today that "court" here in Bogotá is nothing like in the U.S. She said that we will not see a judge or go into a fancy courtroom. She told us that only one of us needs to appear for the appointment and you do not need to dress up. She said the court offices are small and not even as nice as the immigration offices. We won't be asked any questions, either. One of us just has to show up and sign the documents that finalize our adoption of Elias. Sounds pretty simple, right?!! I think the difficult part will be the uncertain time table.

So, our plan is to get through tomorrow's interview, which is a formal question and answer session to evaluate the quality of Eli's placement with us, get everyone in the family healthy again, and then try to get out and see more of Colombia and enjoy the waiting time as much as we can. There is much to see and do here and we will have time on our hands; I'm looking forward to some family fun and the making of memories we will hold dear when we return to the states.

4 comments:

  1. It is a challenge, isn't it? Never a dull moment. As I'm sure you know, Tylenol (acetaminophen) is a great medication for pain and fever relief if used no more than stated on the instructions. Our pediatrician friend stressed to us last week that the number one cause of liver damage in children is from overuse of Tylenol even slightly over the recommended dose daily. I would also call a pharmacist in the US to make sure all your medications do not conflict with each other. Six different medications are a lot especially for a baby.

    http://www.propublica.org/article/tylenol-mcneil-fda-use-only-as-directed

    Hope the little one feels better. It is hard to see them so helpless.

    Love,
    Lisa

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    1. Thanks, Lisa! I have heard of the dangers. That's why I initially opted for the ibuprofen. I was hoping it was safer. I wasn't going to advertise my new mommy neurosis, but Maria Teresa actually helped me get a second doctor over to our apartment last night to look at Eli and review the medicines, just for a second opinion. I'm new at this and we are so far from home... I needed to set my mind at ease. The other doctor confirmed everything Lorena told us and double checked the dosage of each medicine. Everything is good and Eli seems to be feeling a bit better today. Better safe than sorry when it comes to your baby, right? ;)

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  2. So sorry Eli is under the weather. It is very normal for now he is being exposed to things he wasn't in FANA. Paige had more than her fair share of respiratory and ear infections. So glad you can go to FANA...we went to random clinics with her while we were there. If you ever have questions or need to talk please feel free to reach out to us.
    With love,
    Jen and Mike Hennigan

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    1. Thank you, Jen! Yes, FANA and Lorena, specifically, has been so good to us. I think she has a soft spot in her heart for Eli because he needed some extra care early on. I'm so grateful for her willingness to take my calls and see Eli, if needed. He seems to be doing better today. He slept well and ate well, so that's a good sign!

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