Is there anyone out there who is not presently sick or has not been sick with sinus problems or a cold?  Well, Mr. Gage is sick. He has copious amounts of secretions coming from his nose and throat, and he is coughing which leads to him wretching. Awful.  He started this a little the end of last week but it was worse Saturday when we went to see my Aunt Lois and my mom's sister in Elizabeth City.  It has continued to get worse.  This was the first time some of the family had ever seen Gage and he was still cute as ever.  Gage and Aunt Kim color coordinated in our orange shirts and brown pants.  Nana and Larry drove with Erica, Taylor, and Ryan in the car with them, and Aunt Lisa, Beth and Gage were with Aunt Kim.  Aunt Lisa said at one point she felt like we were in the Indi 500, and that cars were drafting off of Nana.  Nana also ran a poor little old man off the road that was on a scooter, and in Elizabeth City when we took the new highway and she took the old highway.  When we arrived at Aunt Lois, the three kids piled out of the back saying they would never ever ride with her again. They would ride in the back of my truck, in the rain, on the way home because Nana was looking at Aunt Kim on the other road and ran over the bumps that warn you you are running off the road into the grass while they screamed NANA......Larry, of course, said nothing because it is better that way.  The visit with our family was great, and Gage slept most of the time. But when he awakened he started coughing and had copious amounts of thick secretions that required suctioning.  We even had to stop at Wal-mart to get tissue and extra wipes and pampers.  When Gage coughs a lot it leads to that awful wretching which leads to the apnea periods and he has loose stools....so as soon as we were able to get home Aunt kim and Beth went into action mode with the nebulizers and medications.  Gage was glad to get settled in one spot.  Beth called Pediatrician in Greenville today and Papa and Beth took Gage over to Winterville.  Gage's history is in jan and Feb by x-ray he was diagnosed with pneumonia.  So now we have this thick stuff coming from excessive coughing-from his nose and mouth to the point he gets choked on it. We already have been doing nebs and inhalers.  So for you medical people what would you want to know??? Answer:  Does he still have pneumonia?     No, that would make too much sense. The MD walks in and tells Beth he has an ear infection and asks Beth what antibiotic she would like......WHAT??? We could have asked for this over the phone. So needless to say Aunt Kim is calling another pediatrician and asking about them accepting a really cute but complicated case at 2 years of age almost next month.  Aunt Kim is not HAPPY. When Beth asked about x-ray it was blown off and stated "he is wheezing" but they know we are doing nebs and have been.  Jeez......Then I step back and say would this change his treatment plan? It depends on the pneumonia, but it would be nice to know if it is any worse from Feb.  It sounds like I may have to go do some Kung Fu/Rambo skills on someone. It has been a while since I have flexed my muscles.  Anyway, we go to Duke Wed and ML and Beth go with Gage to speak with the surgeon who would place the VNS into Gage's chest.  I will let you know what they decide after this consultation.  The Lord will have a hand in this I know, because he has Gage's name on his heart and in his head.  God is good, and I am blessed.
*BETH*