8th Annual CF Walk is this Sunday!!

Our 8th Annual Cystic Fibrosis Walk is THIS SUNDAY, May 7th at 266 Oldman Rd in Wooster!! Check in is at 11, and the walk begins at noon! It's free to go and there will be free food, snacks, drinks, balloon animals, fire truck, ambulance, police car possibly with K9's doing tricks, craft table, and more!! Let me know if you are coming!! It's fun for the whole family!! Please click this link to register to walk or donate/sponsor us to walk!!

BIG THANK YOU to those who have donated so far...Cara, Eva, Rafe, Danielle & Steven, Al & Nancy, Dad, Rachel, Marie & Sam, Dustin H, Mom, Stacy W, Martin & Jamie, & Dawn!! Thank you for helping Chris win the CF teddy bear and CF blanket too!! He LOVES them!! :)

http://fightcf.cff.org/goto/A_Cure_4_Chris 

I know I haven't posted in awhile, but like I always say...No news is good news!! :)

I haven't had time for much lately, because on 1/29/17, I got promoted to Store Manager of the Akron Kohl's!! :) I LOVE it and have a GREAT team!! Unfortunately, it doesn't leave me much time to blog, or do as much fundraising as I would like. Luckily my Mother-in-Law lives close and has been a tremendous help in getting things ready for our walk this Sunday!! Thanks Oma!! :)

As for an update on Chris, he has been doing well. He is up to 3 enzymes with every meal and snack now(he was at 2 with the new red pills). He also takes a chewable vitamin now instead of a gel one. He hates it, but we can't get the gel ones anymore:( He is still taking Prevacid daily and Claritin. His nose runs a lot during allergy season, so we are going to look into a different allergy medicine. I think he may have become immune to the Claritin because they keep him on it all year long and he has been taking it for a few years now.

He still does his Vest 30 minutes in the morning before school and 30 min at night before bed. Thankfully he has only had 1 bad cough this past year and only had to take an antibiotic once. I think it was right before Christmas. He still does well with his Pulmozyme neb every night. He even washes his neb cups now!! :)

The only area of concern right now, is that he has had to use his puffer(inhaler) more often recently because he gets these weird chest pains. We try to make it go away with manual CPT too. It usually seems to happen when he is at the soccer fields. So we have started giving him his puffer before we leave for practice or games now. He also has been getting a lot of stomachaches off and on. We mentioned it to the dr last time and she recommended he try new enzymes with his meals and snacks. They gave us one bottle to try, but it only has enough for one week. Not sure that's long enough to tell, but we are going to try it once school is out so the school doesn't get confused with which pills to give him. We are praying that this is the answer. Chris doesn't want to take them though, because he will have to take 5 of them instead of 3 with each meal and snack. I'll let you know how it goes.

He has his annual CF clinic appointment coming up in June where he gets his bloodwork done and is usually a 3-4 hour visit. Please pray all goes well and he gains weight and has a good PFT!!

Thanks again for all who donated and keep up with Chris' CF journey!! I'll try to post again in less than a year this time;p LOL

M

Culture Result!! / Pulmozyme WORKS for Lil' Chris!!

We finally got his throat culture result back and it was NORMAL AGAIN!! THAT'S 3 TIMES IN A ROW!!! WOO HOO!!! This momma is sooooooo excited!!!

I'm hoping and praying he goes the whole school year with all normal culture results! He goes for check-ups at the CF Clinic every 3 months, so his next appointment is on 1/8/14. Last year it was the end of October that he had his worst culture result...Pseudomonas:( But I guess we successfully eradicated it, b/c now he has had 3 NORMAL cultures!! YEA!!

So for now, no new changes to his daily routine. He still....
-takes 8 pills every morning, 
-5 pills with every meal and snack, 
-we try to feed him as many calories as we can(I wish I could eat whatever I wanted! lol), 
-he does his Vest for 30 min in the morning before school and 30 min at night before bed, 
-and he does his nebulized medicine called Pulmozyme every night.

I just wanted to say that we really do appreciate all that you have donated over the past 6 years, b/c it really helps bring out new and better meds for all CFers!! I gotta tell you...Lil' Chris has been on Pulmozyme for over a year now(he started last July) and he has only had one bad cough!! THAT'S AMAZING!!! He used to get 4-5 bad coughs a year! He used to be on antibiotics all the time it seemed! In the last year, the only antibiotics he was on was Omnicef until they discovered he had Pseudomonas, then they switched him to TOBI and Cipro. He did this one month on and then one month off and he hasn't been on any antibiotics since...and NO BAD COUGHS SINCE!!! WOOHOO!!! THANK YOU PULMOZYME!!! What Pulmozyme does is, it thins the mucus so it can be cleared out of the lungs much easier. CFers get thick, sticky mucus that builds up in their lungs and can cause really bad bacterias, like Pseudomonas, to grow. It is usually very hard to get rid of too, so we got very lucky. 

During his reading homework, he said he could even read it with his eyes closed;p LOL!!! It was sooo funny, b/c he kept peeking;p LOL!!!

Thank you everyone who prays for Lil' Chris on a daily basis!! Keep the prayers coming that he never gets Pseudomonas or anything worse every again!!

Thanks,
M

New Vest and Travel Neb!!!!!

 Guess who got too big for his blue Vest?? He now is in a Child Large!! I can't believe it!!!!

He is shooting with his Army Gun. LOL

 This looks like a school pic :) LOL

  He said he wanted the "Army Vest" b/c Spencer goes to the Army:) I think he learned to pose from Spencer too;p LOL

 New travel nebulizer. We are renting it to see if we like it...we'll probably end up buying it. It's pretty cool and he likes that he can walk around during treatment time:) 1st time ever not being tied down during treatment time!! (he started the neb before putting the Vest on to test out his freedom;)

Here are some pics of him using the travel neb, disposable neb cups, and his Army Vest on vacation to DisneyWorld...:)

 Ayla wanted a pic too;)

 He liked putting his arm thru the tubing;p

I def recommend using disposable neb cups when on vacation!! They were soooo nice!! They came individually packed, we used them, and then just threw them away!! Soooo easy!! We didn't have to worry about how we were going to sterilize them and dry them. We will def be using those on every vacation going forward!!!


http://mustardrevolution.blogspot.com/2013/09/2-years-ago.html  Remember baby Chaia from 2 years ago when I posted about her and her rare genetic heart disease?? Well, guess what?? She is still fighting like a champ!! Check her blog to see her cute lil' face:)

More Disney pics coming soon:)
M

CF Med List Expense/BCMH Approval!!!

GREAT NEWS!!!!!

WE GOT OUR APPROVAL LETTER IN THE MAIL FOR BCMH(Lil' Chris' secondary insurance)!!!! WHOO HOO!!!!!

It's a good thing too, b/c the same day we got his approval letter, we also got a statement in the mail saying that his $1,500 for 2 of his meds was paid for!! Praise the Lord!!!

I found this cool price list for most CF meds...https://www.cfservicespharmacy.com/ProductsandPrices/

Check it out to see how much you/your child's meds are without having to rummage thru all your bills and statements:)

Here is a breakdown of Lil' Chris' meds...

Enzymes=Creon 6,000= 5 with every meal, about 25 per day=$1,200 for 30 day supply

Prevacid=once daily=$250 for 30 day supply

Aquadeks=once daily=$42 for 30 day supply

Pulmozyme=inhaled once daily=$2,700 for 30 day supply

Albuterol Puffer= (was not listed)

Flonase=$102

When he cultures Pseudomonas, he has to take the following...

Cipro=$530 for 30 day supply

TOBI=twice daily for 28 days=$8,000 

TobiPodhaler=$8,000 (this just got approved, so he may take this next time he cultures Pseudomonas instead of TOBI, b/c it cuts treatment time down by about 40 minutes per day. I was surprised to see it costs the same as TOBI)

He also takes Claritin daily too, which is not listed b/c it's for his seasonal allergies. Not sure how much it is, but our insurance and BCMH covers that also thankfully. I think it's around $40.

So, our grand total for just one month without TOBI and Cipro=$4,334

Grand total with TOBI and Cipro=$12,864

Grand total for one YEAR without TOBI and Cipro=$52,008

Grand total for one year with TOBI and Cipro every other month=$103,188 

WOW!!! CYSTIC FIBROSIS IS EXPENSIVE!! 

SO THANKFUL FOR BCMH!!!

I don't know what we would do without it!!

THANK YOU BCMH and THANK YOU LORD FOR ANSWERED PRAYER!!!

My advice to other CF families is to get with your CF clinic's social worker to find out about any other financial assistance programs your area might have. BCMH is for my state, but your state may have something similar. Also, even if you think you may make too much and won't get approved...just apply anyways. It doesn't hurt anything by applying. You never know, you might get approved anyways, b/c of how serious a disease CF is! If you get denied one year, apply again each year. Like I said, it doesn't hurt to try...your effort will pay off once you get approved:)

Please pray that we continue to get approved each year as you can see the impact it has on our family.

Thanks,

M

PS. Lil' Chris is doing GREAT! NO COUGH!! THANK YOU JESUS!!

Summer Vaca Fun / Cough:(

I was on vacation this past week while my husband had to work, and the kids and I had a GREAT time together!! We did many outside things in between rainstorms all week. We went to 2 different spray parks, pool, and even had fun with their old blowup pool with slide!! I guess we had too much fun, b/c by Thursday, Ayla's nose started running non-stop. At first we thought it was allergies, but when it kept running ALL day, we thought maybe it was a cold. Lil' Chris started with a stuffy nose too. Then he woke up Friday morning with a bad productive cough:( I've been hearing a lot of people having allergy issues with all these storms and hot weather, so I still don't know if it's their allergies or a cold. 

Lil' Chris' cough may be from post nasal drip, b/c his nose is stuffy. So, my last day of vaca(fri) was spent doing treatments and giving meds. We want to get rid of his cough ASAP before it gets deep down in his lungs. We've been doing more treatments to help him get it up and spit it out so that it doesn't get down in his lungs and start growing bad bacterias which could lead his health down a very wrong path.When I called the CF nurse to ask if we should increase the Pulmozyme to 2 times a day, she said no, to just increase everything else and maybe try Mucinex which works like Pulmozyme to help thin the mucus to help get it out. He has been doing a GREAT job with the extra treatments, and has spit out mucus a few times now!! Ayla has been doing her Albuterol puffer too along with Lil' Chris and has been taking a cough suppressant, b/c she started with a lil' cough. They like doing the treatments together:)

Here is what we have been doing...
After breakfast...Flonase, Mucinex, Albuterol puffer, Vest-30min, Acapella
After lunch...Albuterol puffer, Vest-30min, Acapella
Before bed...Flonase, Mucinex, Albuterol puffer, inhaled Pulmozyme, Vest-30min, Acapella

I will keep you posted on how they are doing. Please pray that his cough goes away quick and he doesn't get any bad bacteria's in his lungs. We know that every time we go somewhere...there is always a risk of him getting sick. You never know if there is another CFer there, or if another kid is sick, etc.... We try not to keep him in a bubble though.

Above is just 2 of the many video's I took this vacation:) I wish I could post the pics, but blogger isn't letting me right now:( I did post some on facebook though.

Praising God that 10 year old Sarah with CF is doing well with her new lungs. She had to get another set of lungs 3 days after the first set, but is doing better and got all her chest tubes out!! Please keep her and the 2 donor families in your prayers.
M

One Cough in 9 Months!!/BEST Culture Result!!

 Some pics of Lil' Chris doing his Pulmozyme and Vest before bed.

I was just looking back on my blog here, and I realized that Lil' Chris has only had ONE cough since he started the Pulmozyme daily!!! Pulmozyme helps thin the mucus. He used to get about 5 coughs a year, and now it has been 9 months and he has only had ONE cough!!! And that's including culturing Pseudomonas 2 times!

 AMAZING!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!!

He used to always get coughs after a cold, but he hasn't the last few times, including his last cold on 3/7/13!! WooHoo!!

Oh, btw, his last culture came back.....

drum roll please..... 

NORMAL!!!!

WOOHOO!!! 

Thank you all for your prayers!!! Keep them coming, because they are working:)

 M

Pseudo 3rd time in a row?????

 Eeeeek, is it Pseudo AGAIN????

I got a call from the CF nurse yesterday around 4:15pm, but of course I was at work and didn't hear her message until I had my dinner break. I hate it when that happens, b/c then I have to wait til the next day to call them back since it's after hours. So naturally, my husband and I think the worst...that he cultured Pseudomonas yet again:'( That seems to be the only time the CF nurses ever call us. 

Needless to say...I didn't get much sleep, b/c if he did culture Pseudo this 3rd time in a row, then he would have to do TOBI every other month. TOBI is really hard on all of us. Lil' Chris has to sit there for ONE WHOLE HOUR in the morning before school AND ONE WHOLE HOUR before bed, whereas we are used to just doing his Vest for 30 minutes in the AM and PM and we do the Pulmozyme the same time as the Vest in the evening, but adding TOBI was putting another 20-30 minutes onto his daily routine. We made it through the last 2 times he had to do it for 28 days each, but we were REALLY looking forward to not having to do it for awhile.

So, I got a call from the CF nurse just as I was about to take Lil' Chris to school this morning and I braced myself for the worst news possible......but.....she said that he DIDN'T culture Pseudomonas!!! WOOHOO!! Praise the Lord!! I was so excited!! I of course let Lil' Chris know the good news right away!! It didn't even phase him...all he kept thinking about was how he was taking his 50 words/flash cards that I made to show his teacher that he can read them:) He's such a laid back kid when it come to his CF! I've seen CF kids get so emotionally involved with their CF that it's so hard on the whole family, yet Lil' Chris just takes everything that's thrown at him like it's nothing. He just does what's best for himself! I love this kid:)

What this means, is that the Pseudo may have been successfully eradicated! There will be no changes in the rest of his meds and treatments. He will get another throat culture at his next 3 month check-up on 5/8/13. Then the worry game will begin again. Please keep Lil' Chris in your prayers that the Pseudo never comes back again! A CURE is right around the corner, he just needs to stay as healthy as possible until all us CF Mommy's and Daddy's can raise enough money to fund the much needed research for that CURE, since it is not funded by the government. Please help support CF and make a donation today or sign up to walk with us on 5/5/13!! Click here or you can always click the Great Strides link under the picture at the top and to the right of this blog:) Thanks so much!!

I had waited to update my Great Strides video for 2013, b/c I didn't know whether I was going to have to add that he does TOBI every other month or not, but now that I know his TOBI has been cancelled for next month until he gets another culture, I can post my finished product:) I must say, it's always hard updating this video each year, but I am super happy not to add TOBI in for every other month!! Praying next year there won't be any adds!! Here it is, my Great Strides Video for 2013, sorry it's mostly the same, but I like the back story, and I did add some new pics at the end:)....

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Don't forget...I have 2 CF fundraisers coming up next week. Thirty One Party on Tues March 5th at 6pm and Arbonne Party on Thurs March 7th at 6p, both at my house:) Let me know if you can make it and for directions!! You can still order even if you can't make it to the fundraiser...a percentage of each sale goes towards a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis!!! 
Thanks, 
M

Soooo Needed to Vent...Pseudo is back for 2nd time;(

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. The kids and I have had fun playing with their new Christmas toys:) I can't get enough of these kids :)

Thank you to everyone who has still been checking in on the blog! We DID end up hitting 40,000 hits before the end of 2012!! WOOHOO!!!

Ayla's medicine worked and her cough went away, thank God!! Lil' Chris never caught it, PRAISE THE LORD!!!! He has been cough free!! Everyone here is well, no coughs and no colds...knock on wood;) The flu has been going around like crazy at work. Please pray that none of us get it, esp Lil' Chris. It could put him in the hospital.

We had a FANTASTIC Christmas, New Year, and even got to play in the snow and go sledding!!! I posted pics and video's on fb. One of these days I'll try to find some time to upload some video's on One True Media again:) It's just very time consuming since this laptop is so slow. I've started so many video's, but then gave up b/c I get too frustrated and I don't want to break a window by throwing my laptop thru it;p LOL

Lil' Chris got his ski's that he asked Santa for, and Ayla got her Minnie Mouse dressed in Christmas PJ's that she asked Santa for:) Too funny:) Lil' Chris also got a new 3DS XL and lots of games for it. He LOVES playing it and even tried to sneak it into bed with him Christmas night:) LOL Ayla got a new big girl bed!! She loves it b/c it has a slide and a lil' playhouse underneath:) Now she has a Minnie room:)

They also got their own tablet, so now maybe Mommy can actually touch her iPad;) LOL They both LOVE it!! Ayla calls it a tabalet:) LOL When she wakes up in the morning, she comes quietly into our room and grabs the tablet or iPad off the charger and then either goes in her room or goes downstairs and plays quietly til we all wake up:) She is such a good girl!!

As for a CF Update on Lil' Chris...at the end of December, we went to the CF clinic to get a throat culture to see if the Pseudomonas is still there after doing his first round of TOBI...well, did we have fun on that trip!!! First off, my husband couldn't get that day off, so I had to take the 2 of them all by myself and I HATE driving up there! Second, we were only 10 minutes away and Ayla decided to pee in her pants...yeah...sooooo much fun!!! So of course I have no extra clothes b/c she has been potty trained for over a year! So I call the clinic and tell them I'm going to be late. Then I pull over and search in the GPS(thank God I had a GPS!!) for the nearest Walmart. I start driving and then I see a Kohl's closer than the Walmart, so I go there. 

So after that, we start heading back and the GPS can't find the stinkin clinic!! It kept taking me in circles!! I had just about had it, if you can imagine! Finally I find it and we get there and have the appointment and get his culture. I honestly contemplated just turning around and going home once Ayla peed, but I didn't. It's a good thing, b/c I told the nurse that he has been getting tummy aches and that his stool was oily once. So she called in the dr and she felt his tummy and could feel something. So she upped his enzymes to 4 or 5 instead of 3 every time he eats. He has been on 3 for a long time, maybe since he was 2, so about 3 1/5 years. My husband and I figured that's what they were going to do, we almost just started upping it ourselves. So he now gets 4, but if it's lots of cheese or something, then he gets 5. So far, he has been doing better with that.

So Lil' Chris got his culture by a new guy I think, b/c I had never met him before. Then as we were leaving, we passed some workers in the hallway that had a huge cart of toys and they told the kids to pick whatever toy they wanted:) Their faces lit up!! Ayla got a dr doll and Lil' Chris got a batman toy. They also got coloring books and markers from our fav nurse at the CF clinic, so it turned into a better day after that:)

That is until.....I didn't hear from them about the results and when I called, I find out that they "threw away" his culture!!! I was livid!!! Esp after all we went thru to get there!!! So we had to make another appt to go all the way back up to the cf clinic to get ANOTHER throat culture! I asked again if we could just get it done at his pediatrician, but the nurse said no, that the clinic does it "different"...idk, whatever at this point. 

So we go to the cf clinic on January 2nd and get another throat culture. Of course Nurse P was there and did the culture herself. She came in our lil' tiny room and goes right up in Lil' Chris' face while he is sitting on the table or whatever you call it, and she proceeds to open the stuff to do the throat culture. THEN she goes over to the counter and starts putting her gloves on and says "I'm gonna put a mask on b/c I'm fighting a nasty cold." I about got up and smacked her!! She was JUST in Lil' Chris' face with NO mask and touching the stuff that was going into his MOUTH without gloves!!! I couldn't believe it!! 

So she does the culture, then what does she do....she takes the mask OFF and proceeds to talk to us about how she is calling a meeting b/c they threw away the last one and blah blah blah....Seriously lady??? The room is like 4 x 4 and your gonna stand there SICK and talk to us with our CF son?!?! I was so shocked I couldn't even talk! I just tried to pretend like I was putting his coat on and tried covering his head until she left. I WAS FUMING MAD!!! I told my husband that if he gets sick from her, I was going to let her and the clinic have it!! 

Fortunately he didn't get sick. But I have started a list of all these things to put on the survey that they make us fill out each year. I'll let them have it on there for sure!! And if something like this happens again...I will not hold my tongue!! I will ask to speak to the director pronto!! And can you believe that they didn't even offer to validate parking?? I would've said no, but the offer would've been nice since they made us drive all the way up there for ANOTHER culture b/c THEY threw it out by mistake! So fed up right now!

Now onto even worse news...we finally got his culture result back and unfortunately he cultured Pseudomonas again:( :( :( He will be on Cipro and TOBI again. Not really sure where to go from here, since I got this news on my Voicemail AGAIN!!!! Seriously thinking about switching CF clinics after all of this. I may make some phone calls on my next day off. Honestly...if it's something this important...CALL ME AT WORK!!!! This is 2 times in a row I have found out that he had Pseudomonas from my voicemail!! Unbelievable! So now I have to take my whole 1/2 hour lunch break at work to make phone calls to find out how to get the TOBI, b/c I guess they changed it starting this new year and we can't get it at CVS now. Also, I have lots of questions for the CF Clinic, as you can imagine. If they would've called me back right away today, I could've done this, but now I have to work the next 2 days, so it's going to be hard to get all this done!!! ARGGGGG!!!

Anyways, thanks for letting me vent. This 2nd culture of Pseudo is baffling me. Is it his new school?? I know his teachers are very good about sanitizing his hands often. They even wear the sanitizers on there hip like I do! Is is from the Pulmozyme?? This is something new we started this year, so maybe the Pulmozyme has something to do with it?? IDK. It could be anything I guess. I just pray that this 2nd round of TOBI and Cipro knock it out so he doesn't have to do it every other month.

The weird thing is...he's not even coughing! But I guess that doesn't mean that those bad bacterias aren't still lurking around in his lungs doing bad things. Please pray we figure this out and that it doesn't lead to worse things. His next clinic appt is Feb 20th.

Thanks,
M 

CF Update / Ayla has a cough:(

Lil' Chris is still doing great! No cough! His nose is a lil' stuffy, but NO COUGH!! YEA!! 

Ayla, on the other hand, has a HORRIBLE cough right now:( She is on Azithromycin and the dr gave her a ProAir puffer like Lil' Chris for an as needed basis. So far, she hasn't needed it. She had a fever there for a couple of days, but seems to be getting back to herself now...other than the cough not going away:( 

Please pray that Lil' Chris doesn't catch her cough, and that Ayla's cough goes away soon!!! He goes for another throat culture one week from today to see if the Pseudomonas is still there. Pray that it's not!!

I really like how we switched his Pulmozyme neb to nighttime! It makes the morning go by soooo much easier, esp before school!!!! But I'm glad we originally started it in the morning, b/c it made doing the TOBI in the morning not so bad, b/c we were already used to doing a neb in the morning:)

Hope you are all doing well!! Thanks for all the prayers!!
M  
PS. My toe is almost completely healed!! Thank God I had that surgery/procedure, b/c I got like instant relief!! That was the most painful thing ever!! Taught me a lesson though...never get distracted while cutting your toenails and slip and cut too far on the corner! Even though I could see the corner of the nail, the dr said that somehow some part of the nail was puncturing my skin, which was causing the discomfort. I pray it never does that again!! Best part is, you can't even tell I had the surgery!! :)

Kiddos Update:)

Lil' Chris is still doing GREAT with his TOBI and Cipro!! So proud of him!! He is still coughing a lil', but not like a cold cough, so that's good:) We have switched to doing his Pulmozyme at night now instead of the morning and it seems to be working out okay so far!!

We took Ayla to the doctors yesterday for her cough and stuffy nose that she has had for like 2 weeks(her cough went away for a few days, but then it came back), and she got her first throat culture taken and she didn't even cry!!! GO AYLA!! She didn't cry when she got her flu shot the other day either!! Lil' Chris cried like a baby when he got his and he's 5 and Ayla is only 3!! ;-) LOL I think she was determined to beat her big brother. She said after he got his shot that she wasn't going to cry when she got hers...and she didn't!! She came close, but the tears did not come out! I felt bad for her, b/c you could tell it hurt her and she really wanted to cry:( She's one determined lady though! Just like her momma;)

So today, I got a voicemail from her dr saying that she did not culture Pseudomonas like Lil' Chris, but she DID culture Strep Throat! ARGGGG!! So now she is taking Azithromycin 5ml once a day for 10 days. We were kinda shocked she cultured this, b/c she's been acting fine and has not complained of a sore throat and has just had a cough, except one day she had a lil' fever for a few hours.

Please pray she gets better soon and that it doesn't spread to the rest of us, esp Lil' Chris...he's got enough going on right now.

The kids are soooo excited that their cousins are coming next week for Thanksgiving!!! Only thing is...Lil' Chris has cultured Pseudomonas, Ayla has cultured Strep, and their cousin Nathan has Leukemia. I'm a little worried that they may get Nathan sick, which could turn out very bad for him. So, I sent a message to the CF clinic to see what they think, maybe the meds will work by then??? IDK, we'll see what they say.

Totally bummed that the CiCi's Pizza here in town closed a couple weeks ago:( That's where I did most of my CF fundraisers. Luckily the Alice Noble Ice Arena lets me do CF Education Days there during their after school program. I'm still able to make that an AiA event with Kohl's to get the $500 grant, so that's good!! When one door closes, another one opens:) I thank God that they allow us to do events there, b/c otherwise I wouldn't be able to raise $5,000 from Kohl's each year...btw, just one more event for this year and Kohl's will have donated $5,000 to CF this year alone!!! THANK YOU AWESOME KOHL'S ASSOCIATES!! Last year they did $5,000 too!! I can't remember exactly how much the years before that...a few thousand, I think:) Gotta love Kohl's!!! Speaking of which...I have a Friend's and Family coupon for 20% off starting this Thursday!! If you want me to email it to you, just send me a message or an email:)

Thanks so much for your continued prayers!
M

TOBI and Cipro Update

Lil' Chris is doing GREAT with his new TOBI treatment!! I'm so proud of him!! I can't believe we have gone through a couple of packs already! They come in packs of 4. He is doing GREAT taking his Cipro pill too!! 

So far he hasn't said anything about the taste of the TOBI, and he hasn't said that his tummy hurts from the Cipro, but everyday that I have been with him since he started it, he has not gone #2. I've asked him if he has gone, and he says that he doesn't have to. Hmmmm, I'll have to keep a close eye on that, b/c a lot of CFers have problems with this and end up in the hospital being blocked up and sometimes needs surgery or something. The thick sticky mucus in CFers don't just clog up the lungs, they unfortunately clog us other vital organs too:(

When I called the clinic on Tues, the nurse told us that we could switch Pulmozyme to night time, that way we only have to do TOBI in the morning before school. TOBI takes about 13-15 min. Pulmozyme only takes about 6-8 min, but it's just hard, b/c he can't eat his breakfast while he does these treatments. So we are switching to do Pulmo at night. This will give him more time to eat breakfast before school. 

Also, the nurse said to do his Albuterol puffer before treatments to open up the airways. So, the order of his treatments are Albuterol, Vest, TOBI in the morning and Albuterol, Pulmozyme, Vest, TOBI in the evening. Oh and Flonase nasal spray every am and pm:)

Lil' Chris is coughing and has a stuffy nose right now, but it may be from the meds. I've heard that you can get a "TOBI Cough" when taking it, also a raspy voice. His voice hasn't changed yet, but he is having some productive coughs, which is good! He needs to get it out!

Ayla's cold and cough was starting to go away, but now it's back:( I took her to get her flu shot the other day, and I asked if she could be seen for her cough, but they said they didn't have any openings:( So, we bought some over the counter cough medicine to help her out. So funny...the other day I tried to give her medicine in a pill form and gave her a drink, because that's the norm in this house...well, after she took a sip and looked at me like "what do i do now?" I realized she doesn't know how to swallow pills yet;-) LOL Lil Chris has been swallowing pills since he was 2 and she's almost 4 and can't! I'm not used to that! LOL

Chris and I went to a CF Volunteer Appreciation Dinner the other night and it was so Great seeing all our fellow CF parents that we see each year at this dinner! We actually all got to sit at the same table, except Tina sat at the table next to us, b/c out table was full. We heard from 2 Great doctors and they went over the VERY promising drugs coming out for our kids! It may take 5-10 years for the drug to come, so we just have to try and keep our CFers as healthy as possible until that CURE comes, b/c....it IS COMING!!! I CAN FEEL IT!!!
 
I couldn't have made it this past week without the help and great advice from some awesome friends and my awesome fellow CF parents that I have met thru this blog and facebook!! You guys were there right when I needed you the most!  BIG THANKS to Stacy A., Steph W., Alma, Mary, Samantha, Heather V., Angela, Tina C., Kim, Denna, Kirby, Heather L., Leslie, Marjorie, Tina P., Lisa, Rebecca, Erin, Harriet, Abby, Tabitha, and Allison. I can't thank you all enough!!

As I was doing my devotions the other night before bed, I came across this verse.."Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." (John 9:3 NIV) I have FAITH that God will take away this horrible Pseudomonas bacteria in Lil Chris' lungs so that he can grow old and do GREAT things for God!!! Thank you Lord for having this verse in my devotions that night! I really needed it:) I think a lot of parents with CF kids or any terminal disease should remind themselves of this verse daily!

Thank you all for your prayers, and please keep them coming that the meds work and kicks the Psuedomonas out this first round!!

Please keep Tricia in your prayers too, b/c she finally got listed for a 2nd double lung transplant!! It's always riskier the 2nd time, but we have a God that hears our prayers and answers them!! Check out Nate's blog post...http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/2012/11/listed.html
Thanks,
M

Bad CF Update:(

I've wanted to post since Fri, but just haven't had the time...and my laptop is super slow and I can't stand it;) LOL

Anyway, after I posted my last blog post on Fri, I called the CF clinic, b/c I realized I had not heard about his throat culture result yet. So of course...I never get to talk directly to the CF nurse, so I had to leave a message and then I had to go to work a couple hours later for the rest of the night. Wouldn't you know, when I got done working there was a voicemail from a CF nurse saying that we should stop the Omnicef and consider continuing the Flonase(we had stopped this b/c he got a bloody nose and didn't seem to need it anymore), and that she wanted me to call her b/c he cultured "something new" and they would like to treat it and it was "not an emergency". So of course we had to wait ALL weekend til they opened back up on Mon(today). Ummmm really?? That's just not nice to make us worry ALL weekend!! Meanwhile, I get a call from CVS saying that he had a prescription to pick up(it was automated and I just thought that it was old or something).

Today at work was just CRAZY and I totally forgot to call the CF clinic....I know...mother of the year award! LOL Anyway, my favorite CF nurse had luckily left me a voicemail, b/c I worked from 6a-5p so they were closed when I got done work. The voicemail confirmed MY WORST FEAR...he cultured PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA:( You've probably heard me refer to this bacteria before...it's NOT GOOD for CFers!! It's a bad bacteria that is hard to get rid of and I think the only meds to help get rid of it are Tobi and Cayston. So once a CFer becomes immune to those drugs, then things really start to go downhill.

They are putting him on Cipro(white pill) 2 times a day and Tobi (inhaled like his Pulmozyme) 2 times a day. So there actually WAS a prescription at CVS...again...mother of the year award;p LOL  I've heard that Tobi tastes REALLY BAD, so not sure how this is going to go over. I guess we'll find out tonight. First I'm gonna call a fellow CF mom to see what order it needs to be done it. I forget. I think it's Pulmozyme, Tobi, then Vest, but it could be Pulmozyme, Vest, then Tobi??? When he takes the Cipro, he can't have any dairy products with it:( He will be on Cipro for 21 days and on Tobi for 28 days.

I don't know a whole lot about Tobi, but from what I've heard, they usually have to do 28 days on, then 28 days off(so like every other month) until he cultures no Pseudomonas 3 times in a row. Please pray that it works the first time!!

You may be wondering where he got Pseudomonas from?? Well, it's a risk we take every time we take him outside our front door. We try not to let CF rule our life, so we let him go to Kindergarten and we take him with us to go shopping, and we LOVE to go on vacations to Disney or water parks, or anywhere fun:) He LOVES them all! So, he could've picked it up anywhere. Pseudomonas also grows in standing water. You know, my biggest fear about him starting an inhaled med like Pulmozyme, was that we wouldn't sterilize it well enough or something, and he would grow Pseudomonas. Again, still unknown how he got it. It could've been from any of the above OR maybe he was around another CFer and didn't even know it??? Like I said, it's a risk we take every day.

I've tried to put a positive spin on it though for his sake. When I picked up the meds, I said "Wow! Look Bud! You get to do TWO nebulizers now!! It's that AWESOME!! And you get to take a new pill too!! YEA!!" ....if only he knew:( :( :( :(

On top of all of this heartbreaking news....he has a sore throat again:( I REALLY hope and pray he is not getting another cold.

I'll try to keep you updated as best I can. I don't always get on the laptop and for some reason I can't blog from my new phone.

Thanks for your continued prayer...it's especially needed now.
M

CF Update / Prayers Needed!!

Thought I'd give a quick CF Update. Lil' Chris is doing GREAT!!! No coughs right now, which is FANTASTIC!!! But, this morning at breakfast, he was complaining of his throat hurting and his forehead hurting. It hasn't slowed him down though, but he wouldn't eat his toast and lots of butter:( I'm hoping and praying it doesn't turn into anything.

He has regular CF clinic check-ups every 3 months, and his next one is scheduled for 10/24. Please pray his lungs are clear, his throat culture is normal, and he does great on his PFT test.

As for the Pulmozyme, he is still doing a GREAT JOB with it!! We do this nebulizer every morning at the start of his Vest. It only takes about 5 minutes, since we have a very powerful machine:) The sterilizing isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. We wash each piece with soap and water and then put them in a bowl of hot water and put it in the microwave for 6 minutes. Then we take them out and place them on a paper towel to air dry and we put a paper towel over it too.  The only thing is....we sometimes forget it in the microwave and it sits there for awhile, then we have to re-do it. LOL

Remember when I posted about a little girl named Chaia who had heart problems and a rare genetic disease? Well, can you believe it has been 1 year and she is doing Great?! She still has a long road ahead of her, but she is def a fighter! Please keep her in your prayers as well. 

Phennyman could still use your prayers as well. Poor lil' guy has been going in and out of the hospital too much! :(

Tricia, Nate's wife who has CF, has been having a very hard time breathing lately. She is about to get on the list for a 2nd double lung transplant soon, I believe. Please keep her and her family in prayer. Lil' Gwyneth is doing Great, but I'm sure it isn't easy seeing her mommy suffer.

Thanks for all your prayers!
M
PS. I FINALLY got my new iPhone 5, but I haven't figured out how to post pics on here yet from it. As soon as I do though, I'll post the pics and video's from Lil' Chris' first basketball practice. Guess who his coach is?? :)

1st Day of Kindergarten!!

Lil' Chris started Junior Kindergarten on 8/21/12 at the local Christian School at 5 years old!! He had no problems leaving mommy and daddy on the first day either! He loves making new friends! He is only going half day and will do full day 1st grade next year as long as he passes JK, but I'm pretty sure he will :)

I can't believe a few weeks have gone by already! He has been doing great and already learning so much! He memorized his first Bible verse pretty quick! "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith." :) AND he has the pledge of allegiance memorized already too!! I'm so proud how well he is doing:)


His teacher is Mrs. Falkenberg and his teacher aide is Mrs. Curtis. They both are wonderful and have been VERY receptive to all that I have taught them about caring for a child with Cystic Fibrosis! Mrs F knows a family with 2 kids with CF, so she is a little bit familiar with it. I have given them both the clip on hand sanitizers that I always wear wherever I go:) It's up to them if they use them or not, but it would def keep down on the germs in the classroom, not just for Lil' Chris, but for all the kids and them as teachers too:)

We are in the process of starting a 504 plan for Lil' Chris. This will stick with him throughout his school years. Click this link for more info http://www.cysticlife.org/downloads/504FlyerFINAL.pdf
A 504 Plan is a legal, written document for students with physical impairments
such as lung disease/GI problems that limit one or more major life activity.
-It protects a child’s rights and health while at school.
-It falls under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
-It is reviewed/updated once a year OR each time a child changes schools.
A 504 plan is not an Individualized Education Program (IEP) as required for
special education students. If your child’s CF contributes to learning difficulties,
an IEP may be required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The possible 504 Plan accommodations for a child with CF include:
-Your child can take his/her pancreatic enzymes during school.
-Your child can have reasonable access to snacks and unlimited access to
water due to medication use. As well as restrooms due to digestion issues.
-Your child can be isolated from sick children and other students with CF.
-The school will provide alternative activities when your child has CF
exacerbations and cannot participate in gym class.
-Modifications can be made based on health status, fatigue and workload.
-The school will provide Homebound Teaching and/or Intermittent Home/
Hospital Instructional Program with proper documentation for children with
high absenteeism.

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As for a CF Update... Lil' Chris is doing well. He had a lil' cough when school first started, but nothing major, we did the Acapella before his first day (in the video above), just in case. He hasn't been coughing everyday, but some mornings I've noticed he has coughed more than others. I think it is just his allergies though. If it progresses, I will def be calling in an antibiotic. I'll keep you posted. He had a bad night on 9/3. He woke up in the middle of the night throwing up off and on for like 3 hours. That's what he usually does when he has something with soy protein in it, but we didn't think he had anything with soy protein, but we did eat out earlier that day and the only thing that he hasn't had before at that restaurant was a chocolate milkshake, soooo idk. We kept him home that Tuesday after just so he could get some sleep. He woke up fine and has been fine since. It's been a while since that has happened. BTW, he is doing GREAT with the Pulmozyme!! So proud of him! He likes to pour it in, and he even sterilized it with me the other day:) It's never to early for him to learn how to take care of himself, right?? :)


Check out the video above, he did such a good job smiling nicely for his first day of Kindergarten pics:) Sorry it's so long, but I didn't want to edit it and cut any pics, b/c my phone's memory card got damaged somehow and I lost a ton of pics;( Luckily I uploaded these before that happened. I CANNOT wait til the end of this month when I can FINALLY get my iPhone 5 when it comes out!!! Then hopefully I won't lose all my precious pics!

Please keep Lil' Chris in your prayers that he has a healthy school year...it's scary letting him go, but I have to;( Also, keep lil' Aubrey in your prayers as she is sick right now. Nathan, Lil' Chris' cousin with Leukemia, has a double ear infection and horrible headaches, so he could use your prayers also. Poor kid already had to miss his 2nd and 3rd day of school already:(


BIG THANK YOU  to Samantha, Aubrey's mom, for doing a CF fundraiser at Applebee's tonight!! You are a GREAT CF mom already jumping into fundraising and she is only 6 months old!! WAY TO GO!!


Thanks so much for your continued prayers!
M

Thirty-One Party for Cystic Fibrosis 7/25/12 at 7pm

Ok everyone, I'm having my first ever Thirty-One party to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to help find a CURE for CF!! Who wants to help me raise some much needed money to find a CURE and also get some pretty cool hand bags for yourself?? ;-)


Everywhere I go, I always see someone carrying a Thirty-One bag! I've been told by many that "You're not cool, unless you have a Thirty-One bag!" So I've teamed up with my awesome neighbor, Carrie G, to host a party at my house this coming Wed 7/25 at 7pm(message me or email me for address if you want to come). I can't wait! This is the first party that I've ever hosted! I think I went a little overboard on buying stuff for the party;p I got all kinds of different chips, cookies, pretzels, and soda:-)  Well...I DO have a CFer in my house, so....Yes, everything is high calorie, sorry :p LOL


Feel free to pass this along to get more orders and to get more money for the CFF!! You can order no matter where you live!! You don't have to be here for the party to order something! Just click this link and make your order and 25% will automatically go towards CF!!  http://www.mythirtyone.com/shop/eventhome.aspx?eventId=E1971734&from=MYEVENTS


BIG THANK YOU to Jeanette for being the first to order and to get her friends to order too!! Thanks Jeanette, you're the BEST!!!


Another BIG THANK YOU to my 2 sisters and my neighbor Andrea for ordering as well!! We are almost at $250 already and we didn't even have the party yet!! That's AWESOME!!! 


Thanks everyone for helping support Cystic Fibrosis!! It really means a lot!!


Before the party this Wed, Lil' Chris has his 3 month check-up at the CF clinic. Please pray that his PFT's are up and that his culture is normal and that his lungs are clear! He has been doing really well and hasn't been coughing hardly at all!! Praise the Lord!! I think the Pulmozyme is doing it's thing;-)


Thanks,
M

Pulmozmye Update, 4th of July Pics/Video's, and Swing Flip

Lil' Chris is doing GREAT with this new nebulizer routine!!  He doesn't mind it at all, and on day 2, he actually asked to do more afterwards;-) I told him it's only one time a day and he got a lil' sad. What a kid! He takes any new thing the dr.'s throw at him SO well!! He AMAZES ME!!

I, on the other hand, am still getting used to it. I'm surprised I haven't forgotten yet since we have been so set in our ways doing the Vest in the morning. It really helps having the nebulizer machine right next to the Vest machine, b/c I've caught myself about to put his Vest on and then I see the nebulizer and I go and get the Pulmozyme out of the fridge real quick;-)

So, I'm still learning a lot thru this whole new process and luckily I have a GREAT CF community to help me out with all my silly lil' questions. CysticLife.org is so great to have around in times like these...

1. We are supposed to wash it afterwards with a clean paper towel and soap and warm water, THEN sterilize them after each use. Oops, didn't do that the first time, we just rinsed them.
2. You can't pour the Pulmozyme in the cup and then let it sit on the counter...it leaks :b Learned that the hard way!
3. Boiling water is HOT!!! I about burned my fingers trying to fish them out of the water after it was in the microwave for 6 minutes and I even let it sit for a couple of min before I tried to get them out!! OUCH!!
4. Lastly, it's hard to tell when the medicine is done. I try to shake it towards the end and then more comes out, but still it's hard to tell and I hate to waste any esp since it's outrageously expensive! Thank the Lord for BCMH!! Please pray we never lose BCMH!

I hope you all had a Happy and Safe 4th of July!! We had a great time at the pool and BBQ at Oma and Opa's house with John, Andrea, and Kennadie!! Afterwards, we went to the soccer fields where we have our CF walk every year, and they had some special things going on, and one was the kids got to sit in some army vehicles and got to turn them on, honk the horn, and step on the gas!! They LOVED it!! They kept asking where their buddy Spencer was and if he drives these :-) I think they are going to have lots of questions for Spencer when he returns home from the army in a month or so;)

Here is a pic of the kids about to watch the Children's Hospital Helicopter, "Air Bear", take off. They liked exploring inside of it, while I secretly prayed they would never have to use it!!

Here is a video of the kids watching the helicopter fly off. It takes a while, but at the end they pray with me that they never have to go in one of these. Too cute...and sad knowing that it's a possibility for Lil' Chris someday:(

After that was fireworks time!! They covered their ears until half way thru, but then they put their hands down and realized it wasn't so bad after all;-)

Well, Lil' Chris continues to do GREAT!!! He is having no side effects from the Pulmozyme and I think he is coughing less too now that I think about it:) YEA!! Right now, he is having fun playing outside on his swing set:) 

On Tuesday, we went looking for a nice new swing set since he loves playing on his tiny old hand me down one, but my goodness they are expensive!! The one we want is white plastic over wood, so then we don't have to worry about splinters, or any mold or rotting or having to stain it each year, but it's like $4,000!!! YIKES!!! Of course it had to have a lil' playhouse which Ayla LOVED, b/c it had windows and a door:) She kept going in it and wanted us to knock to come into "her house"...too cute!! Oh well, maybe some day. On second thought...we might need one sooner rather than later, b/c he just almost flipped the whole swing set by swinging too high, and he just taught himself how to do flips, which is ok, but I'm afraid he might hit his head, and he loves hanging from the top...I guess there's not much else to do with it. LOL I think he needs a twirly tube slide, a rock wall, a rope wall, a horse swing thing, and a much taller, faster slide! He would be in Heaven!...and so would Mommy knowing it's much safer :) lol

Here is a video of Lil' Chris trying to make the best of his swing set(which we are very grateful for, otherwise they would have had nothing all these years, he's just outgrown it now;) and of course him doing a flip!! He was so excited the first time he did it!! I just can't believe he taught himself and he didn't hit his head! Still scares me!

Thanks for checking in with us and please keep your prayers coming!!

M

PS. Remember baby Chaia?? Well she just turned 1 the other day!! Amazing what prayer can do! Thank you all for praying for her, she still needs it as she has a long road ahead of her. Also, please pray for some fellow CF friends...Phennyman and Tricia. Phoenix had surgery the other day and is still in the hospital, and Tricia is going thru so much right now, she has an infection in her sinuses and she continues to loose weight and her breathing difficulties are increasing. Her husband, Nate, keeps a blog about her(which is what got me to start this blog so many years ago;)...www.cfhusband.blogspot.com. Please keep their families in prayer too. Thanks.

1st Nebulizer...Pulmozyme Video

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The above video is of Lil' Chris doing his very first nebulizer treatment!! Not bad for being a 5 year old CFer!! Most CFers start within their first year it seems like! He still doesn't even seem like he needs it, but from what I've gathered, it will only help him in the long run.

His first inhaled med is called Pulmozyme. It's purpose is to thin the mucus. People with Cystic Fibrosis produce very thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and other organs making it harder to breathe. Pulmozyme helps thin the mucus, then the Vest helps clear the mucus out. After his Pulmozyme this morning, we did his vest about 20 minutes after, and I tried to get him to cough after the Vest, but it didn't seem to do much. I guess I was expecting a wet sounding cough that would produce mucus, but it was just dry. Not sure if this is a good sign or not.

I have always been a little scared of nubulizers with Lil' Chris, b/c I know it's very important to keep them sterile. If we don't sterilize them properly, then bad bacterias could build up on it and that would NOT be good for Lil' Chris. We were told to do it right after each use, b/c otherwise the medicine will build up on it and it will be hard to scrub it off. We rinsed it with hot water, then put all the pieces in a bowl and microwaved them for 5 minutes right after his treatment. Then when done, we shook the excess water off and let them air dry on a paper towel. We can not rinse them off with tap water, b/c that would defeat the whole purpose. I've been told that we could use a baby bottle cleaner, so I may have to pick one of those up;-)

This is all a new experience for us, so any insight would be much appreciated!! :)

Lil' Chris is doing GREAT!! He doesn't cough that much, but when he does, it is dry so that is VERY good!! A couple of weeks ago, he was waking up in the morning with lots of build up in his nose, but once he would blow a few times, he was fine. He complained of a sore throat a couple of days, and it got me worried he was getting a cold, but I guess it was just allergies. Thank the Lord!!

Right now, he is living it up having a blast on his Summer vacation, esp the last 4 weeks with his cousins!! Adding the Pulmozyme now will help him get into a routine for when Kindergarten starts this Fall. We decided to start the Pulmozyme this week, b/c I have off work this week and thought it would be good for me to be there with him for the first week so he can get used to it.

On another note...after my vacation this week, I will be going back to work on Mon 7/9 as an Assistant Store Manager of the Wooster Kohl's!!! WOO HOO!! I've finally been promoted AND within the same store!! I can't wait to get started, but this relaxing week with my loves will be so nice:) Thank you so much to all who were praying for this promotion and for me to get to stay at the same location. It really means a lot to me to get to stay so close to Lil' Chris and my family. Family time is so precious to me...to any family with a family member with a terminal illness. I'm just so glad I have the BEST DM EVER to promote me within the same store!! That almost never happens! THANK YOU JASON!!! THANK YOU LORD FOR ANSWERING MY PRAYERS!!

Have a GREAT week, I know me and the kids will...and Daddy when he has off work;-) lol
M

Our Decision on Pulmozyme or HTS / CF Update

Hmmmm, I went to go blog today and it's all different!! They changed it on me! You should still see the same, but I think just the way to write on the blog is different now. Not sure if I like it, but I'll get used to it hopefully;-)


Anyway....Big news!!!!!

PULMOZYME IS IN THE HOUSE!!!!

 Shipped in this cooler/box on ice ice baby ;) lol

 The kids had lots of fun playing with the bubble wrap and dragging each other with the long one:) lol

These are REALLY loud when they step on them and pop them!!

So sad:'( I HATE that he's going to have to take this for the rest of his life, but if it helps him, it will all be well worth it!!! He will start this nebulized drug on May 16th which is his next CF clinic appt. Please pray he takes to it well and that it works for him, b/c if it doesn't then we'll have to try the Hypertonic Saline(HTS). Thru my research, I found both good and bad things about each Polmozyme and HTS. What it seemed to boil down to was that it just depends on the CFer. What might work great for one CFer might not work so well for another CFer. It was a Big decision to choose which one, but we are praying that we made the right decision and this Pulmozyme works miracles for him!

Below is the nubulizer machine. It's the MoblAire 150psi by Invacare, which I was told is the Best of the Best!! I don't have anything to compare it to since this is the first nebulizer Lil' Chris has had...so we'll take their word for it;-)

In other Big news.....Lil' Chris has reached over  

TWELVE HUNDRED HOURS

  on the Vest!!! And he mostly sits pretty good thru it, esp since we got the iPad2;) Thank You Kohl's!! :)
As for a CF Update on Lil' Chris...he is doing VERY well!! That last antibiotic finally kicked in and his cough went away!! PRAISE THE LORD!! Our 7 step treatment 3x a day plan worked!! YEA!! Thank you all soooo much for all your prayers! It's soooooo nice not hearing him have a wet cough anymore!! It's seems like it's been way too long since he has gone 100% without a wet cough! I am one happy momma...except Ayla has had a runny nose and a cough for the past week. I think it's just allergies, but I'm REALLY hoping and praying that Lil' Chris doesn't pick up her cough. I'm so glad that she has learned that it's important not to get Lil' Chris sick. She always makes sure she covers her mouth when she coughs, and she tells Lil' Chris when he wants to get close and play, "I don't want to get you siiiiiiiiick!" :)

Again, thanks for your continued prayers,
M