Sick Chick

Our sick chick

It's been a miserable couple of days at our place. My cold turned into a full blown 'flu, complete with body aches and shivering. Poor little Felix vomited all night two nights ago. He looked so frightened because he didn't know what was happening. He had a fever and didn't eat or drink anything for over 24 hours. He spent all day yesterday just laying next to me, completely quietly, dozing on and off. Poor little guy looked so sad.

One of the only times he sat up
yesterday

Last night, Felix slept for 14 hours straight. I was so worried that I kept getting up through the night to check on him. Winter can be a scary time for parents of kids with Down Syndrome. Simple colds and 'flu's can turn into full blown chest infections, pneumonia and ear infections very quickly. We always have a vaporiser running in Felix's room otherwise he can't breathe through his nose in the morning. He gets congested very quickly.

Felix woke up this morning with his lips all cracked and his little tongue hanging out, but thankfully he had a big drink and has had a little bit to eat. It's the most we've been able to get into him for about 48 hours. I was getting pretty worried that he was getting dehydrated so it was a relief when he drank so much.

My thoughts go out to those in our Down Syndrome family who are struggling this Winter with their children's health. There are many who are spending time in hospital or coping with recurring infections. I don't think I'm alone in hoping that Summer comes quickly this year.

Sleeping it off

Despite being completely flat yesterday, Felix did something which made my day. He was laying on our bed, barely moving at all when he pointed to a photograph of me and said as clearly as anything, "Mum". It was a really special moment and showed me that even when Felix isn't feeling the greatest, his mind is still ticking over and he's still thinking about things. I snuggled up next to him and started talking to him. I asked him where his nose was and he pointed to his nose. Then I asked where my nose was and he pointed to mine. Such a clever little cookie even when he's feeling miserable.

I received a phone call yesterday which shook me up a bit. It was from Felix's Paediatrician's office. They were calling to say that the Paediatrician wanted to meet with us to discuss Felix's MRI results. I am hoping that there has been a mistake because Nathan and I already spoke to him about the MRI results. The hydrocephalus is back, but we were told we could wait 12 months and then do a follow up scan. I'm hoping that he hasn't had another look at the results and noticed something he hadn't before. Hopefully everything will be OK. Felix is still progressing beautifully and the fluid on his brain doesn't seem to be affecting his development at all.

Tomorrow is another day. Hopefully we will all wake up feeling much better.