Here We Go Again!

Last year on December 16th, I took Pattie to the doctor for her first in a long string of appointments for a sickness she just couldn't kick. Last Thursday was December 16th and Pattie had a scheduled appointment for her 3 year old Well Checkup. Only the night before she spiked a fever so she wasn't well! After listening to her lungs, our wonderfully awesome pediatrician sent us for a chest x-ray and also tested her for flu, took blood for a CBC to check her white blood count and her iron levels. We left with a prescription for Augmentin and an increase in breathing treatments from one a day to once every 4-6 hours, alternating between Albuterol and Pulmicort. We also had an appointment for Saturday morning to see how it was going. By the time we got home from the x-ray, they called to tell us it was pneumonia. AGAIN.
Friday she was still pretty sick and she was coughing so much that she couldn't sleep. We added Delsym to the regimen and it seemed to help. Last night was a nightmare! She and I slept in 45 minute bursts every 2 or 3 hours. We watched SpongeBob (thank God for Nickelodeon On Demand!) and Beauty & the Beast and tried to sleep in various places.
This morning was torture! Our pediatrician is so great. I have said it before, biut I feel like she LOVES my children. She said, "If y'all were just about any other parents in my practice I would send you to the hospital right now, but I trust you to watch her at home provided her white cell count is down from Thursday." It had been 19,000 then and was 7,000 today. So no hospital, at least for now. We left today with a shot of Rocephin on board (oh how I hate holding my crying babies for shots!) and a prescription for Zithromax to take along with everything else she is already on. I feel like we live in the pharmacy.
Of course, we had planned to be out of town right now celebrating Christmas with my parents. But that trip will have to wait...sounds a little familiar to those of you who were around this time last year, huh? So, if she does not improve today, we are looking at admission to the hospital tomorrow. At the very least, we have an appointment with her doctor on Monday morning and can look forward to seeing a pediatric pulmonologist once she is well enough. I can't believe this is happening again.....