The less I post, the better things are. That means Zoe is healthy and busy.
We had a minor issue with the cold from hell earlier this year (part of last year too actually). Poor Zo got a cold right after Christmas which turned into a sinus infection. I do have to thank her for sharing that particular set of germs with me. The family that blows their noses together, stays together…. Some antibiotics helped move that along and she was better until a week before her annual biopsy was scheduled when her brother (the kids who NEVER gets sick) came home with a cold. He was sniffly for about a week…..Zoe just recently stopped coughing. Her biopsy got rescheduled since she was coughing and wheezy. That was a small matter of contention for me since I called transplant 2 days before and left a voice mail about her condition to see if we needed to reschedule. I got no response so we showed up at the hospital bright and early that Friday morning only to be sent home when anesthesia heard her cough. We rescheduled for late February and she was referred to pulmonary for a consult 2 weeks prior. The pulmonologist is leaning towards asthma mostly because it takes her about 4 weeks to kick a cold. Apparently that’s 2 weeks longer than it should take, even with her immune system suppressed. He gave her a week of steroids and a non-steroid inhaler to be used twice a day every day until we see him again. He also wants to her to get sick a couple of times before we see him again. (?!) That’s right. He WANTS her to get sick. If the use of the inhaler shortens the duration of her colds or keeps them from moving into her chest then he will feel confident saying yes, she has asthma. She’s gotten sick once so far. The sinus congestion came on fast and furious. She couldn’t sleep unless she was sitting up or she coughed all night long. This prompted a trip to the ER (her pediatrician’s office was far too busy to see Zoe – yes, she will be getting a new doctor) where she was given a Z-Pak and cough medicine with codeine. Within 2 weeks it was gone and she was no longer coughing. Was that the work of the antibiotics? The cough medicine? The inhaler? Who knows. She was better faster and that’s all I care about at this point. The poor girl coughed for 4 months straight. I’ll take 2 weeks.
Her biopsy went off without a hitch in February. She was still coughing a little, but not enough to warrant another reschedule. Her results were 1a and 0. Not perfect double 0’s like last time, but that’s close to perfect and we’ll take it. I’m also pleased to announce that Zoe has no more liquid medication. She’s been taking pills for a few years now, but her 3 time a week antibiotic remained liquid because the pills are larger. I talked her into trying them and she swallows them without issue. Hooray!
This school year has been a busy one for Zoe. Of course she still dances; tap, ballet, jazz, and she’s involved in the opener for recital again. Next year she begins pointe in addition to her regular ballet class. She’s gotten involved in student council and recently signed up for a drama club that meets after school. She also had the opportunity to try out for cheer leading. Naturally she made the team. While gymnastics isn’t her strongest suit (that’s one thing she’s never taken lessons for), she’s been dancing since she was 5 so I had no doubt about her ability to cheer. She also wants to sign-up to volunteer as an instructor at Safety Town this summer with the exception of the week she’s at camp.
We’ve also begun preliminary discussions with Make-A-Wish. This is a process that could take years so I imagine I’ll have more on this as time goes on.