Katie has been having re-current chest problems since last November, it basically started the day she got her Swine Flu jag!  She took really bad flu symptons which then led onto pnemonia, until it came to a halt in February where she was rushed into Yorkhill with the ususal High fever, not tolerating her feeds, her body being floppy etc.......  They said it was a really bad chest infection and needed to be in on IV fluids and anti-biotics blah blah blah - the usual answer for everything!  So we eventully got her home a couple of days later and things slowly went back to some kind of normality, then in March the same happpend again.  Obviously being a fast track patient there is no hanging about - in fact on that subject are you all aware your child can be fast tracked with their serious conditions? You have no hanging about in triage you are straight into short stay - just something to bear in mind - email me if you want any information!  Anyways..... We took her back and explained whats been going on for the past few months and that she had been hospitilised the month before, they x-rayed her and saw that the infection was still there so we were sent home with anti-biotics.  This continued for the next couple of months, and she had this horrible cough that always caught the back of her throat which then made her gag and then made her bring up her feeds which then gave the added worry of her aspirating problems.  We were going round in a vicious circle and getting no where fast, hitting my head off a huge brick wall.  So we got to May and we were really getting irate now, I could count how many days after her anti-biotics finished that we would be back to hospital with this horrendous cough.  In the meantime Holly had picked up the chicken pox at nursery, we thought Katie had escaped but exctly 13days after Holly came out in them, Katie did - and guess where we were when they started appearing Yep Yorkhill.  Unkown to me, Chicken Pox is a form of Pnemonia so it only added to what katie already had.  We got home, with more anti-biotics and stopping via 24hour Asda for bottles of Calomine lotion.

The following month in June once the anti-b's had finished low and behold her cough returend, I called short stay and said enough is enough why is this not leaving her wee body, she has been on meds for months now we want answers! The on-call Respiratory doctor called and said  Katie's own chest doctor was on holiday was there anything they could do to help! I explained the past on-going months & everything thats happend, they didn't want to get involved " in such a complicated, delicate little girl" they would have her own doc phone me when she got back from holiday but in the mean time if it gets worse bring her up to short stay for more meds! Arghhhhhhhhhhh

 Monday 5th July we were up again, repeated X-ray only this time we were told no significant changes - basically her pnemonia isn't any better but its not any worse and it was felt that we should be seen by Katie's doctor instead of been giving more meds - alleluia someone is finally listening. The doctor assured us someone would phone me the following morning with an appointment to see Dr ********,  I called on the Tuesday and I got through to Katie's doctor secreatry who said an appoitnment has been made for Katie to be seen on the 23d July - 2 weeks to wait well we have waited all this time!

Monday 12th july - lunchtime I receive a phone call from a doctor who just wanted to check how Katie was from her visit the week before? Well Katie isn't any better her cough has returned, she is still bringing up feeds, blah blah - "well mum I think I can answer that for you, it was noticed on katie's Xray last week that there were huge changed on Katies left hand side of her lung and should have been admitted and given IV anti-biotics and fluids"  OMG - and it took from last week to now for someone to phone and tell us!  Lets just say the complaint is on-going!

We got anti-biotics sent out that day to be started on.  The 23rd couldn't have came quick enough. The appointment went well, it was agreed that Katie was heading down another road and that other clinicians had to intervene. She got referred to ENT (who we have since met and have to say he is fabulous) She got reffered to surgical, she got referred for a sleep study, she got referred for chest physio - So a lot happend in a short space of time.  We left that day with more anti-b's, one of them was only a 3 day course once a day, the other was 3 times a day for a fortnight then once a day for the rest of her life.  We got to Tuesday and Katie started out the blue this horrific scream - Katie can scream my god she has Cerebral irritibilty the longest she has screamed is 13 days!  This was a different scream she was sore - I took her clothes off as she started getting hot and my god her tummy was huge - and it was getting bigger by the second.  I phoned Derek to come home, we phoned 999 as she got worse the rapid response was here in a minute - ill never forget his face - and he just kept saying I cant do anything for her i'm sorry, i'm sorry - Then came the sirens - the ambulance arrived - myself and Katie were whisked away in the back, lights, sirens the works - we got to Yorkhill and driving up the hill we turned right and I saw people in scrubs outside - they were waiting for us - we were grabbed out the ambulance where i carried her through A & E with screens cutting off the waiting area so no one could see us - then they worked on her for 8 hours - we were told her bowel had distended but there were no blockages - her liver showed abnormalities on the ultrasound - and she was in horrendous pain - she was instantly put on a morphene drip and other various fluids and pain releif - she had canulas coming out every vein - eventually that night we were admitted to ward 4B the surgical ward, we spent 2 days there then moved to ward 7A for the remainder of our stay.  She slowly improved but it was touch & go and I have to admit out of everything she has been through that has to be the scariest thing i've witnessed to date.  I know for some off you reading this it must be like writing it yourselves,  We did eventually get home the following week, and Katie has improved.  Not fully but im glad to say no more admissions.  The reason is still unknown!  Well, the surgeon said it was down to all the anti-biotics she had over the past months - and when she got the super dooper one on Friday it attacked the pnemonia but it also attacked the good bacteria as well!  So she won't be getting that one again!

I know this blog has been a bit long winded, and maybe no point to blog it, but situations like this is something you may have gone through as well and its maybe things like this you want to hear about just so you know you are no alone, so I will share the bad as well as the good, as well as the anger, as well as the hurt, as well as the whatever just so happens to be happening!