And, now, Reagan received confirmation at her doctor's appointment today that, yes, she contracted the very contagious RSV virus that already two of her Day Care infant friends had tested positive for over the weekend and on Monday. She had been coughing more, not eating as well, spitting up more and stuffier in her nose, so it made sense, unfortunately.
David took Reagan to the doctor's office this morning, and the pediatrician could already tell from Reagan's cough that she most likely had the RSV virus, before he even tested her for it, which he did by taking a sample of her mucus on a cotton swab. The odd and GOOD thing is that Reagan has never shown signs of a high fever in these past six weeks that we've been making trips to the hospital and doctor's office.
What can we do? Not much beside be patient and keep her away from other infants and people who are sick. The RSV virus is basically the common cold, but it is much more serious when an infant contracts this virus for the obvious reasons that they have not yet built up their immunity.
The doctor told David to stop giving the Zofran tablets to Reagan that another pediatrician had prescribed to Reagan at last Thursday's doctor appointment when I took her. (At this pediatrician's office, Reagan sees whichever pediatrician is available for an appointment, and we don't request any particular pediatrician, because all of them are great, so we see a different doctor almost every time, but they of course have her records and know her information. Therefore, we don't need to repeat her history every time to the new doctor.)
David caught the awful 24-hour stomach virus that I had on Saturday night, so the pediatrician actually told David to go ahead and take the remaining Zofran tablets that I picked up for Reagan for the pharmacy last week but to take double the dosage for an adult. David said he was feeling so bad today that he was close to vomiting at the office while holding Reagan and waiting for the nurse.
The pediatrician ultimately told David that Reagan can't return to Day Care until next Monday when hopefully she has recovered from this virus. David has off work tomorrow, too, but for Thursday and Friday, all of a sudden, we were in a bind for what to do with Reagan, because the other twist in this week's turn of events with this returning sick cycle between Reagan and her parents was that the human resources manager confirmed to me today that I used my last available sick day yesterday when I stayed home to recover from my stomach virus from the weekend. Therefore, I can't take off any more work days for which I still get paid, and I think I'd rather go into work with a box of tissues and drugged up in medication than stay home and sacrifice a day's worth of my salary.
So, David and I called upon Reagan's SUPER grandmas to help us out this next week. (Side note: we asked them at the last minute, hoping that they could put aside their schedules up North to help us out down here in the South.) Both grandmas are coming to help out to watch Reagan this Thursday and Friday when both David and I need to work, and they will help out next week when David travels for work to Orlando, Florida (tough life!) with his boss and fellow employees at the golf club next Monday-Thursday. I'm a pretty tough person and can handle most challenges, but I'm already getting nervous about staying sane for four days when I need to go to work, prepare lesson plans after school, take an infant (with the illness variable still up in the air) to Day Care early in the morning and taking care of a yellow lab at home each day... all by myself........ And, if Reagan still is not well next week, then I'm really stuck in a tough situation!
We are very grateful for these two women who live more than an 8-hour drive away to Tennessee, and we want to thank Reagan's grandpas for allowing the grandmas to travel to Tennessee to help us juggle our lives between work, taking care of Reagan and Hank and all staying healthy at the same time!
The positive point of all this is that Reagan seems happy and not fussy at all when we take care of her at home. She is coughing and sniffling a little more in these past few days, so we're not surprised that she tested positive for RSV, but she's not too upset about it. Reagan is staying positive and fighting through it, distracting herself from the stupid virus by staying active (and admiring herself, as always, in the mirror) in her playpen!
From the information packet that Day Care gave to us, it says:
"RSV stands for respiratory syncytial virus, the most frequent cause of serious respiratory tract infections in infants... This is such a common virus that virtually all children have been infected by RSV by the age of 3. In most young children, it results in a mild respiratory infection that is not distinguishable from a common cold."
"RSV occurs throughout the year and is most prevalent during the winter months."
"RSV causes nasal stuffiness and discharge, cough, and sometimes ear infections. It is usually self-limiting and does not require hospitalization or specific treatment... These children may have a low-grade fever for several days, respiratory symptoms that may last for 1 to 2 weeks, and a cough that sometimes persists beyond 2 weeks."
"A child who develops signs of more stressful breathing, deeper and more frequent coughing, and who generally acts sicker by appearing tired, less playful, and less interested in food may have developed a more serious RSV infection."
"In the great majority of cases RSV infection is self-limiting and requires no specific therapy. If your child has a fever, your pediatrician may prescribe some medication to control it... Most children exhibiting the respiratory symptoms commonly associated with RSV (such as a stuffy nose and cough) require no treatment."
"If, however, you child has more sever symptoms of RSV infection and needs hospitalization, then specific antiviral treatment with ribarvirin may be administered. Whether your physician decides to use this drug, which is administered in a mist form, will depend on the severity of the illness, any associated diseases or conditions, and several other factors."
"Although a child can get a second RSV infection, it is very likely that the symptoms will be much milder than the first time."
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