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keeping our families healthy

It’s been a l-o-n-g week here in our home.

When one of my kids came home with a nasty virus, I braced myself, knowing exactly what happens when the unwelcome visitor makes its rounds.  Because it always does.

First one.  Then another.  And then another.

Every child who has special needs runs high fevers.

By Tuesday night I was starting to get really worried about Hasya.  She was spiking fevers of over 105.  Many of you will know how serious this is for a child who suffers from seizures.  No matter what I tried, I just could not get the fever down for very long.  A late night trip to the ER confirmed that she did indeed just have a virus and all I could do was try and keep the fever down as much as possible and pray that it passed quickly.

By Wednesday Harper was beginning to sound awful.  It always affects her respiratory system.  Always! Thankfully, her fever was not too bad.

On Thursday I knew exactly where we were heading.

Late that night I awoke to the frightening sound that has become all too familiar in our home.  Stridor!  That horrible gasping-for-every-single-breath sound.  She was already dreadfully pale when I got to her and in that moment (as with all previous times), the adrenaline kicked in and we scrambled to get her to the ER in a matter of minutes.  Harper gets croup so badly that we have been warned time and time again to get her to the ER as fast as we possibly can.  With her low muscle tone and extremely narrow airway, it’s a recipe for serious trouble when she gets sick. Her airway constricts and air just cannot flow through. It is very scary!

Goodness, it felt like winter came too soon.  We deal with this often with our two most medically fragile children.  But September just feels like it’s too soon.

The very, very good news is that for the first time Harper did NOT need to be put on oxygen!  Her oxygenation levels remained perfectly normal during a croup attack.  That’s huge! While we were living at a high altitude, she always got hooked up to the condenser for several days after being treated in the ER.  But not this time! We are so thankful for the lower altitude.

Today both girls are doing better and are on the mend.  Praise Jesus!

The kind of week we have had definitely has got me thinking about winter just around the corner again.  Many of you will remember the awful winter we had last year.  Oh my goodness!  I will do anything I can to prevent my precious ones from being so sick again.  A lot of what we deal with is obviously compromised, weakened immune systems which may never change unless God heals them.  But each winter I research and try different things to at least try and help my kids to get through the cold months a little easier.

So, I thought I could come and ask you guys to share your expertise with me and others who may be interested in building their children’s immune systems this winter.

Here are some of my questions.

~~~  How do you keep your family healthy through the winter?

~~~  Do you give your children the flu shot?  If no, for what reason?

~~~  Hot or cold humidifiers?

~~~  Supplements?  Which ones?

I would love to glean from many of you.  Would you be willing to share what works for your family, please?  Just leave a comment. 

If you are reading this on FB and would love to share, would you please share your comment here on this post so that those who do not follow on FB can also read your advice?That would be wonderful. Thanks!

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