Liam has been hospitalized several times for respiratory illness so every time he gets a fever we worry. And worry. And worry. If you know him, you know what a bubbly, energy filled guy he is. Constantly wanting to shoot hoops, dance to Kidz Bop videos or be the first one up on a Sunday with full soccer gear on. So when he is listless or writhing in pain it is scary.
And it's difficult, oh so difficult as a mom, to juggle two worlds: that of traditional western medicine and local doctors who don't know a ton about the specifics of Down syndrome, and the holistic approach, where I am looked down on because the research for alternative, natural and genetic specific approaches is being pulled together by other advocate, warrior mamas.
Listen. An extra chromosome changes a lot in a body. Medicine can work overall for a people, but it is not one size fits all. And guess what? Most drug trials don't include people with different genetic make up.
Pedro just took Lupe to school, a bit late- she slept in since we were at the ER until 11:30 pm last night. She slept on the couch. The flu is damn contagious and I don't want anyone else getting it. Liam is up in my bed sleeping. The ibuprofen helps. Fevers need to "do their jobs" to kill the virus, but he also needs to rest and not be in pain, and feel ok enough to eat a little (mostly drink liquids I know). At the ER, his temperature was going down because we had given ibuprofen just shy of 2 hours previously when they came in wanting to give Tylenol. I asked, why? If he just took something that is slowly bringing it down? 'Because he still has a low grade fever' they responded. I hate how tiring it is to be "that" mom to the professionals, but if I see him feeling a bit better, because the medicine I already gave him is starting to work, why are you wanting to pile on more?
This is all so exhausting.
Update: 7 days and Liam is on the mend. Fever lasted on and off for 5 days, now a cough is the only thing Liam is still dealing with, and gaining his appetite back.
Claudia, a good friend, and Liam's aide at school brought by cards his classmates had made. It was clear they had talked about Liam and his interests. Chewbaca and Johnny from the movie Sing feature prominently, as well as a lot of pictures of Liam playing basketball.
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