The Nebulizer

A couple of weeks ago, after what had seemed like days and days of coughing, my worried mother brain couldn't take it anymore, so we took the girls in for a check-up with Dr. Mayberry. Fears of H1N1 swarmed my brain. I was more concerned for Maddie, who'd been hacking and rattling for at least a week despite daily doses of doctor prescribed Benadryl. After the exam, though, it turned out Maddie was perfectly fine, just fighting off some little bug. Cadie, on the other hand, having just begun some slight wheezing that morning, would need to be checked to make sure there wasn't an infection in her lungs.

So, we headed off to x-ray. Distracted by stickers depicting various beloved characters like Hannah Montana, Mr. Incredible, and Spongebob, Cadie stood dutifully still as the tech took a couple of pictures of her lungs. Dr. Mayberry reported that all was well and her lungs were clear, but she wanted to get rid of the wheeze, so she prescribed some breathing treatments. She asked if we still had the nebulizer we'd gotten when Cadie had had pneumonia last winter. Turns out, that nebulizer was meant to permanently be ours after a 10-month period of rent-to-own with our insurance company. I'd misunderstood and returned it as soon as Cadie had recovered, no one from the medical supply company finding the need to correct me. Dr. Mayberry sent us home with a brand new one and with instructions not to give it back this time.

Cadie responded to the breathing treatments beautifully, as she always has. Though it's been years since I've felt the fear of one of the girls being in mortal danger, it's been such a comfort to know that nebulizer rests comfortably in the girls' bathroom cabinet, a generous supply of albuterol nestled just one shelf above. This evening, after a day of raking leaves and playing in the unseasonably warm weather, I noticed Cadie had an "almost wheeze". How convenient it was to pull the nebulizer from its perch and treat the condition right away. Cadie has become so comfortable with the treatments (though she's only received a handful), that she fell asleep just a couple of minutes into tonight's treatment, curled up on my lap in the rocking chair. I'll always be so grateful that out of all the things she suffered during her hospital stay and since, we can always count on the amazing response she has to the nebulizer and the medicine it provides.