Change of Weather, Change of Health

The weather here has definitely become the nasty hot that we as Arizonans endure so that we can have beautiful weather throughout the rest of the year.  (At least that is how I see it!)  We have had some amazing Thunder storms the last few nights and the rain has been wonderful.  However, the change in weather wreaks havoc on my poor little one's bodies.  First of all the thunder and lightning terrifies Bryce so he and I have spent some quality time together through the night cuddling, counting, and singing to get through the storms.  The change in the weather also seems to affect their spasticity and causes their muscles to become tighter and more painful.  We do lots of stretching, massage, and of course pain medicine during these times.

The scariest symptom of weather change for Bryce is croup.  The wind, the dust, and the rain seem to bring it on every time.  Last night we ended up heading to the ER with him.  Just as I was heading to bed, he woke with croup and after doing all the "normal" things we do to help, he was still having a lot of trouble breathing and was still a bit blue.  We had our neighbor come over and John, Bryce, and I loaded up and started heading to the hospital.  As we drove, Bryce's breathing became a little lighter and he was able to relax some.  His color came back and by the time we got there, he was not struggling as much.  After seeing all the other people in the ER, we decided to just sit out in the humidity a little longer and see if Bryce would continue to breathe better on his own.  Luckily he did and we decided that it would be better to take him back home and continue with our own breathing therapies rather then take him in and expose him to something else in the waiting room.  We prayed some more, hoped it was the right decision, and headed home.

He and I spend the rest of the night sleeping upright on the couch.  Luckily he made it through without too many more issues and he seems to be even better this morning.  He is still pretty croupy, but at least he is breathing better.  He was scheduled to get new AFO's this morning since he has outgrown his others, but I changed that appointment and hope to just spend the day here and maybe get a little nap in this afternoon!