Pulmonologist update

I took Colin to meet his newest specialist today — we’ve added a pulmonologist to our collection now. I had to drive out to the suburbs, because I wouldn’t have been able to get an appointment here in the city until the end of October.

So, just after rush-hour traffic cleared (I hoped), Colin and I headed out of town to his appointment. The drive wasn’t bad at all, despite hitting a couple of small construction projects, and we actually arrived on time. (Yeah Mommy!) We also found the office with no trouble, and didn’t have to wait at all.

The doctor was very thorough, and we discussed Colin’s health history, current habits and so on in great detail. Honestly, this is the longest I’ve spent with a doctor (outside of the NICU) in years. He listened to Colin’s lungs for a while, and this is what he told me:

Originally, he wasn’t planning to put Colin on any medication, based on how good he looked and his history. But while he listened to Colin’s lungs, Colin started squirming around and getting a little unhappy about holding still. At that point, the wheeze Colin’s pediatrician was concerned about became apparent.

Why did Colin’s lungs sound wheezier all of a sudden? The damage caused by the ventilator is at the very ends of Colin’s lung passages — in the littlest bronchioli. When Colin breathes normally, he isn’t using that part of his lungs as much. But when he gets upset or excited, his chest is compressing more, squeezing air through those little bronchioli. The damage has made them “floppy,” and the air passing through them makes a whistle.

So Colin will be starting on an inhaled steroid (normally used to treat asthma) tonight. He’ll get that twice a day. We also are getting an inhaler with a different medication than he’s on currently to use if he’s struggling to breathe. The hope is, the steroids will make it easier for Colin to breathe when he gets his next cold (because he will get one), so he won’t end up with bronchiolitis again. 

Other exciting news: 

Colin has gained 11 ounces since July 5th. He’s up to 16 pounds 11 ounces.

After plotting Colin’s height/weight data from his visits to the hospital, the doctor believes he’ll actually be on the growth chart (for his actual age) by the time he’s 18 months. That’s good, because it gives him more space for lung growth while his lung tissue is still actively growing.

The doctor fully expects, based on Colin’s history, that he should successfully outgrow his lung problems at some point. Most kids do, but there always is a chance that they won’t. So it was reassuring to hear the specialist say he thought everything was going well.

Yeah Colin!