11/3/25

 I recently hung up a sign at the vet office saying that I can potentially help cover shifts. When my kids were little my co-worker at the time always worked late so I could spend time with my kids and put them to bed. I always appreciated it and felt that she was ALWAYS stuck with the short end of the stick. 

I can never repay that kindness but I can pay it forward. This industry is a majority of women trying to balance being a Mom and working. That is hard. If I can make it a little easier on someone, I am happy to pass along that kindness. It makes me feel good to do so. Plus, I am not overly social. I consider this “killing two birds with one stone” being social as well.

Ethan decided that he should be re-evaluated with a chest X-ray. I am proud of him that he is taking this seriously. He has started coughing. I got a plan of medications that are safe to use from the transplant team in case things have changed enough to warrant medications.

We got to the office and waited and waited. Luckily they had us waiting in a room away from all the funk everyone else has. We had our masks on to avoid picking anything else up.

The doctor came in and listened to our concerns. He listened to Ethan’s history. He took out his stethoscope and took the time to listen to Ethan in multiple spots. “His lungs sound clear.” The doctor said.

Ugh! Are you kidding me? This ALWAYS developed into pneumonia. Were we too early again? 

This kid has had pneumonia so many times. He (and I ) can tell you when it crosses the threshold of not resolving on its own. I thought for sure we had it pegged this time with the tightness in his chest and cough that developed quickly. 

I started to panic that they weren’t going to take an X-ray. As we talked I shimmied in that Ethan doesn’t follow the rules medically and the doctor sent him for X-ray (down the hall).

They sent his X-rays off to a radiologist to review. It came back that he had moderate “interstitial infiltrate” and was consistent with pneumonia. Incidentally they also found a small amount of fluid around his left lung.

He felt validated. We both felt relieved. I shared the medications the transplant team told me were safe. The doctor prescribed both.

While we were there we had a nasty storm go through full of lightening, thunder, rain and hail. Ethan and I were both sprinting to the car and were soaked. The seat warmers went on. We were at urgent care for well over 2 hours.

Now he can focus on healing.

When we got home, we warmed up with chicken noodle soup. Yum!