Michael has been unwell for the past three months. His first chest infection started on the 24th of July. After 7 days of a strong antibiotic, the virus disappeared thank heavens.

On the 28th of August, he got a 2nd chest infection. usually he has symptoms a week before the actual bug attacks him, this time he went to bed Saturday night 'as good as gold' & woke up on the Sunday with a really bad cold. I instantly took him to the Dr, who again prescribed antibiotics & within 10 days the cold was gone!

A week agoon Monday, Michael again woke up with a chesty cough & a temperature of 38.9! I treated him at home, as usual with his panadol & his Ventolin.

On Tuesday night we took him to the RCH, where they immediately rushed him into the Resuscitation Room. We are used to him 'puffing' to breathe, but they said his oxygen level was only 89%, when should have been 100% !!!

They gave him his ventolin, which I had already done at home & of course it didn't work!  So they gave him some Atrovent & 3mls of Cortisone to help him breathe, which thank god it worked & within an hour was breathing better again!

I wanted them to attend to his moist chesty cough & also told them he has been having up to 5 loose bowel motions a day & has lost 2.5kg in 2 weeks. They were more concerned about his breathing & eventually sent us home with a bottle of Cortisone to give 3mls daily for 3 days ONLY & a letter to see his Paediatrician on the Thursday, also at the RCH.

Thursday finally came & we went to see his Dr. 

We came away from there with lots of tests for Michael to have done, his Dr is concerned about his recurrent Chest infections, weight loss & loose bowels!!! 

I have to collect 3 poo samples from Michael, so he can be tested for either ?Giardia ~ a severe stomach bug, or Celiac Disease, which apparently runs 'hand in hand' with Lactose Intolerance, which Michael has already.

We ended up taking him back into the RCH on Saturday lunchtime, because he couldn't stop coughing! They took him in straight away. Gave him the atrovent again. Took a blood test ~ even with the 'Angel Cream' on his arms for 20 minutes Michael still screamed! And I felt sick!!!!

He then had a chest & abdomen xray.  The Dr's were confused with his xray, as they said one of his lungs was "over inflated" ??????????!!!!!!    ?Maybe from all of his coughing?!!!!!

They sent us home again, & Michael was to be reviewed in 2 weeks from the Paediatrician again.

I received a phone call tonight from his Dr at the RCH, telling me to please bring him in on Wednesday, as he is concerned about the chest xray & wants to do more tests!!!!  I feel sick at the thought of this & have already starting thinking the worst !!! I'm trying to stay positive & pray it's nothing but keep thinking "What if ..........?" etc... etc...etc...

I don't know what I will do if he is really sick again! 

Took Michael to Activity Group on Tuesday, he cried again, but then so did a lot of the other kids.

After this, I had to take him to see his Heart specialist, for his yearly check up. 

After the initial crying & then screaming that he did 'NOT want  stickers with wires stuck to his chest' .And he certainly did NOT  want to watch the Wiggles while the lady looked at his heart on a screen, whilst massaging his chest with a special instrument!!!   He eventually stopped & was quite interested in looking at his heart moving on the screen. Thank God, Finally he was lying still.  In the 3 years he's been having these tests, he has never laid still. We then went back to the waiting room & waited to see his Dr for the results of the tests.

We were told that Michael has developed a Heart Murmur, which now explains why he gets breathless so easily (apart from the one lung) after only running around for 10 minutes or less.  No treatment at this stage, just has to be closely monitored by his other Dr's he sees on a regular basis.

Also went to see his eye dr & discussed that Michael refuses to wear his glasses!  Dr re-checked his eyes & thank heavens his sight is fine. We only have the squint to worry about. He said the glasses will not correct this problem & in about 12 months Michael will have to have Cosmetic surgery to correct his eye that turns inwards.

Two appointments down, with only 5 more to go till next year, when they start all over again!

Next week we have appointments to see his Surgeon from his operation at 7 days old. Not only is this a review, but Michael has a new concern affecting his stomach/bowel. Anything he eats goes straight through him. He is Lactose Intolerant & they now think he may have Celiac's disease. 

He has to have a BIOPSY of his stomach's lining to confirm this.  This is one thing I am not looking forward to for him, the poor little thing has been through so much already & just wish all his ill health would come to an end. I know there are a lot of people in the world worse off than us, but I just want him to be able to play happily & enjoy life like a 3 year old should, without having any pain or discomfort any more.

I really don't know what is going on in his little body at the moment, as even his teachers at Activity Group on Tuesday mentioned that Michael complained of sore legs. He has complained about this to me before & I feel awful because apart from giving him a dose of panadol, haven't taken him to the Dr to see why he has this pain.

We will see what next week brings. Hopefully a cure without Surgery for his tummy aches & loose bm's! One can only hope & pray!!!

After a lot of thinking & weighing up the pro's & con's, I have finally decided to take michael (mw) to Play Group.

I've been a bit hesitant in the past because of him only having the one lung & his low Immune system, because he easily picks up chest infections, among other things. We have tried swimming, which as everyone has told me, is 'great' for his lung! Unfortunately we had to stop this after only 3 weeks, as mw was continuously getting a cold, which naturally developed into the 'dreaded' chest infection/bronchitis. Maybe when the weather becomes warmer again, we will give it another try.

So, a friend suggested i take him to Play group to 'play' with her 3 year old & get him used to the 'other' kids, from 9am till 11am. 

 I booked into the group she suggested & was quite excited, as they promised "Lots of craft activities", which mw loves!  We went to the first session & I was a bit shocked that out of the 20 mothers there, only 2 of us (myself & another mum ~ Not my friend), were playing actually playing with our kids. The other 18 mums were all sitting in their little groups, sipping coffee & "bitching" about anything & everything & even about 'other' mums in the same play group!!! I played with mw in the sandpit with the other kids & in no time at all, had up to 15 kids all making mud/sand pies with us!!  

There were some 'older' kids there, who were supposedly home 'sick' from school, bullying their littler siblings & any other little kid who awkwardly got in their way!! And to my shock, not one of their mums got up to intervene!!!! they would give the occasional glance through the window, mumble something & then flop back down in their chair. I thought maybe this was a one off thing that happened & maybe i was judging them too harshly & decided mw & I would go back again the next week & see if there were any activities for him to do.

Wishful thinking!! I was wrong !! The same senario occured the next 6 weeks we attended this play group. Each week i'd say to myself "it will be better this time!" Mw made 2 items for the whole term!  I didn't mind paying the $37.50 if it was to be put to use for the kids, but I think instead it was used for the mum's coffee!!!

I didn't return to that Play Group, the next term, I found out about a new Play Group that was opening at the start of August 2008 & rang to enquire about that. I was told there was a waiting list & that at present it was full, but they would ring me when a place became available. Great I thought, as mw was 'driving me nuts' continuously saying "I'm bored, what can I do now?"

Each week I would ring up & see if there were any vacancies & somehow stumbled upon a 3+ Activity Group from 9am till 12pm! I jumped at the chance, until the lady said, "You don't really have to stay with your child, we prefer that you go home & then come back & collect him!"  I felt sick at the thought of leaving him for a 3 whole hours, i couldn't believe I was thinking like this, when the week before, I was "wishing" I could have a break from him!!! (See, be careful what you wish for, it might come true)!

So I enrolled him in this group. We've been twice so far & mw seems to enjoy it & they are constantly busy. Painting, pasting, playing, singing, reading etc.. etc...

Day 1, I stayed with mw for the whole 3 hours. After working  night shift the night before & finishing at 7am, the 3 hours nearly killed me. But once 12pm arrived, mw couldn't wait to go home for a rest, which was good for me, as didn't have to wait till daddy came home, to be able to lie down.

Last week (Day2) I thought I'd try leaving him for an hour or so.......  We, (hubby & I) had prepared him, or so we thought, that it " was just like being at Nanna's, Mummy would go & then come back & get him."

Yeah, right !!!  I waited until 9.30am & started the "Okay, I'm going now, you have fun & I will see you soon" stuff.

He even watched another little girl crying when her Mummy left & said "She's being silly her Mummy will be back soon!!" Which made me think "Great now here's my chance!!!" .....................NOT!!!......................

He started crying, then screaming,etc.. etc..    Apart from holding back the tears myself, I didn't know what to do.  One Mum kindly said "Just go, he'll be okay".   I told him I loved him & would be back soon to get him. Stupidly I watched as a teacher picked him up to reassure him & he started kicking her, trying to get out of her grip. I couldn't hold it in any longer, I burst into tears & walked out the door. 

I cried all the way to the car.  Got in, & for some stupid reason decided I needed to ring someone. Of all the people I could have picked to ring for reassurance, stupid me rang hubby !!  Naturally, I got told " Stop crying, get over it ,he'll be fine !!!" (As bluntly as I've worded it)!  No sympathy from him whatsoever....... I suppose it's what I needed to hear, as otherwise probably would have sat there blubbering until it was time to get him at 12pm !!!!  

Now, wouldn't you think, okay I've just done a night shift, I should go home & have a nap?!  Not!!! What do I do for the next 2 hours.......   went Christmas shopping for MW of course!!!!

I was so excited (pathetic isn't it), when 11.45am came around, that I could go & get mw!!!  He was just as excited to see me !  And the best bit, was hearing that he had been okay & had had fun!!!  Now to do it all again next week!!!!

I should have known not to go to work, with the day that I had!!!!

First of all, hubby who HATES Sundays, moped around the house complainning how bored he was! I made a few suggestions, eg: Take the dogs to the beach with Michael, = Boring!, Take Michael to the Zoo = We can't afford it ! (whatever), "I know", I said, (knowing he would really Hate this one), "Let's go shopping!" ~ No comment, but by the look on his face I could tell what he was thinking & he was NOT impressed!

Then the phone rings & he's so excited he jumped off the chair & the next thing I know is, he's grabbed his keys & is running out the door, saying " Won't be long, am just going to a CAR SWAP MEET, with Lee (his brother)!!!

Hooray I thought!!!  Now I don't have to put up with his whinging, that was until nearly 3 year old Michael says " Mummy, I wasnt to do something too !!!!"   Here I go again I was thinking !  So, again I made some suggestions, eg: Go play with the dogs. "No"! Came the reply. Why don't you go play in your cubby? Again "NO!", getting a bit louder this time. Go play in the sandpit then, I suggested.

"NOOOOOO, I SAID I WANT TO DO SOMETHING!" Came the angry reply. To which I calmly (I don't know how) said "Here's something for you to do then, GO & SIT on your TIME OUT mat until you calm down & can tell me what you want to do!!! I'm sure you can imagine the tantrum, that happened after I said this, but he did as he was told to & then came out as a different boy.

"I'm sorry I didn't yell at you." was his usual reply. And as usual I corrected him with "You mean I'm sorry I yelled at you mummy." To which he said "Yes".  After a couple of minutes he decided he wanted to do painting.

So we did painting, then Play dough, then drawing, then played with the dogs.  "I want to make something now!", came the next statement.

So we made a chocolate slice, not before we thoroughly washed our hands though & several times throughout the baking procedure. Every time he scratched his nose I made him wash his hands! At one point I was nearly pulling out my hair & said "Do you have to keep scratching / touching your face, wash your hands AGAIN please. In the end, I just gave him a bowl of soapy water & said "Here Play with this then!" Michael was happy with this idea, which I soon realised I should have done in the first place with him !!!!

By the time hubby came home at 2pm, I was exhausted & was ready for bed as started work at 2200 (10pm) until 0700 (7am) hrs.  So Michael & his daddy went out. I woke up at 6pm, & set the alarm for 8.30 as had to leave for work at 9.30pm & happily went back to sleep as noone was home yet!!!

Next thing I know is it's 9.15pm !!!  I jumped out of bed, checked my alarm that hadn't gone off, um, because stupid me set it for 8.30 AM, instead of PM !!!!!!    

I jumped in & out of shower, put my uniform on, put my hair up, couldn't be bothered doing the usual makeup, even though I look shocking without any foundation, but thought who cares, none of the 'oldies' will notice ! 

Ran into the lounge only to find hubby & Michael & 2 dogs asleep on couch!!  Shoved all 4 of them, but no one stirred !!  Punched hubby as was getting angry now! he woke up with a "Yeah, bye!" And then flopped back to sleep !!! Got to work about 5 minutes to 10pm !!!! 

What is the first thing the staff say when I walk in the door?  "Are you alright, you look shocking !"   Nice, Just Nice I thought to myself !!!!!

Did our first round, checking, toileting etc..., finished this round about 12.30 am.  Just as I was finishing attending to one of our resident's, by putting his bed back into it's low position close to the floor (all resident's who are at a high risk of falling out of bed, or try to get up by themselves & can fall, have their beds in the lowest position for their safety overnight).   I hear a loud BANG & all the power in my section (20 resident's), went out !!!

Then the emergency lighting came on thank god!!!  I went & checked all my resident's to see if they were okay, & luckily they were still all asleep !!  Two other girls from the other sections came over to see if I was okay. 

It was our job then, to find out what had caused the black out! We soon found that the Safety Switch had switched everything off!!!  Now, we had to find out why. 

I eventually found it, a resident's television (in a different section to mine), was switched off & ZZZZZZZ-ING !!!!!  I quickly pulled the plug out of the wall !!  We flicked the safety switch back to ON & all the power came back on!!!  

This resident, whose television it was, was very shitty with me for pulling out her plug. I wasn't prepared to argue with her, & simply said "Would you rather me turn it back on & it cause a fire & you be burnt to a crisp, or leave it out?!"  She quickly said "Oh, leave it out then !!!"

So, I hate to think of the  mess we could have been in, if we didn't have a Safety Switch attached to our Aged Care Facility !  Thank god for the Safety Switch !!!!!!!   Oh what an awful night it could have been without it !!!!