Oct. 1

October 1st. The official start of RSV (cold/flu) season in Charlotte. The official start of Pierce's second isolation season. The official return to blogging (sorry we've been MIA, we've been enjoying the long, warm summer days!).

Pierce had his last hoorah this past weekend- My brother and Emily tied the knot.

Every micorpreemie is different, and each have different recommendations from their doctors on how their parents should handle this dreaded season of sickness. For us, we're dealing with a severe case of Chronic Lung Disease. Pierce has so many factors stacked against him when it comes to the respiratory department- he didn't receive any steroids before birth, he was mechanically ventilated for 2+ months, he required oxygen for over 9 months after that, and to top it off, at his last pulmonology appointment, his chest x-ray showed one of the worst cases of lung disease his doctor had seen in a while. Because of this, the doctors have recommended two years of RSV isolation. We have one down (last year) and now are ready to tackle season 2 head on.

What does the start of this season mean for us? This means no more casual outings, no more church services, no more dinner dates, no more Target runs... ah, the list could go on and on and writing it makes me long for more summer days as I remember all the fun we've had! Just about the only thing that Pierce will be allowed to do now is go to therapy and doctors appointments. It also means the start of the monthly Synagis shot (this shot lowers his chance of contracting RSV).

Of course, this year, Pierce is much stronger and for that we are so thankful. We will probably go outdoors a lot (hoping for another mild winter like last year!) and find activities that we can modify to fit his needs.

Last year, I posted this list of things that helped us survive the long season... I'm sure many of them will be things I can rely on again this year.I'm really looking forward to doing more skype playdates because it allows me to connect with friends from all over the country. (Email me at thepreemiepierce@gmail.com so that we can set up a "play" date!)

Would you please pray for us as we start this scary season? And pray for Pierce's continued health? Pray also for his many other micropreemie friends who are also entering this season. And pray for all of their parents who are forced to deal with the hard task of caring for a medically fragile child.

Many thanks for walking this journey with us,

Lindsay

Want more info on preemie lungs and the dangers of RSV? Visit Life with Jack for this great blog post