Swine Flu Update

So, I think this is the lightest case of swine flu in the history of the virus.  I can't explain it, but I've been telling everyone that the Lord has had mercy on me because I've been through a lot in my life, and I just would not be able to survive if Clayton became seriously ill with this virus.

When we were at the pediatrician last Tuesday, neither of us could assess how long Clayton had actually had the flu, as he'd had the runny nose for a month, but the fever last Friday led us to believe that was possibly the onset of the flu.  That would mean that Clayton didn't start the Tamiflu until four days into the illness, and Tamiflu is most effective if started within about 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.

Long story short, maybe the Tamiflu has helped.  Maybe he didn't really need it after all.  I don't know, but what I do know is that besides putting himself down for a nap two days this week, this boy hasn't acted sick at all.

To make the light flu story even stranger, just the weekend before all this Eli and I ran fevers for about 48 hours with runny noses and coughing.  I never thought it was the flu because you're supposed to feel bad, and we didn't feel great, but we didn't feel that bad either.  Could we have had it?  I don't know.  Our cases seem pretty similar to Clayton's.

Enough rambling... the update:

1.  Clayton has been fever free one week now.
2.  Clayton still has a slightly runny nose (much improved) and a slightly junky cough, especially in the mornings after he's been laying down all night.
3.  Clayton is still on the Tamiflu through Sunday evening.
4.  After much debate and research, Clayton will still most likely get a second dose of the H1N1 vaccine, as he's had such a light case, there's the possibility he has not built enough immunity to make it through the season.  This is assuming we can locate a second dose for him, which was difficult the first time around.

(His original dose was last week, so he was most likely infected before the vaccine had time to take effect, usually 10 to 14 days after the shot.  Clayton has to have the inactivated virus because of his condition, so there is not a possibility of contracting the virus from the vaccine.)

Answers to other questions I've received:

1.  Clayton was diagnosed in the pediatrician's office.  There's a rapid swab test (about 15 to 20 minutes) a doctor's office can run that tests for influenza virus.  This test cannot determine whether a person has seasonal or swine flu; however, the state of Oklahoma has been testing hundreds of random samples each week, and at this time, 98% of the influenza they've tested has been swine flu, so Clayton's doctor is assuming that all positive influenza tests are H1N1 at this time.  This will probably change as we come into November, but it doesn't really change how a patient will be treated because flu is flu.

2.  Clayton was prescribed Tamiflu.  I did not ask if he was prescribed this because he was a heart patient or because he was a young child or because that's just what they do.  So if Clayton was a heart healthy child, I don't know if they would have prescribed Tamiflu or not.

3.  Clayton cannot take decongestants or cough suppressants because of his heart condition.  He has been on plain old Mussinex, which apparently is neither.  It seems to have helped his tight cough turn nice and "productive" to put it nicely.  We also try to avoid Tylenol  (his triscupid valve issues cause some back up in his liver) and Motrin (because he's on aspirin as a blood thinner); however, desperate times call for desperate measures, and he did take these around the clock the first few days to try to ease the workload on his heart.  He is on none of these now.

4.  Keeping Eli and Clayton seperated is nearly impossible.  I considered it, but keeping a child who doesn't feel sick confined to his room or my room is just not feasible in my house.  I would have of course taken more precautions if Clayton had actually acted halfway sick.  Who knows?  This is probably the wrong approach, but I just go with my gut and do the best I can.  Maybe Eli actually had the flu the week before.

This post has become way too long now, so I will close.  Thanks for all your prayers.  We appreciate it.