Miss Olivia has had more than her share of illness since she came into this world 15 months ago, but this time it landed her in the hospital with dehydration and pneumonia.
Olivia has laryngomalacia which causes swallowing difficulties, coupled with the fact that she also has a laryngeal cleft. Her liquids are thickened to help with swallowing and prevent aspiration and she's on reflux meds to help as well, but sometimes Olivia just will not eat or drink causing dehydration.
Checking out her new ankle bracelet. She is an inquisitive child :)
I love that snotty nose....
Resting in Nana's arms. This was Day 1 of the hospital and a tough morning. Mallorye & Matt both had their last final and Olivia was needing admitted to the hospital, so I went and got her settled in to her room while they took their test. I know the agony of being pulled in different directions.
Full throttle! Bring on the fluids. This was the biggest obstacle...getting Olivia hydrated and keeping her that way. It's amazing how stubborn a little girl of 20 pounds can be.
Olivia getting her "smoke" on with daddy & mommy.
Mallorye & Matt are the best parents for Olivia. I know they get frustrated with all the sickness and doctors...they just want their little girl to be healthy. Mallorye is a wonderful advocate and is constantly researching about LM and the best way to help Olivia. She pushes for the therapies that she needs and is not afraid to question the doctors if she feels things aren't progressing. Matt supports Mallorye and defers to her in all things medical. They are great together and Olivia couldn't have a better team fighting for her.
Checking her oxygen level...something LM babies struggle with is O2 sats falling. It's important to keep a check on her levels and make sure they're not falling too low.
Dancing with her puppy...even when this child is sick, she is a ray of sunshine! I'm certain most people don't even realize that she is sick because she just keeps smiling and singing and dancing. A lesson we all could learn.
Giving Nana's kisses away to her Elmo balloon! LOL
A rare moment of Olivia being still and watching cartoons...we know she's sick when she's still!
Check out these links for more information about laryngomalacia (LM);
*side note: Olivia spent 3 days in our local hospital and then was released only to be readmitted to Arkansas Children's Hospital for 3 days with dehydration again. An EGD, MRI, and skeletal scan were done to make sure there wasn't something additional going on and all was normal. I cannot stress how important it is to encourage drinking in the LM child.
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