P is for Pneumonia

So, we had a very sick little girl earlier this year... I decided to go ahead and post what happened for two reasons. One, this might help another family avoid this situation. Two, several good online friends have asked and I feel comfortable sharing this information with our blog community. ;) So, hear it is. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

First, I wanted to share a few pictures of Alexandra. That is one of my favorite things! ;) In the first, you'll see the same tired/sad eyes that we saw for weeks... In the second, the day before she started to get sick. In this picture you can see the circular bruise on her chest. So, here's the story.

Alexandra became very sick with severe cold/pneumonia-like symptoms. It took a few days before we discovered the cause of her illness. At a birthday party, Alexandra took a fall and hit her chest on something. This caused a rupture of her left lung and also of the pericardium (sac around the heart). With the rupture, some air was able to seep into the pericardium and the lining around her lung. This caused a nasty infection and pneumonia. After we found the root of the problem, we began treatments. She was on a steroid treatment as well as some antibiotics and other things. This injury has the potential to be very serious, even life-threatening, but God watched over our little girl. The biggest risk was that her coughing could reinjure the tear in her lung or pericardium. (Which would be a bad thing!) We went through several very rough nights. I couldn't sleep while I watched Alex breathing, so shallow and strained. For the few days before we started the treatments, she barely moved and was only awake for a few hours. However, Alexandra healed very quickly once we knew what was wrong! She started playing and running and dancing again after an OK from the doctor. ;) The original injury was simply an accident, but the rest could have been avoided. The second picture was taken just before dance; that night she started coughing. All of the jumping, skipping, twisting and running in dance class seems to be what started it. Most likely, her injury was worsened by the movement and that is when she got sick. From now on, I will watch chest injuries more closely! But for now I am just happy to have my little girl back! ;)