Trip to the Doctor

Liam has been our more sickly child.  In Gulf Shores, we started a preventive breathing treatment to help with wheezing when he got colds.  This has seemed to work well as when he did get a cold it didn't go straight into his lungs.  We have a nebulizer machine that aspirates the medicine since he is still too young for an inhaler.  In the process of moving, the nebulizer will not work.  He has had a cold for two weeks now and we have been nervous not continuing with the preventive treatment.  This week we contacted a local pediatrician and had an appointment.  She spoke English and was very helpful.  The appointment ended up being an all day affair because nothing is around the corner from our apartment.  We found the office tucked away inside a courtyard of a fancy building.  Our doctor greeted us at the door and led us into her office which consisted of a large work station with multiple computers, an area with children's toys and table & chairs, and a bench for the examine with a few medical supplies.  The walls were lined with lots of medical books and random medical equipment. 

She listened to Liam's history and used picture diagrams to explain Liam's possible problem with being prone to wheezing.  She showed us an alternative method of a hand held tubing that we could use instead of the nebulizer which will be very helpful as we travel.  In examining Liam she noticed that the indentation at the bottom of his neck was going in when he was breathing.  To make a long story short, we ended up setting up an appointment for the next day at the Children's Hospital for a specialized pediatric doctor to take a closer look at what could be causing this abnormality. With the distance and it being at a hospital, we decided that Bobby should take Liam while I stayed with Amelie.  Upon arriving at the hospital, Bobby found out there was a miscommunication and the appointment was not until the following day.  Oh well, fun excursion with Liam, right?!  So the next morning he had to go through the same routine of getting out the door and to the hospital.  The doctor was very helpful and actually used a small video camera to look inside Liam's throat.  Liam is healthy and there is nothing wrong.  We were very relieved (and it was very cheap, surprisingly!) Both days, Liam and Bobby were able to enjoy lunch out together.

Liam asleep after the examination in front of the hospital.

Liam dipping his frites in ketchup.

Amelie was not to be left out in the process.  She and I made a trip to a nicer grocery store about a 10 minute walk away. I was proud of myself for navigating through our area (although the store I had wanted to go to wasn't the one we made it to but it was still nice) AND more importantly finding my way back home again. 

We love scarves!  My sister, Kim, gave me my beautiful scarf and I found a matching hat this week.

Once Bobby was home, he and Amelie decided to head to the American Library to check out some much needed books to have around the house.  Below are some of the pictures they took on their way to and from the library.

The fountains were not filled with water last week.  We are excited for when they will be actually turned on.