Ellie Update by Noreen

Ellie was doing great by the long holiday weekend and I’m so grateful she got to participate, but unfortunately she relapsed on Sunday. Monday found us in the Doctor’s office for the 3rd time in two weeks and Tuesday at a Specialist to see if her asthma was allergy driven. She was very brave while pricked her back dozens of times with possible allergens. She did have some allergies (some trees, grasses, mold, and cats) but the Dr. didn’t think it was the cause of her breathing problems. She is now on 4 medications (that I have a love/hate relationship with) and seems to be doing better. The hardest part for her is being homebound. She wants so badly to go to church and swimming lessons and anywhere else someone is going without her. I took her last night to the library, but didn’t stay long because her cough sounds so bad. I feel like hanging a big sign around her neck that says “ASTHMA, NOT CONTAGEOUS!” so I can set her free.

Ellie followed me around the house half the day today with an empty milk carton, begging me to let her paint it. I realized that this was really important to her and set everything up in “painting mode.” She spent over an hour intently painting her milk carton, first tri-colored, then a blue “cow” and finally as a red “volcano.” Who knows, maybe a vintage milk carton by Ellie will fetch a fortune in the future.