Injections & Immunizations...Ooh My!

Being a baby is tough, and being a Micro Preemie can be miserable. Poor Charly has to have a monthly injection called Synagis. Not only is this injection expensive (it's approximately $1400-$1600, and creates an out of pocket expense for us that is several hundred dollars a month), but it's literally the difference between life and death for Micro Preemie's with Chronic Lung Disease.

Every month since we left the NICU...without fail...we have taken Charly into the pediatrician for her Synagis injection. It's not fun for her. I have a lot of mixed feelings seeing her in pain when I know it's for her own good. A lot of mom's cry when their babies get pricked or poked...but I don't. I've seen Charly go through so much than this...well...putting it lightly, this is the easy part for me.

Here she is all ready for her exam...smiling and just checking things out.

Charly has a large cyst on her right brain...and we are starting to notice some impairments with her left side. See how her left arm is out to the side and limp? These pictures also give you a better idea of what her g-tube looks like. The tube that is snaking around into her diaper is attached to the "button" that goes into her stomach. She wasn't hooked up to her feeding pump during the appointment.

John took a minute to give Charly a little pep-talk.

He told her to smile through the pain...(she had to have her regular immunizations and her Synagis injection...so a total of 6 separate injections).

The pep-talk DID NOT work. Poor Charly!