I am Tamara Ganoci, Art Historian and Conservator, and I have two children: Jakša (four years old) and Gita (twenty-two months old).
Well, the story about Gita (twenty-two months old), at least this final episode, started with a common, light cold that developed into obstructive bronchitis, to which Gita is obviously prone. In addition to the usual lighter preventive therapy, she has been receiving in order to save her lungs if she gets bronchitis, during this episode she received therapy of Ventolin inhalation. However, soon it turned out that she didn’t respond to those therapies. Her condition got worse, the Ventoline therapy was increased again, but with no success and in the end she had to be taken to the hospital. The symptoms were shallow and heavy breathing, although the oxygen saturation was lower but within the normal range, asymmetric sound and whistling in the lungs. At first, it was thought that she might have aspirated something and that this created additional interference (it was not visible on the roentgen). She was receiving intravenously corticosteroids, and new therapies of corticosteroid inhalations were introduced. But, the situation was getting worse.
Five days in a row they were convincing me that the therapies simply did not work, that she slightly i.e. did not react to them at all. The therapies were being changed during these four-five days, the new ones were tried out, the medicine Sumamed (azithromycin) was introduced “preventively”. No improvement. They suggested to us that the bronchoscopy should be done under the assumption that the interferences were caused by either a foreign body or some anatomic anomaly. Of course, we signed the consent but the bronchoscopy was being delayed due to her difficult condition during which she couldn’t have received the anesthetic as each examination of her showing.
By the way, Gita was during the whole stay at the hospital in a great mood, with a healthy appetite, afebrile, without any external signs of sickness (tiredness, nervousness, etc.)
So, on the 6th day of the stay in the hospital, after morning consultations with Gita’s doctors, their claim that there is still no improvement, that they do not know why this is so, convincing that in rare cases children react strangely i.e. do not react on medications, I decided to call you. Simply, the doctors weren’t convincing to me anymore. Now follows the nicer part of our story: the next day, after your therapy, already in the morning the doctors came to let me know that finally, the improvement was there. Little, but nonetheless the improvement.
Saturday (8th day): again improvement, Sunday (9th day): better and better. On Sunday further consultations took place with the doctor on duty to prepare Gita for bronchoscopy on Monday. The anesthesiologist ready, condition stable. Next day was the most shocking for us. They canceled the bronchoscopy because her medical report was completely clear. With that report, no matter the case-history, they could not justify the further procedure. During the morning she was examined by all the pulmonologists, otorhinolaryngologists (who were to do the bronchoscopy), students and: Miracle! Well, after the bronchoconstriction, and after the release from the hospital, the recovery should still be monitored and regularly she has to be taken to the examination and listening because the bronchoconstriction is heard between 7-10 days. There was nothing to be heard on Gita on Monday. As if she hadn’t had the bronchoconstriction in the first place.
Therefore… thank you.