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I have a family inquiring about enrolling a toddler with cystic fibrosis. Has anyone cared for a child with this condition? I need cautions, advice & questions to ask the parents before I agree to enroll. I believ he takes daily medications including a nebulizer (my son has asthma so I am comfortable with these) and he wears a mask to minimize exposure to germs
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My best friends dd has CF, we had our babies within days of each other. Her dd was later diagnosed failure to thrive, and then they discovered the CF. She is 5 now, doing incredibly well and was enrolled (with me) FT for 3 1/2 years. She is in a full time Pre-k program now and flourishing. Her numbers are much lower than to be expected.
They get sick more often, you have to be very proactive in your limitation of germs/illnesses with other dck's. During the time she was in care, I was VERY selective about my other dck's coming in sick. She missed more days than other dck's due to this, hospital visits (the common cold can put her in the hospital quite easily). She did wear a mask during cold/flu season or when other dck's/myself had even a runny nose. During summer she was fine to go without it. I also cleaned/sanitized more than normal.
Difficulty gaining/maintaining weight, which is common in CF. You would really need to help dcp's keep an eye on how much/when dck is eating. They will probably provide supplements, like pediasure, as well.
Daily medications, does dck take them well? My dcg hated, (and I do mean HATED with a fiery passion) her nebulizer & her 4x/day chest 'pattings'. It took a long time for her to take meds well (Mom would come to help administer it was that bad). -
Thanks
I have pets - 2 cats/2 dogs .... they dont interact with the children much but there will be some hair/etc there always is no matter how much I clean
. Do you know if this is a potential problem????
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Not unless dck is allergic. I had a dog and three cats at the time. Although I do have a HEPA filtration system and only hardwoods and swept/vacuumed more than once a day (OCD much?) This little girl has a cat of her own that sleeps on her bed, so I can't see that posing a problemComment
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I had one girl. She had the medicine that we put into yogurt or baby food. (enzymes)
I had to do her breathing treatments four times a day. She was three, so all I had to do was set it up, and she'd work on puzzles or blocks while she finished her treatment.
I had to do the chest/back pats three or four times a day. The kids even helped with that. SHe just laid across a peanut shaped ball, and we used an old playtex flat top nipple to beat on her back or chest... then i'd use the sides of my hand.
As she got older, this became a problem, because she got self conscious and irritated by it. By age five, her mom quit working and stayed home with her. She only lived to age 16, so that was hard to learn about.Comment
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I have a little sibling starting in May who has CF. He will be one when he starts. They do his pounding treatments at home so I won't have to do that. He will have enzymes that need to be added to his foods. The parents have just said that I will need to keep them aware if I notice a cough or cold symptoms as these can be worse and last longer for him. Also cleaning the toys more regularly, but mostly just anything that he is mouthing. He will by my only infant, so that'll be good that he'll be the only one putting things in his mouth.
They told me that there is a person at the hospital that will come to my home and talk to me about it with the parents if I would like, but I think I will pass on that. I think I would be uncomfortable with them all here. I think if the parents just give me all the information it should be fine.Comment
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I have a 2-year-old dcb who has CF. The main thing I have to do it give him a couple enzyme capsules sprinkled into applesauce whenever he eats. He is not a good eater--mostly eats junk food at home (Oreos for breakfast the other day.) He is very healthy though--has not been sick in the year he's been coming here.
He gets 1 breathing treatment each day one month and 3 a day on alternate months. Usually the parents do them at home but once in a while I do one--no big deal. He cooperates with it fine for me; we sit and sing songs or read books. He doesn't get the manual "patting" but has a vibrating vest he has to wear twice a day. Usually they do this at home too.
Overall it hasn't been a problem or inconvenience for me.Comment
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Thanks everyone for the info!!Comment
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