Exposure to black mold has caused my daughter and I to have severe congestion. There is not much that could be done for us besides moving out of the house. Our doctor prescribed Juliana 6 sessions at the kiné (physical therapist) and an inhaler with two different strengths of medicine.
Before entering the office of our kiné, I told my husband that I needed to understand completely what he is going to do to her before he touches her and not to get upset if I refuse treatment. I was scared of her getting hurt. The kiné was very nice and understanding. When he described the procedure, it did not sound too bad. Of course, talking about it and doing it are two very different things.
At one moment, I wanted to pounce over the table and strangle him. Juliana was screaming bloody murder in between gurgling spit. The kiné was rolling her chest as if it was play dough and then guiding the mucous up her throat so he could grab it out of her mouth. We are not talking about a gentle massage… he was clamping the top and bottom of her chest repetitively. I am sure it was normal procedure, but as a mother – it was a nightmare.
My husband had her hand and I massaged her foot during the treatment. I felt more anxiety as the compressions continued and her tears hit the bed. I was relieved when it was over and immediately swept her into my arms. The kiné said that since she stopped crying quickly, it meant that she was not hurt. Even though she was not physically injured, my poor darling was terrified.
I did some research on chest physical therapy last night and found that it is necessary for her to get better quicker. We scheduled another appointment but with a different kiné because we are now staying in Caen. This kiné was much gentler and seemed to listen to Juliana’s complaints. During his last set of compresses, he talked with her and she did not even cry. He took her into his arms and further calmed her when he was done and she was fine. We will be visiting with this one again tomorrow.
It is hard to say how she was after the kiné session yesterday because the bedroom was cold last night and the cold air makes congestion much worse. We have a little space heater for tonight so she will be much better. Today she went about 2.5 hours without coughing after her session. She seems much more comfortable and does not cough or sneeze as much, so it is worth taking her to the kiné for chest physical therapy. I think it is one of those instances where it hurts me more than her.
Now that we are out of the moldy house, she should be getting much better soon.
Marisa says
We are Americans living in Bordeaux and just had our first kiné experience with our then-5 month old in December. My wanting to “pounce over the table” moment came when our kiné said, while Zack was screaming bloody murder and I was stroking his hand saying, “I’m so sorry. I promise it will be over soon” (more because I just couldn’t stand his screams being the only sound in the room!) and the kiné said, “Oh, don’t worry. See, he is screaming but there are no tears. He is crying because he is protesting. Not because it hurts him.” SERIOUSLY? Like THAT was supposed to make me feel better? But, yes, in the end, the torture did help his coughing so I guess I should be thankful. But it’s nice to read your blog and know I’m not the only one who may be kicked out of this country for killing a kiné. 😉