Well, we had quite the eventful weekend, although I wouldn't categorize it of the "fun" variety. We had lots of plans this weekend. We were supposed to go to a surprise party on Saturday and have some friends over for a cook out on Sunday. But as they say, the best laid plans oft go awry...
In any case, Jack's day care called on Thursday afternoon. We'd had some thunderstorms during the day. Jack is scared of loud noises, and his teachers said he'd started fussing during the storms and hadn't calmed down, hadn't taken a nap, wouldn't really eat, and there was nothing they could do to quiet him. So, they asked if I could come and get him, since mom, oftentimes, is the best medicine. I picked him up and he was still a little fussy, but he was smiling, if a bit clingy. When we got home, I went upstairs to change him, and while his diaper was off, he took a massive poop. Seriously, it was gag-inducing and got over everything. It's too graphic to describe in detail here, but it was like he dropped a bomb and it's "shrapnel" managed to go as far as to hit his bookcase. It was pretty impressive. So, after that happened, he seemed much happier. He was still fussy, but I figured he was tired because he didn't really nap at school.
On Friday, I went to wake him up and when I picked him up, I immediately knew something was wrong. He was burning up. However, he was still smiling and laughing. I tried taking his temperature, but our thermometer is complete crap. I knew he had a fever, but it wasn't registering on the thermometer. So, I told Jeff I was going to stay home and take him to the pediatrician. Jeff joked with me that I just wanted to stay home with the baby and catch up on my TiVo. I compromised, saying that if Jack got the thumbs up from the doctor, I'd drop him off at day care and head into the office.
So, when we got to the doctor, they looked him over and told me he had an ear infection. Then, they took his temperature at it was at 103 degrees! The ear infection didn't explain the fever, so they took some chest x-rays and discovered that he had pneumonia. The x-ray machine for infants basically looks like a medieval torture device. He had to sit on a piece of wood, with a bar between his legs, and his arms had to be held (by me) over his head while he was strapped in on both sides by giant pieces of plastic. It looked like he got caught in a mail tube. He was scared and uncomfortable, in addition to not feeling well and so he just wailed...which of course caused me to sob right along with him. In any case, after the x-rays came back, to be on the safe side, the doctor then sent us down to Children's Hospital for some additional tests.
We rushed down to the hospital and were seen right away by a pulmonologist. The doctor ordered some more tests, including more x-rays, a chest CT, and blood work. While we were waiting for the results to come back, they put Jack on a nebulizer, which is basically baby oxygen. He hated the mask and I had to hold it on his face to keep him from pulling it off, which only frustrated him. After all the tests came back, the doctor told me that Jack had bacterial pneumonia, on his right lung only. After what probably seemed like the Spanish Inquisition, all my questions were answered to my satisfaction and we were discharged with some antibiotics and a whole list of instructions.
I can't remember a time when I felt so scared and helpless. I was absolutely terrified and I made myself sick with worry. Fortunately, my sister came up to our house after we got home from the hospital and just talking with her helped calm me down considerably. It is the worst feeling, seeing your child sick, and not being able to take it away. It's so hard not being able to talk to your child and explain what's going on. It's hard to hold your child and not be able to comfort him and make the "hurt" go away. Seriously, I might cry just writing this!
In any case, we canceled our weekend plans so we could focus on Jack. We popped out of the house for about an hour and a half yesterday to run to the grocery store and the pharmacy. Jack hated the taste of his medicine, and kept spitting it out. Counterproductive, to say the least. So, I took it back to the pharmacy and asked them to add some flavoring to it. It's still a process to get him to take it, but it's going down considerably better now. Perhaps a spoonful of sugar? We also needed some more distilled water for his humidifier.
He's still under the weather, although I can tell he is starting to feel like his old (new?) self again. He's making his dolphin noises again and starting to play with his toys. His nose is starting to run like a faucet, so I'm hoping all that gunk is draining out of his system. His appetite is back as well, so I think he's slowly turning the corner. We need to still watch him pretty closely for any signs of relapse and we'll go back to the doctor after he's finished his antibiotics for some more chest x-rays.
He's with my parents tomorrow, and I'm glad for that - I'm nervous about sending him back to day care on Tuesday. He hasn't had a fever yet today, so I'm guessing that his antibiotics are actually getting into his system and are working. It's also scary because I'm starting to view his day care as a cesspool and basically, I'm just throwing him back into it. Still, there's not much else to do, I guess...
So, say lots of prayers for Jack that he continues to improve and that he keeps smiling...
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