In sickness...and in sickness!

Stomach flu, croup, eye infection, ear infection, bronchial spasms (horrible cough), high fevers, sore throats and colds! Welcome to my home this past month! YUCK! Jon officially dubbed last week as the week from you know where! I wrote about the kids having the stomach flu before we went to Disneyland. Well, luckily they were over it while we were there, but then we came home and started all the rest of that lovely list of illnesses! So, yes we have had all of those things around our house in just one week! Last Sunday we heard Emma start coughing and instantly knew she had croup. She gets it every year! So, Monday afternoon I had her in the doctor's office to make sure that's what it was. She was not doing well at all that day. She had a fever around 102 for most of the day and was in and out of sleep. While we were in the office waiting for the doctor to come in the room Emma was sitting in my lap laying her head on my shoulder. She suddenly said, "Mom, I'm gonna throw up!" Before I could grab the trash can it was all over me and her! OK, I shouldn't say ALL over, just a little bit down the front of my shirt and on my jacket sleeve. But, there was a lot on Emma. Still, not fun to be puked on! The doctor came in shortly after that as I was trying to clean up the mess and was very kind about it. He said there was no better place to throw up! He confirmed that Emma had croup but also pointed out that she had an eye infection. I noticed her eyes being a little gooey, but didn't think it was an infection. Although, after he said that I remembered that Emma kept rubbing her eyes while we were on our trip. She was rubbing them at the park and in nasty rest stop bathrooms! GROSS! I kept telling her to stop rubbing her eyes, but I'm sure that is where she picked that up from. The nurse gave Emma a steroid shot for her inflammation which would help with the coughing and the wheezing. The rest we knew...humidifier, steamy bathrooms and cold air. Been there a few times before! The doctor said it was unlikely that Derrick would get croup as it was not contagious itself. I held out hope that Derrick might escape any illness. It didn't happen! On Wednesday or Thursday (I don't remember, my week all ran together) Derrick started coughing. His cough progressed into a horrible persistent cough that would give him fits for 10, sometimes 15 minutes at a time. Well, our week was extremely busy with Emma's school Christmas program (that she insisted on going to), preparing for Jon's sister's wedding, Emma's dance recital and Jon and I both trying to catch up with work after being on vacation. So, I kind of put off taking Derrick to the doctor thinking maybe it was just a cold. By Saturday we knew it was not just a cold. He had a fever for a couple days and it was not going away. I was exhausted by the end of the week from being up with the kids several times each night, trying to get them back to sleep and listening to their coughing to make sure they were still breathing! Jon helped when he could, but he had to go to work, so I tried to let him sleep as much as possible. 3am Saturday morning Jon was dressed and ready to take Derrick to the ER, but we decided against it worried that we would miss his sister's wedding. Derrick calmed down and fell back asleep, so we thought maybe it was just a bad fit. Come Saturday afternoon after the wedding and before Emma's dance recital I rushed Derrick to Urgent Care. I took him the Phoenix Children's Hospital Urgent Care in Mesa and would recommend it to anyone who is in need! They were truly wonderful and there were only 2 cars in the parking lot when I pulled in. We walked in and they handed us a number. They called our number within 2 minutes and took us right back. The nurse immediately took his temperature and got him hooked up to monitor his heart rate. The doctor was in the room within 5-10 minutes of us being there! The lady who was in charge of registration was very non-pushy. She kept bringing me one paper to sign or fill out at a time and always told me to take my time and just get to it when I could. They were so considerate and really cared about the patient and not getting their money! In fact, she told me she would be back to collect my co-pay and never came back. I just payed on my way out. Poor Derrick...his temp was just above 104 and the doctor said he had an ear infection and that his cough was most likely due to bronchial spasms. I don't know exactly what that is...but I know it is a horrible thing for a 2 year old to have! This is our first experience with ear infections. I'm not sure how we have escaped those in the 4 years of having kids, but we have! So some amoxicillin, breathing treatments, prescription eye drops and lots of prayers later, the kids are finally having a better day! Last night Derrick only woke up 2 times and Emma has slept through the night the last 2 nights. Yesterday Derrick woke up, ate breakfast and then went back to bed at 10am. He didn't get up until 4pm! He must have needed the rest! Jon and I started feeling pretty sickly yesterday, but I think it was just exhaustion and stress. I still am feeling a little sore throat and congestion tonight, but definitely better than yesterday. I also want to thank my mom who helped out tremendously on Saturday with watching the kids when we needed her to, even at a moments notice! You were a lifesaver mom! What a week! But, we are on the mend and should have a good Christmas!

Here is a picture I took of Derrick at Urgent Care with my phone. He was sound asleep while doing a breathing treatment and clutching a green lollipop that the doctor gave him. He held onto that thing for most of the night!