Sheldon: Part 3.

It appears I owe a Sheldon update, since I got more news last week.

I started calling the doctor that I was given my second referral to last Monday. They swore they never got my referral when I called, which frustrated me.

I called my doctors office to verify, they said yes it went through, that the referral lady was wrong.

I called the neurosurgeon's office back. The referral specialist said "oh yeah! I forgot to check the floor. I do have it but I will need a copy of the report". (The floor? Might not be the best filing system. Just sayin'.)

I'm at work so I'm thinking, "awesome. It's at home!" So, I call the sweet secretary at the MRI place and she is so SO helpful, offering to print it off and fax it over for me.

Tuesday comes so I call the doctors office back. She says she got the info and will call to set up an appointment later that day if she "finishes with her project" and if not she will call early Wednesday.

Cue Wednesday. She calls early, says the doctor read my report and can tell by where the offending spot is located that its a "benign cyst" and that I need a follow up scan in 6 months. She says the doctor told her that I could still schedule and appointment and pay the co pay, but he is still going to say the same thing.

I still have a question. So I ask the referral specialist to go back to him and ask how strict he is on the six months. Could it wait a year? Does it have to be just six months? How serious is it?

So she calls me back Thursday. She tells me that waiting 6-12 months is fine, I have no symptoms so its not a big deal and she will tell my PCP what they recommend.

Whew! Relief!!!!

And it saved me twenty bucks for now!

I am completely at ease with this. While it may sound like the neurosurgeon is blowing me off, I don't take it that way. I was given his name by two different people as being the best in town. If that's the case, I don't doubt his expertise. He says I can wait, I'll wait. He says it a cyst, then it is. God has given me so much peace through this and has really taught me so much about patience. It is so hard to live by it, so when we are forced to live it - it can really be a learning experience. This for SURE was one of those times. So as frustrating as it was to find out its nothing? To sit around and wait on doctors? It was teaching me that its really not all about me, and what I want. It's up to Him.

Such an eye opener! We just had a sermon in church talking about tithing and how when you return what is God's to him, you will see his blessings pour out. In fact, this is the one part of the Bible where God says "test me in this". Our campus pastor was sure to mention that not all blessings in return are going to be financial. We are faithful in regular tithing in our household. And this blessing of good health?

Simply means God's blessing me for faithfulness.

That I am beyond blessed and highly favored. And totally don't deserve it!

Petri Dish

Having a two year old in daycare is seriously like having my very own little Petri dish.

Wednesday afternoon his teachers called me from class to say Camden had thrown up. They said he had his afternoon snack of cheese, ate it pretty quickly and then went running with his friends outside. They weren't concerned, thinking it was a combination of that. When I walked in to pick him up at 3:05, homeboy was on the playground without a shirt and they were stripping off his shoes.

Not. A. Good. Sign.

Turns out he had taken a drink from the water cooler and then ran over to the sandbox and then had some more explosive vomit.

Awesome. But what was really awesome about it? I had a haircut scheduled for that afternoon. I was abnormally excited about this haircut because it had been since 2/22 AKA 7 MONTHS. That is NOT normal, or should it really ever be acceptable.

What's a desperate split-ended Momma to do?

She took her chances and went to get her hair done. And on the way? Little C continued to vomit. That's when I realized the first voms? Weren't a fluke. NOT cool.

He laid on my lap and chest while I got my hair washed, vomiting twice. Then he sat on my mom's lap while I got my hair cut. I bailed out of there, without even getting my hair dried, hoping that we could get home. He vomited probably 5-6 times in the car, and countless times at the hair salon.

We came home and poor kid laid on the floor and was sickly all night. He didn't talk much, usually just screaming after each pathetic vomit. And I use the term vomit loosely. I mean, most of the time nothing came out. And when it did? It was foamy spit. No fun. He didn't eat, just begged for milk or juice occasionally.

We put him straight to bed that night, only one instance of vomming while in bed. And Momma caught it all in a bowl. He woke up at 2 am, crying for milk. We tried to ignore him, but he kept demanding. So finally husband gets up to find little C in his chair, rocking and insisting on milk.

I think we put him back to bed while cried "no, no! no lay down!", repeatedly. Finally he fell asleep but woke back up after thirty minutes or so. Finally, I relented. He got one ounce of pedialyte and held it down. Of course he demanded more, so after thirty minutes and that stayed down I gave him a little more. Enough to get him to sleep until my alarm went off at five.

We got up and sent little C to great grandma's. He was fine there, demanding milk until she gave in. They went on a walk, he played and only napped an hour. Therefore he fell asleep early Thursday night, which was much needed.

And early bedtime was not needed just because I barely got sleep the night before, but because my throat started KILLING me halfway through my day Thursday. I was so tired on top of that - I didn't have energy to even talk. I came home and that night? I had a wicked fever. No fun.

I woke up Friday, took little C to school and went to work. Called my doctor as soon as I could get an appointment, with my complaints of rapid onset of throat pain, fever and headache.

When I went to the doctor, I met with the PA who was determined that I just had a viral throat infection. He insisted that my low grade fever wasn't high enough to be related to strep. He gave me instructions about how to deal with a virus then said "well I will do a strep test but if this comes back negative there isn't much we can do, but wait it out". So he was pretty darn sure that it was just going to be viral. So sure that he wasn't even going to run a 24 hour strep test, when I know fully well that the rapid strep test is only right like 60% of the time.

Much to his surprise, that bad boy turned positive. And you could hear it in his voice when he said, "oh! It looks like it is positive!" Ha. I wanted to pump my fist all in the air and say "TOLD YOU SO" but figured that wasn't appropriate. I just knew it came on too fast and I had no other symptoms that would make me think it was related to allergies or even a virus.

I continued to mention that my husband was complaining of the same symptoms and luckily he agreed to give husband a prescription for the same.

Husband and I are both taking our meds, and as I'm starting to feel better I am attempting to wash/santitize anything that might have germies on it so we don't reinfect ourselves.

I am definitely not in the mood to do this again anytime soon.

Sheldon, get your feet off the furniture!

I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about Sheldon quite a bit.

Cause I do. It's natural, right? I mean, what's he doing in there, just chillin' with his feet up reading a magazine and drinking a cold one?

Has he been there all my life? Did he show up with hormone changes like pregnancy? Has he grown a lot or has he always just existed? Where exactly is he?

It's weird having all these questions to ask and no way to really answer. Not until I meet a doctor at least. Oh, ya know...One of those people that I have had to hurry up and wait for.

The latest on the doctor saga is this: our health system moves SLOW. I asked for a referral and my doc reluctantly put one in to OU Neurology. (in my eyes, that should have been a red flag right there..OU?? Bleh.) They had two full weeks before I started calling them up. Finally when I did it took everything I had to not go all Charlie Sheen on them or something. I called three times in one day, clearly stating my issue and how I already have scans from a very fancy machine here in town and I just need them read. I'm telling the receptionist my life story when she finally looks me up on the computer and says "oh you're in the system, the referral specialist will call you back". So I waited for that call from the referral specialist.

Nothing.

So I called again the early next day, this time with a hint of frustration and pissy in my tone. The same receptionist stating, "oh I remember you, she should call back. Be sure and leave her a message honey". By the end of that day with no return call, I called my primary doc and requested a new referral.

Turns out they are equally slow paced, taking FOUR days to put in a new referral even though this time I was specific on which doctor I wanted as even provided them with the name, address and phone of the new doctor.

So, there I was. In a holding pattern. Luckily for me, Husband has a fantastic cousin whose amazing spouse works with MRIs.

And he was able to hook me up. I have these CDs in my possession that I can't open at home cause I have a Mac. Even if I could open them my untrained eye wouldn't see anything. So he was able to take them to work and tell me what he thought.

And he says it's definitely there. It's definitely hanging out. Looks like a cyst? He said he has seen some Sheldon's before, and he did a little research on them. Apparently they are more common in women. Definitely will need a follow up scan with contrast.

Not sure what the plan will be but since I have no symptoms? It looks like he gets to continue to sit back and chill on his couch that is my brain and drink his beer, as long as the neurosurgeon agrees.

I can't tell you what a relief it is to at least have a little insight into the situation. It has been so hard to be patient. I am learning so much from this, learning to be still, be calm.

I've been reading some of Steven Furtick's book Sun Stand Still. And it's about teaching you how to pray and to believe God can do the impossible. So, I'm taking a huge lesson and leap of faith and putting it all in His hands. What else is there to do? Honestly, this solution allows me the most peace anyway. How people do without that peace?

I'll (thankfully) never know.

Sickness Shenanigans.

This has been a very interesting week.

Lots of sickness.

Sickness at work. Sickness of the little man, my own sickness.

My patients at work were especially challenging this week. Loud, intrusive and non-redirectable, it made group settings challenging and tiring.

I got called Tuesday because Camden had thrown up at daycare. I went to pick him up, and he proceeded to vomit all over himself in my car. Ew. No fever. No other symptoms.

I called the doctor's office. They proceeded to tell me that the normal pediatrician was off, but they had someone covering and if I could be there in ten minutes then they could see me. Halfway across town I knew there was no way. I asked to be connected to the nurses' line and they weren't able to answer right away, so I left a message hoping they would call me back.

I proceeded to get the dog and then drive home. Almost in the driveway I gave them another call, by this point I have been seething over the fact that the doctor couldn't wait to see me despite the fact that it wasn't even 3:45, and their hours are until 5. I mean if you are going to have someone cover for you and your office hours are until 5, wouldn't you think that means that the person would cover until 5?   The nurse finally picked up and by this point my blood was boiling. She heard from a mad mama bear, and ended up cutting me off stating "the doctor is still here, come now and we will fit you in". Thankfully, cause I might have just switched pediatricians the next day if something hadn't been done. I was THAT mad.

The lady covering was a super nice lady. I brought my diaper clad toddler in, coming only in the skivvies was necessary as there was vomit on everything else. Shoes included! She checked him out and of course he was acting okay, but I was most concerned about his ears. He was acting the way he acted before tubes. Not eating, no fever, throwing up. Sounded like an ear infection.

She checked out his ears. She looked in the left and went, "Perfect". Right ear? "Oh no, I don't know what to tell you". I think I said something along the lines of, "oh you can't do that, you have to tell me! I need to know!". She looked again. She moved around and peered some more. Finally, after what seemed like five minutes - I felt this because I was definitely holding my breath) she explained that it looked like the tube was coming out. She stated it looked to be covered in ear wax, and it was red and inflamed.

She ended up writing an anti-nausea prescription of Zofran and told me not to give him milk and just wait and see. She thought most likely he had a virus. A virus that causes no fever was surprising but hey - I'm no doctor. I just like to think I am. ;)

We came home where the little one again refused to eat. C asked for milk, but I held out. He ended up eating a few goldfish and applesauce before he went to sleep.

The next morning we woke to find him sleeping soundly on a crusty pillow of dried vomit, next to an equally vomit-covered Mickey Mouse. Ugh, poor baby. That has to stink and to not cry while throwing up and go back to sleep? Whew. Again, the only other time he did that? Ear infection.

We cleaned him and the bed up, and I called my mom who thankfully cancelled all of her appointments that day so she could come stay with him, while Husby and I worked. Have I told you all how awesome my mom is? I mean seriously, THAT is unconditional love!

He didn't eat much all day, but I finally caved and gave him milk before bed. He kept it all down and has been okay since, still his cranky/fussy self. About halfway through the day yesterday I had my mom rummage up leftover antibiotic ear drops and give them to C. It really still seemed to be ears bothering him. I mean, red and inflamed, but you get no prescriptions? (there I go again, thinking I'm a doctor).

He's has just a few drops to help with any redness while that tube falls out. The silly kid apparently likes them now, because tonight before bed he pointed at them and said "drops" and then pointed to his ear. Who would have thought after all of the flailing around in the past? He did manage to make it through a whole day today of school, just with increased fussiness.

Anyway, he seems to be better but Mom is a little worn out. And my allergies are kicking my butt. Anyone else have the problem lately? I can't stop sneezing and my sinuses keep trying to block up. I work this weekend, that means I am off tomorrow. That is why I am up typing this on a Thursday night to post! Speaking of this, I'd better run. Tomorrow is my only day to sleep in for another week or so!

Just remember, too blessed to be stressed!

Sick

I just finished a post late last week about my amazing dog and how important she is to me.

And then she got sick.

It was very out of character for her. She never gets sick. She threw up Saturday and we chalked it up as something not agreeing with her. She woke us up as much as a newborn to let her diarrhea out that night. It continued all Sunday. But the scary part was when the diarrhea turned to blood Sunday afternoon.

Very scary. And very unusual for my healthy dog!

My mom went with me to take my sickly Pearl to the emergency vet. They poked and prodded and x-rayed my fur baby. It could have been a variety of things, blockage or torn lining or bacterial infection. All signs pointed to bacterial infection when the x-ray came back clear. She was given three shots, one of an antibiotic, one of an anti-nausea and one of fluids. They said most people would opt to leave the dog overnight, but due to Pearls separation anxiety seizures and her being "skittish" in the back during x-rays, they figured it was best for her to be managed on an outpatient basis.

Honestly, best for her AND my pocketbook. ;)

After we got the okay to go and paid the small fortune in fees, we happily headed home.

Pearl is still on the mend but increasingly better now that she has some medicine in her system. Hopefully her diarrhea will be gone by tomorrow and the antibiotic will get rid of the bacteria.

It may have cost me an arm and a leg, but for my firstborn it was SO worth it.

Man plague.

Beware of Man plague!

Happy New Year, the man plague has already struck our household! Husband texted me from work on Monday to let me know he felt like he had a fever. He said he was cold all day, and he never complains of being cold. I had a feeling it was coming, since he spent the entire night before snoring, and he NEVER snores. At least, not enough for me to kidney punch him four or five different times with no relief in the snoring despite what side he was laying on.

He came home from work and proceeded to whine, whine, and whine some more. Husband, would you like some cheese with that whine? He ate dinner and proceeded to tuck himself into bed at the ripe hour of 5:45. That's right, FIVE FORTY-FIVE. Most people in the nursing homes haven't even started watching their nightly episode of Wheel of Fortune!

it just happened to be my lucky day, because he said, "I'll even let you turn the thermostat up a degree". BONUS! Sick husband lets in the warmth!

At least before bed he admitted, "I don't do well being sick". Geez, honey. You think?

Here's hoping a normal functioning husband awakes this morning, and the other members of the family stay well! :)

Ears, Part 734560

Okay, not really. But it sure seems like that is how many times I have blogged about Camden's poor ears recently.

We went to the ENT last week. With me helping by holding Lil C down and the ENT's med student pinning his head, the ENT used this skinny little sucker tool (yes, that's the technical name) to suck a bunch of the green goo out of his ear. He mentioned that he did have a middle ear infection and he believed it to be a result of having a non-functional tube for those few weeks. He said that the goo did build up in his eustachian tube and became infected, and thus started to drain out of his ear once I dislodged the clot. This means the poor kid had been walking around for a good week with an ear infection, because that's how long it was draining/gooing. At least having the tubes meant that he wasn't really bothered by it. He was a little uncomfortable at times, but no where NEAR how bad it was before tubes. Sleeping was not bothered, so that's a HUGE deal.

I figured the ENT would put us on an antibiotic. Much to my surprise, this was not the case. Instead he gave me a recipe for a vinegar/water/Domeboro solution to boil on the stove and use that to irrigate the ear for five days, twice a day and to use ear drops 3x a day for a week.

Camden has been amazing when letting me put mineral oil in or drops. But squirting three syringes full of a vinegar solution (read: painful burning solution)?? Didn't go over so well. He would CRY and CRY after we were done. No amount of book reading, Mommy cuddling, blankie snuggling, or paci loving would get him to stop crying for a good ten minutes. The very definition of losing ones shit.

Thankfully, our five days of horrid irrigation is over and we are just in the drop part. Unfortunately, our toe still being infected caused us to be put on oral antibiotics anyway. I suppose his ear is destined to heal no matter what. His toe though? Still looking funky. Not sure what is going to happen with that. We will see after our ten days is up.

AND ALSO? My Mom-tuition was right. Camden officially broke his third tooth through on October 6th. If I remember right, his first two were at ten months old, so it was about time. It appears to be the top, front right tooth. I can't tell if the other one will be following behind it soon or not, we shall see!

This also means he has not cut a tooth without having ear issues or being sick of some sort. I have no idea how he will cut teeth when he feels well! I will say, I had no idea he cut his tooth until BAM! there it was. Knock on wood, I hope that's a good thing.

le Sigh.

This week, I felt like church was directed right towards me. We are doing a series called Passing the Test. It was discussing the trials that God gives you and how they are important to make us stronger. Many times it was mentioned that if you aren't being tested, then something isn't right.

The verses that really hit home:
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:2-5

My goodness, the pieces to the puzzle suddenly fit together. Husband and I were given these issues with Camden's health and well being to develop our perseverance. And despite all of the issues related to these medical problems we should be joyful that God chooses us to take this test, to help us grow our wisdom and to learn from this. I am ready to catch our break, but I do view it in a completely different light. We are definitely blessed to be tested!

Here's to healing!

Head, Ears, and especially Toes...

My still incredibly happy boy, considering he has a lot going on.

I thought his ear was doing better. The drainage was going from less of a brown to clearer. Good, right? Well, apparently not so good when it starts to thicken. And stink. Did I mention the stink?

Yeah. Ew.

On top of that we noticed last Thursday evening a nasty looking toe. Wanna see a picture? Okay, why not.

If you are an odd ball like me, you'll click that picture to see that sweetness up close.

He didn't start the day off with his toe like that, but that evening his toe was PISSED. I mean, check that out. It is super upset!! So we attempted to soak it in Epsom salts (has anyone EVER tried to get a toddler to soak his toes? I think I would rather box a kangaroo or wrestle a crocodile) and we would slather Neosporin all over his toe multiple times a day, in hopes it would help. We monitored it Friday and over the weekend and there was still no change by Monday. So we called the doctor and of course they wanted to see it. It was after I set up the appointment that he was playing in the cabinets with my muffin pans, and proceeded to drop them on his toe. He cried so hard that blowing in his face still didn't cause him to draw in a breath. In fact, I had to blow three times. Poor baby! That had to hurt.

Back to the pediatrician's office we went. After what seemed like an enormous wait time and endlessly trying to distract Camden with toys out of the toy cabinet in the room, the doctor came in. After we got our infected toe diagnosis (obviously) I had him check Camden's ears for good measure. He checked the left ear first. The doctor peered in and with his thick accent "Oh this ear looks good, definitely no infection". (hooboy little did he know what was coming) And then he turned his head to see his right ear. That is when he noticed the yellow-green tinted goo settled in his ear. The look on his face was priceless. He wrinkled his nose and stepped back, I don't think he even really looked in there to see anything.

I mentioned that we have an ENT appointment tomorrow (which is today), so he wrote out a prescription for an antibiotic for his toe that he said would "probably work on his ear, but ask the doctor for sure what he thinks". Therefore, I am not supposed to fill anything until we get checked out today. The pedi wanted to be sure that what he was prescribing was going to be enough to kill it all I guess.

While the pediatrician and I were finishing up our conversation, Camden was in the room playing the the toy cabinet. Next thing I know, he rips the door completely off the cabinet. Seriously? I've become that Mom! I was mortified. My little stinker! Granted, I think it was loose before we went in there, and we took care of that issue. Why not just rip it off and start over? I do believe they have my face, name, and information memorized we have been so many times. If they didn't before, they do now!

{This is the door he ripped off. I couldn't take a picture of the actual door with my phone because the doctor was quick to remove it. Yes, Handy Manny Camden prefers to leave the hinges ON whilst working.}

In other news, Camden has a pretty big swollen up spot on his upper gums. Could we possibly be getting a front tooth? Who knows. Just when I think it is coming, nothing happens.

But the moral of the story is, and I am pretty sure I have said it before but... CAN WE JUST CATCH A BREAK??? :)

Myringotomy: Update

I mentioned in Camden's 13 month letter that we went back to the ENT for our two week post op and his right tube was covered in a clot and was non functional. We were told to put three drops of mineral oil in it nightly for three weeks, massage it in and hope for the best. The doctor said "this works eighty percent of the time. The other times we have to go back in and fix it with surgery".

Yikes. Surgery again? Not a fan myself, neither is the bank account.

I've been faithfully putting in the drops and have been praying over him, along with family members, that this clot would resolve.

He had his fall Thursday at daycare and he fell on the right side of his head. I can't say if that may have helped or not, but this is what has been going on all weekend.

{Thursday night}

{Friday after running errands}

Now, it looks gross and it really is pretty oozy. Of course it didn't start hardcore oozing until 5:15 on Thursday evening so I called Friday as soon as the ENT office opened. When I finally got a call back I heard what I was hoping to hear, "That means you are doing good Mom! Keep putting in the oil and call us back Monday with an update. It's a good sign if it's oozing".

(I don't think I have used the word ooze this often in my life)

Anyhow, this was the news we were hoping for! So I will continue with the drops and call back on Monday. Maybe this means it is resolving, I won't know for sure until someone looks in there. But I do know that Camden definitely feels the oozing as he keeps sticking his finger in his ear. Gross. But, oozing. Yay!! Praise the Lord!

I am just so thankful for an almighty God who can heal the sick!

Myringotomy.

Well many of you know that Friday was a big day in our household. It was T-Day! In an attempt to relieve little man of his chronic otitis media we went ahead with the myringotomy procedure.

Camden was a little rockstar through the whole procedure. When we woke him up and put him in his carseat that morning he was a little confused. Normally he gets some milk, a change of clothes, and his hair and teeth brushed. We skipped all that in lieu of letting him sleep later.

We headed to the building where the procedure was done. We checked in and were given a little teddy bear. It wasn't long before we were taken back to the pre-op room. This is where Camden had a blast. He was pulling cords, running around and pushing wheelchairs. They offered us a wagon to put him in and pull him around but at this point we didn't think he'd stay put. He was more than happy to explore with his own two feet! Then we put him in his ADORABLE little hospital gown. SO cute.

{Oh please stop with the adorableness of Toms and a hospital gown. Isn't that precious?}

{messing with the wheels on the wheelchairs}

{walking the halls with Mommy}

At this point we had lots of nurses and anesthesiologists checking in on us. Our nurse of the day was SO sweet and told us that she had already prayed for all of her patients for the day. Melted. My. Heart. How awesome is that? It wasn't long before they came in with some Versed and we had a little drunk midget on our hands. Literally. He was feeling SO good. Laughing and pointing at things, and constantly wanting to do little backbends and emitting sweet little giggles when he would go over backwards while we were holding him. Husband and I were laughing as he was being so ridiculously cute. We hardly got to enjoy his "happy meds" before the nurses came in with a warm blanket and wrapped him up and carried him off to surgery. He didn't have a care in the world that he was leaving us, he was having a grand time! As they were taking him away they kept warning us that "this happy drunk baby probably won't be here when you come back. Some kids have a bad reaction".

{doing backbends and giggling with Dad}

I think we sat in the waiting room for a whole 15 minutes before they paged us to go see him. Met with the doctor first who said that his left ear was worse than his right and that the fluid was "very thick and needed to come out". He also said "it was good that you did this, he should be hearing better as well". He then took us back to see our little boy in post-op. He was being rocked and hadn't yet opened his eyes. I got to hold and rock him and he was having a bottle of glucose water at the time. Homeboy was THIRSTY as he sucked it down. Next thing I know his eyes pop open with frustration because he was out of water. They got him another and he was perfectly content again. Then we had the same issue. We ran out of water again. So they got him some juice, but he doesn't really drink juice so he didn't care for it. So we gave him his paci and all was well. I knew he wanted milk but they kept telling us to wait until we were home and to make sure he's okay before giving him some.

{In post-op drinking some glucose water. He still wasn't sure what was going on}

Now that he was awake and vitals were stable we went to the recovery area where they monitored us for 20 more minutes. I was overjoyed to get some Camden cuddles. He sat patiently and was quiet with his paci, no fuss at all! He passed all further inspections and held down his water so they sent us on our way!

{In Recovery, where we reunited with our blankie. Thank goodness for blankie and paci, they are your favorites!}

Once home I gave him his milk and he sucked it down, only burping up a small amount on me. Afterwards we ate some late breakfast and then he took a 3 hour nap that I had to wake him up from. He spent the rest of the day in a great mood, acting like nothing had happened.

{After the car ride home}

The next day we got a letter from his nurse in the mail. How cute is that?

{Seriously. LOVE. THEM.}

Since this surgery he has been nothing but pleasant. He is acting fine and like nothing happened. The best part? The very best part is seeing him play and move around without clutching his ears or the side of his head. Nothing confirms a Mommy's intuition better than seeing a happy baby. Now lets keep our fingers crossed for health!!

(PS- Yes I cheated and took a camera and pictures. But I'm glad I did!)

Ears, Part II (Alternately titled: Hand, Mouth, Foot...What???)

Well, we went to the ENT. Little C was ADORABLE while he was there. He had napped well and just had a snack so he was a good little booger. He played in the play area then they called us back for a hearing test.

First thing they do is put this little rubber stopper in his ears and get a reading for the amount of pressure in the ear. This showed fluid behind the left ear, the right ear was okay at the time.

Next, he sat on my lap and they shut the door, and then played sounds out of speakers on either side of the chair. It sounded like a heartbeat when it played and if he looked the right direction he was rewarded with a monkey that would light up and play the drums. Ohhhh boy did he find this game FUUUUN! He thought that by waving he was setting them off. So he would stare intently at one and flail his arms around trying to set them off. He was babbling and GAH GAH GAH-ing and it was adorable. There were plenty of times when it would go off and he would completely miss it until she set the monkey off on the other side. So then he would snap his head around the other direction and continue waving to get it's attention. He didn't do so well with the quieter noises but he did really well turning to his name.

In the end, he had mild hearing loss. We met with the doctor who was very nice and explained the risks and benefits of tubes. In the end, we decided to go for it and we set up an appointment for Monday the 29th. I was pumped because Camden has still been waking up at night and crying out, so I knew something is still off, so sooner was okay with me.

Fast forward to today. I get a call telling me that my insurance wants pre certification so they had to push it to NEXT FRIDAY. (sad face). And I had already done a twenty minute pre-op with the other location for Monday! Boo.

In conclusion, a week we must wait.

*****

So I picked up Camden from daycare today and noticed that what I thought was a diaper rash had spread to his legs/arms and hands. EW! I called the pedi real quick to get a once over before the weekend, especially after I noticed what appeared to be little blisters on his fingers. OW!

Turns out it is Hand, Mouth, Foot Disease. What is that you ask? Me too, cause I didn't have the FAINTEST idea. It is a highly contagious viral infection. It is something that you cannot fix but also cannot prevent therefore he does not need to be isolated or kept home from daycare. There is nothing extra I can do either except Caladryl and monitor. Then he said "It is likely to get much worse before it gets better". Awwww, that is no fun!

This leads me to my next question....CAN WE PLEASE CATCH A FLIPPIN' BREAK?? Lol. Poor kid has had it rough lately!

Cheers to a better week next week!! :)

The Sickies.

Bleh.

So I mentioned that Camden was feeling under the weather for his 9 month check up, right? Well he was. Allergies and whatnot but everything checked out okay. By that Saturday he was fussier and running a slight fever. We weren't sure if the slight fever was in relation to it being hot out because HELLO 100 DEGREE HEAT, ISN'T IT A LITTLE EARLY FOR YOU TO BE AROUND? So we continued on to church and a few family gatherings. He was okay, albeit a little fussy and of course, he had minimal nap that day. That evening his fever spiked and stuck around for ALL of Sunday and Monday, and lucky for us poor sleeping also joined in on the fun. Yaaaaay. He just wanted to be held.

I debated on what to do. Because it seems like everrrry other time it's been a visit to say "Hello Dr. B, fix him - he's fussy" to the doctor then I get a nonchalant "He's just fine!" and leave my copay. Those copays add up!

This time he listened to him and used words like "Ew, his nose looks bad" and "Definitely infection in both ears". Listened for rattling and he said he didn't really hear bronchitis. But he said with his fever he was concerned about pneumonia as it was "going around". Ick. Not what you want to hear.

So we got a prescription for an hardcore attacking antibiotic that will supposedly work on pneumonia too.

Fast Forward to Tuesday:

I wake up and have NO voice. I mean, nothing. It's whispery and squeaky. Crap. If I can't talk at work then there really is almost no point in working! So, I went to work, and made an appointment and went to the doctor. Long story short - he said he wasn't sure what it was and gave me an antibiotic and told me to keep taking Mucinex to get junk out. And lucky for me, he went ahead and prescribed Hubby one too, that way he didn't have to suffer through the man-plague anymore. Those of you with significant others know that when they get sick, time stops. And you couldn't POSSIBLY have it as bad as they do. You know what I'm talking about, right? No bueno.

{This is our sick face}

Now we are attempting to recover and can't wait to be feeling and sounding better. And Mom and Dad CANNOT WAIT for good sleeping to return again!! Three cheers for antibiotics!!