Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Someone needs to quarantine my house

Here's the long saga of my weekend a few days late:

Thursday night was my work Christmas party and the daycare Christmas party. We opted for the DC one, since we felt it was more important to support our kids. It was really cute. The kids dressed in reindeer hats, and had a bunch of song and dance numbers. I was worried that G would be too shy to perform - she did actually go up there, but stood there stone-faced the entire time. She wouldn't move a muscle. After the program, Santa came. Again G surprised me by actually sitting on his lap. Afterwards I asked her what she said to him. Her response, "nothing mommy. I was too scared to talk."

Saturday night Ben and I had planned to go to a party, and the kids had planned a sleepover with Grandma. Well, Ben and I were just finishing up dinner when my mom called to say G was really sick. By the time we got there she was burning up and had thrown up. We took her home and missed the party. She was up most of the night. I dosed her with the Motrin/Tylenol alternating every couple of hours though the night, and her fever never went below 102. By morning she was up to 104. She kept saying that her tummy hurt, but she didn't feel like she was going to throw up. I asked her to show me where it hurt, and she pointed down low. Then she started telling me that her back hurt. I started suspecting UTI.

So, we were off to InstaCare Sunday morning. Dr there also suspected UTI, but wouldn't give her meds until we could confirm. But, G refused to pee in the "hat". She had a major meltdown in the office, until finally I agreed to let her try at home. But then she woulnd't go at home either. I figured she'd finally have to go so bad that she'd relent and go. But, she held it for 3 more hours. Finally, I decided to just make her do it. I bribed her - I told her that if she'd go I'd take her to the store and she could pick out anything she wanted. But she still wouldn’t' go. So, I ran a bath, and stuck her in (she always has to pee as soon as her feet hit the water). It worked, and we finally got our sample, but she cried the whole time and said that her tummy hurt and her pee was spicy.

We took the sample in, and they confirmed bacteria. The doctor said they're doing a full culture, and depending on that he will probably want her to see a specialist. Apparently, its rare for a child that young to get a UTI, and they want to rule out any underlying causes. My poor kids. Are they the sickest children ever?

Anyway - then I had to keep my promise, so we stopped by Target for her to pick something out. She chose a Barbie (surprise, surprise). After only 2 doses of the antibiotic, her fever was gone and her appetite back. She ate 2 grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch!

During all of this, Bryn's really sick again and needing breathing treatments. Then, Ben let her fall on her head off of the couch. It literally made me sick. She fell of backwards and landed right on top. Her neck snapped back, and she actually bounced back onto her face. For a few seconds she just laid there - I was sure she was dead. Then she screamed, and cried, and wailed. I was physically sick. It took me a few seconds to react, but then I was able to comfort her. Luckily she calmed after only a minute. Then my EMT training kicked in, and I assessed her for a head injury. Turns out she was just fine, but it was so scary.

Oh, and we got the most amazing snow storm during all of this. We got well over a foot, and its perfectly wet and heavy - not the typical Utah power. Its perfect snowman snow. And poor G didn't get to enjoy any of it.
Overall G’s doing better. Her fever is gone and her appetite has returned, but I cannot get her to empty her bladder. Anyone have suggestions on how to get G to pee? Its been the biggest fight the past few days because it hurts her to go. So, she'll hold it forever, but then only go enough to make her comfortable again. I will say that she's got amazing bladder control for a 2 year old. But, if she won't empty her bladder she'll never get the infection out.

Poor Bryn woke up with puss draining from her ears this mornng. I don't know what is up with my kids being sick all of the time. Except that I was a very sickly child. I missed so much school. One year, I had mono the entire month of December, got better just in time for Christmas, and then got strep throat the first week back of school. In all, I think I missed 5 straight weeks of school. I am a fairly healthy adult now though, and *rarely* even catch colds {knock on wood}.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so so sorry that you kidlets aren't feeling well. Sympathies from me, while nice, don't help very much. And I'm sorry for that too. I hate hate hate it when my kids are sick. It makes for a miserable couple of weeks. I can't imagine illness after illness. You are one brave Mama.

As for getting G to pee.. I'm no help here. I would encourage lots of liquids and hope that even though she's not emptying, with enough liquid, she will at least be diluting the bacteria.

Good luck, and I hope that your Christmas is illness-free.

Anonymous said...

Hello! Sometimes taking antibiotics causes chronic candidiasis, which makes you more vulnerable to recurrent infections. I had chronic UTI's because the antibiotics I was taking actually made me vulnerable to more infections. It's a vicious cycle. Sorry I don't elaborate further, but I'm mexican and can't write in english very fluently. Good luck!!