A Rough Go....

Ok, so my last week before school starts up again is not going to be the peaceful, relaxing one I was hoping for. Thursday, after a great day of working in my classroom and getting a lot of stuff done, I picked up Addison at Becky's. She just wasn't herself and Becky commented on it too. She felt really warm to me, so when we got home, we took her temp. It was 103.8! I about died. We immediately started motrin and tylenol to break the fever and took a lukewarm bath. She was extremely fussy and inconsolable, so I called the doc around 10:00. We couldn't get her fever to break and the lowest we ever got it was 101. She ate a bottle right after I talked to the doctor. If I had known this would be her last meal until sometime on Saturday, I might have tried to make a 10 once bottle!

Against everything you read, Addison slept with us Thursday night. I woke up around 1:30 and could feel more heat radiating from her than a furnace. I took her temp again and it was 106! I have never moved so fast in my life. She was in the car and on the way to the ER in rapid time. The docs there did a chest x-ray and took a urine sample. Having to give a 10 month old a catheder broke my heart. The urine test came back with white blood cells in it, which means an infection of some kind, so they were sending that off to get a complete culture on it. They sent us home, telling it was something viral and to keep up the tylenol/motrin combo to try to help with the fever.

Friday morning we headed to the doc for a follow up. Dr. Gill checked her out, did a throat swab to check for strep just in case, and noticed a small white spot forming on Addie's tongue. The day didn't get any better from there. It was truely awful. I cannot express in words the emotions I have been through, or what it feels like to watch your child want to eat and not be able to; to want to take a drink and scream in pain afterwards. By the end of Friday night, Addison's tongue was covered in a white film and she was again, inconsolable. I called the doc on call and when I told him the symptoms-white coating on tongue, can't eat or drink without screaming-he asked if she was drooling, which she was doing uncontrolably. When I told him this, he said "Get her back to the ER immediately." Scary!

So, after many hours WAITING in the ER, she was finally diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease. After talking with some people who have either had this, or have dealt with a child having it, it is one of the most painful things someone can go through. Now, having a small child have it who doesn't understand why she can't eat or drink without extreme pain is even worse.

To make matters a tad better, Nana and Pop came up to help with Bug and Grandma and Grandpa came over. I know it's hard for them to see their happy little girl in such pain, but they struggled through and made her smile a few times. :o)

Everything I've read online says you basically have to just wait for the virus to run it's course. Now, that is MUCH easier said than done! The mouth sores and the severe fussiness are the worse part. The only thing that seems to keep her from fussing is by being outside. Thank God we have had such beautiful weather. As I sit and type this, she is outside, on daddy's chest, under the tree. I'm not sure if it's the birds chirping, or the breeze blowing, but it's the one and only thing that calms her down. She will immediately stop fussing as soon as you step out the door. I'm sure our neighbors are wondering what we are doing. We've never been out front so much in the 2 years we've lived in this neighborhood.

We are now on day 5 of being sick and day 4 of having the sores. Hopefully we will turn the corner to Mending street soon. I'm not sure how much more of this we can all take...