His and Her Health

3-28-10: Crazy times: I haven’t written on the blog for a while, bc my 19 month old son came down with pneumonia….don’t ask how! He and I both got a cold around the same time. It wasn’t that bad, just sore throat, slightly stuffy nose and mild aches. Within a 24 hour period, he was plugging along like I was, but then all of a sudden he was very cranky. We have used the ear thermometer for the last 19 month….what a mistake. I took 4 readings that ranged from 97 to 102. Finally, my husband and I pulled out the rectal thermometer which read 104.8. Immediately my husband starting packing for the ER! Myself, knowing what happens in the ER, said “wait. Let’s call the pediatrician first”. The pediatrician said to sit tight until tomorrow. Young toddlers tend to run high fevers like this. If it is like this in the next morning, come in to the office; in the meantime, you can give him Tylenol for the fever. The next day (Friday), the fever was just as high, so we went to the docs and she said he had an ear infection + a cold. She gave us antibiotics and said by Sunday his fever should be down and he should be back to his old self. Oh, and she also said, keep the infant in quarantine. That meant one of us got one child and the other (myself, bc of the breastfeeding) had the infant, Zoe. Well…what a wkend. He was absolutely miserable from that thurs thru the wkend. He didn’t sleep, eat or want to be by himself. He just kept coughing, crying and moaning. And this is a kid that is the sweet of the earth—independent, doesn’t require a lot of attention, and very easy going. It was heart-wrenching to see him so upset and miserable. My husband and I didn’t know what to do. Sunday came and his fever was still 105. We went to the pediatrician, who sent us to the ER, thinking that he had pneumonia. An xray confirmed that he had pneumonia. They sent us home with a cabinet full of medication. A week later, he is finally feeling better, but he still hasn’t eaten, and has lost at least 6-8 pounds, which is a lot for someone who only weighs 25 pounds. The doctor said that he is healing well, but just to take it easy. It has been quite a rollercoaster for my husband and me.

The follow-up doctor's appointment confirmed that he is on the mend, but just to take it easy and lots of rest!