2017 has not been kind to Sister Bear on the illness front. Every time she starts to get better, something else knocks her down. It’s a horrible feeling as a parent to watch your child suffering, especially when they are too little to communicate exactly what’s wrong.
Hannah got a bad case of Hand, Foot & Mouth in January. It was relatively mild on her extremities; her throat got the brunt of it. Desperate to get her to eat or drink something, I drove through McDonald’s and got a vanilla milkshake. This decision not only worked, it earned me “innovation kudos” at the doctor! Liquid + calories = check
After recovering from that, she had Ear Tube and Adenoid surgery. The surgery date was a reschedule date due to HFM. I spent an entire afternoon at work fielding a dozen calls between the surgery center and the doctor’s office trying to figure everything out. Apparently you can sit in the same space as someone else and not share patient status updates. Seriously annoying. Needless to say, I have the pre-anesthesia number memorized and now know the direct line to our ENT’s assistant.
Her surgery went smoothly and she handled it like a champ! She was back to her normal self in a day or 2. Her pediatrician’s office (because we practically live there now…) has said her blue tubes look quite nice!
Almost a week after her surgery, she started to get even more congested and spiked a high fever after the Super Bowl. Here she is passed out on the couch, missing the riveting end to the game:
And here’s L.J. on a brief visit from the bonus room where we banished the kids set the kids up with movies and toys.
I called the ENT the next day and apparently ear drops aren’t always enough after ear surgery in babies. Would have been nice to know this after her surgery, but calling doctor’s offices is currently my specialty. Prescription was called in and a few days later she was starting to feel much better.
We were 5 days into a 10 day antibiotic treatment when…Hannah got the stomach flu! Poor baby caught it from me and had it much worse than I did. L.J. was so excited that we were finally on the way to a promised trip to the library. I heard Hannah make a strange coughing sound and glanced in the mirror. I was the lucky witness to a refrigerator’s worth of food exiting her mouth. Most disgusting thing ever.
We were 30 seconds from the library and 5 minutes from home, so I swung through and dropped the books off. I was trying desperately to explain to L.J. why we had to go back home but all he heard was “my sister’s getting all the attention again!” and he was, somewhat understandably, quite put out.
We raced home with the front windows down and sunroof open, trying not to gag from the smell. She threw up multiple times Saturday and Sunday, refused to eat or drink anything, spiked a fever and was, very understandably, the most pathetic little thing.
Our active, never-sits-still Hannah spent the better part of 3 days either sleeping or sitting stone-still on my lap staring into space. I felt so horrible for her, doubly so because she caught it from me.
We went to the doctor Monday because she hadn’t kept food or drink down in 36 hours. I was certain we were getting a one-way ticket to CHOA for IV fluids, but they said she was actually on the mend and to give it another day. Sure enough, 24 hours and (finally) a lot of fluid later, she perked right up and was back to her usual self!
Notice Raffi in all the pictures? He’s not only become a favorite companion, but is soothing because in the midst of all this, Hannah is getting 2 molars at the same time. Good heavens.
That brings us to today. She is currently not snotty/coughing/feverish/throwing up/displaying a rash/etc. I hope beyond hope the worst is behind us. Baby needs a break!
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