So last week, Gracie was sick. I know, I know......our kids are always sick. UGH Honestly, I do think it's getting better than it was, but yes, they do tend to pick up things pretty easily & share their germs with each other. We are thankful for each well day we have and have taken more than 1 step towards helping them be healthier. I'm (kind of ) done with beating myself up over it. Yes, I still inwardly cringe when I feel like people are raising their eyebrows at us and wondering what in the world we're doing wrong. However, I have come to terms with the fact that some children are just more susceptible to being sick, and it doesn't necessarily mean we're doing something "wrong." Anyway.......
Last Monday, I noticed Gracie seemed a bit puny, but I didn't say anything to her because for a few days I'd kept asking her if she felt okay, and she kept insisting that she did. She'd been coughing some and her voice sounded funny, like her throat was swollen, but she kept insisting (between some eye rolls I'm sure) that she felt fine. However, when she sat down to breakfast, she turned puny eyes to me and said she didn't feel like eating. *bingo* She said she felt icky & weak. Gracie is not one to complain much, so I knew she was sick. I called Chris & we agreed that she should stay home from school. Like I said, she's not one to complain much or try to get out of going to school, so we can trust when she says she doesn't feel well.
She rested on Monday and by the time we went to pick up Katie from school, I was thinking I should take her in to the doctor (which of course means taking the other 2 in with me!) I looked in her throat while waiting in carline for Katie and decided the 2 sides of her throat aren't supposed to be meeting, soooo....I called & made an appointment and drove straight to the doctor after getting Katie.
Poor thing was shivering in the doctor's office because of her fever and tested positive for strep. The doctor felt she might have the flu also, but we didn't test for it. So, we felt that with her antibiotic, she'd bounce back pretty quickly, and I confidently took her doctor's note releasing her to go back to school on Wednesday.
Tuesday, she rested and her voice still sounded weird and she may have run a bit of fever. Tuesday night, she seemed a little bit better but we decided she should stay home again on Wednesday because of the fever she'd had that morning and to continue resting. Gracie is the healthiest of our children, I'd say, as far as not having routine allergies and getting frequent sniffles, etc., but when she gets hit, she gets hit hard, so we figured it would benefit her to stay home again. Her teacher was being really sweet & understanding about her make up work, saying that they'd take care of it when she felt better, so I wasn't too worried about that.
Wednesday morning, she woke up feeling horrible! Worse than the day before. She was kind of moaning and had a fever of almost 103. Ugh. We took Katie to school, and she went straight back to bed when we got back home. Over 2 hours later, I went to check on her. She seemed to feel a bit better but still quite sick. Later in the afternoon, I looked in her throat (this is after 4 doses of antibiotic) and it was still pretty swollen and I also noticed that the front of her throat was swollen as well. It was apparent that it was hard for her to swallow (although she kept telling me it didn't hurt). Chris agreed to come home to try to get Katie & Ellie in time for me to get Gracie back to the doctor because something just didn't seem right to me. She felt truly horrible. I ended up meeting Chris in the parking lot of the doctor's office, and he took Ellie and went to pick up Katie from school.
When we got into the office, her fever was 102 something (I think....) & they tested her for the flu (which was negative). However, the doctor said she was concerned that she might have an absess in her throat. (ewww) She said we needed to either get into an ENT that afternoon or head to the ER at Texas Children's. That concerned me! She came back & said she'd gotten us into an ENT, and we were supposed to go over there right then.
So......off we went. The pediatrician had said sometimes they can treat an absess in the office but sometimes it requires hospitalization. She then said to just listen to what they had to say and something along the lines of not freaking out (since she could tell I was on my way to that point...lol)
We got to the ENT and had to wait a little while with Gracie just barely making it, she felt so bad. She's not a complainer, but you could just tell she felt so bad. We got into the exam room and the ENT was really nice (found out later she is one used for years by a friend of mine for herself & her kids, so that was comforting). She immediately upon exam ruled out an absess, so THAT was good! She was concerned about her swollen lymph nodes though and was thinking she might actually have mono! With a child like Gracie, who gets hit hard when sick, I did NOT want this to be a reality. I know that can make some people so incredibly sick for such a long time, so I was envisioning a bad few months ahead of us, not to mention the contagiousness of it regarding the other girls.
So, we went over to the nearby hospital (which wasn't my choice of hospital, but since we were just going for blood work, we went. Had she been hospitalized, I would have pushed to be sent to a different one.) She had the blood work drawn, and we headed home. Chris & the other girls had gone to church, so she & I just hung out alone at home until they got home. She agreed to have a Wendy's Frosty and would drink water, but that was about all she would 'eat.' The dr. had indicated that she may be able to call with the mono results that night, but that didn't end up being the case. I gave her a shower & washed her hair, and we put her to bed. Around her eyes was soooo dark. I'm not sure if that was from the fever or what??? Poor thing.
Thursday morning, Chris stayed home since it was my day to go into the office. She actually ended up getting up on her own and seemed to actually feel a bit better, oddly enough. She said her throat still hurt a little bit (she had finally said it did hurt some). I went on to work, anxious to get done (since we were expecting SNOW later in the day). lololol...that never showed up! Chris called shortly after I got to work, saying that the dr. had called and said the mono test was negative! Yea!!!!!!!!! There was a chance that it could be positive later, but she didn't feel like it would based upon the initial test. She said the tests indicated it was something viral and to finish her antibiotic for the previously diagnosed strep and to watch her to make sure she doesn't have trouble swallowing, etc.
Ellie & I came home Thursday afternoon, after grocery shopping, to a Gracie feeling much better, although still coughing and now having a very sniffly nose, but much better than she had been. It's only gotten better since then! Poor thing was so sick, but thankfully, she is on the mend. Much to her disappointment, we told her she had to take a nap this afternoon, but she definitely needs rest to hopefully be up to a full week of school this week!
Thursday evening, we 'hunkered down' at home, with Taco Soup & a fire, waiting for all the snow that had been forecast. School had already been cancelled for Friday (which helped with Gracie's absences!). We played a game of Apples to Apples. Well, all except Ellie. She kept messing up the cards, so she had to go to bed! LOL Gracie was already feeling quite a bit better, and we saw some hope at the end of whatever it was she had! We are thankful to God for helping her recover!
Alas, Friday morning, we woke up to no snow! :( Some ice in parts of Houston, but no snow (& not much ice) around our area.
Ellie & Gracie posed for a smiley Friday morning picture. After all, it was nice to be able to stay home and relax from school, even if there was no snow. It was really cold, so it was nice to be home & warm. Katie was in no mood for a happy picture that morning. She'd gone to bed with visions of building snow castles & snow families in her head. :(
We didn't do a whole lot of anything that day...which was nice. Gracie enjoys a fire like her Mommy does, and did some drawing that night.
Saturday morning, I snapped this sweet picture of my oldest & youngest, relaxing on the couch. Poor Katie was kicked off. Poor middle child. :(
Speaking of Katie, I loved this little project she brought home from school. Wednesday was the 100th Day of School, which is a big thing for a 1st grader. :) This shows that when Katie is 100 years old, she will have her Mickey blanket! I made it for her when she turned 3, and she adores it. I love that she loves it so much!
Here is Katie when she first got her Mickey blanket!
