Day Three.

Well, today is day three of the sickness. I had hoped that things would improve by now, but if anything they're worse. I haven't slept in days, I am grumpy, and I feel just plain run down. Yuck.

Yesterday, we took miss Emma to the doctor. We were there for an hour and a half, and were told that she had tonsillitis. She had a steroid shot, followed by tylenol/motrin, and then azithromycin. She came home from the doctor and took a short nap, but then was still pretty bad the rest of the day. I had hoped that at bed time she would be better, but it was quite the opposite. We were up until 1 a.m. with her last night. Out of no where she threw the biggest, worst, all time scariest fit I've ever seen. Now, if you know Emma, you are aware that she is a great child. She doesn't throw fits, or tantrums. She's perfectly content to play alone, and if she wants you she will run up and give you a hug. Oh, and she loves her stuffed bunny.

So, let's talk about last night..
I decided to let Emma stay up late since she had been sick. I was hoping it would wear her down a bit. So when 9 pm rolled around, we tried to get her ready for bed. 40 minutes later she woke up screaming. These screams were the worst I'd ever heard come from her mouth. Andrew and I both literally ran into her room because she screamed so hard she began to choke and gag. I ran into her room, and scooped her up in my arms. She was fire engine red, her eyes were black and purple from exhaustion, and she couldn't stop rubbing her face so hard that it hurt. She arched her back, kicked her feet, threw her favorite bunny, screamed and screamed, and then pushed me away. I tried to set her down, but she ran right back. I picked her up, but once again she threw herself to the floor, arching her back, kicking her feet, and wailing like you've never seen. We decided to try to take her for a car ride, because nothing else was working. Then, she started clawing herself. Vigorously. She tried to rip her diaper off, she kept grabbing at her girl parts, and then she clawed the shit out of herself. Her back, her chest, everywhere. It was like she was trying to tear her flesh off.  All the meanwhile, the screaming got worse, louder, and scarier. She has tonsillitis, so all of this screaming is, of course, only making things worse!

About the car ride:
In an effort to help her out, we grabbed her blankie, her bunny, and threw her in the car. We had hoped a car ride would calm her down, because that's how Andrew had gotten her to take a 30 minute nap earlier in the day. I climbed in the backseat with her, trying keep her calm. Instead, she threw her blankie, threw her bunny, and started to rub her face so hard it looked like she almost punched herself. Then, out of the blue she began BITING herself. She was biting her fingers so hard it left dents. All the while, she's still arching her back, kicking the back of Andrews seat, clinching her fists, and screaming straight from the throat. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen her do.

After ten minutes we realized the car ride wasn't working, it was making things worse. Her being restrained was just pissing her off more. So, we got home and decided to try a warm bath. I stripped her down and put her in the warm bath. Bath time is her favorite time in the world. Even while she was in the tub she was screaming and clawing herself. Her stomach was covered in scratches, as well as her back. Then randomly, while we were bathing her, she would grab her lady bits and scream bloody murder.

As all of this was going on, I made daddy go look up the address and number to the local ER. I decided that if she didn't stop within the hour, we were taking her in. As he was looking those things up, I sat in front of the tub and tried to calm her down. She was still crying quite a bit, but I got her to play with my hair long enough to calm down. Of course, she didn't stop entirely, but it was helping. We also gave her a cup of juice while she was in the tub, which confused and amused her greatly.  Awkwardly, it was the only way we could get her to drink.

She finally calmed down after her bath, but just long enough to run around with mommy and daddy til about midnight. Daddy had to work at 6 am, so he left both of us sick ladies to get his butt to bed. Emma and I put on family guy, while I rocked her in the chair. She finally fell asleep at 1 a.m. so I carefully laid her down (she didnt wake up, woohoo!) and went to bed. ...........Then she woke me up at 230 freaking out again.

This time I just decided to lay on the couch with her. I turned on an episode of friends, and we passed out. We were up at 230, 445, 7, and then for good at 930. She is still screaming and throwing a fit, and it seems the medicine is making things worse. SO-I called the doctor.

The receptionist wouldn't put me on the phone with a nurse or the doctor, so she relayed the message for me. The nurse told me it sounded like it might be a "reaction" (duh) to the medicine. Instead of switching her medicine, they decided to give her 1/2 tsp of zyrtec with her meds to see if that helps. After all, she's been on azithromycin twice before with no symptoms. However, this is the first time she was on it immediately after taking a large dose of steroids. So, we will see how she does after she gets her dose tonight.

As for the rest of the family...
Hi, I'm mom. I'm still sick. I could barely use my voice this morning, and I'm having a hard time eating. When I get sick that's the one thing I tend to do. I don't eat. My throat feels like it's on fire, so the last thing I want to do is irritate it. I did manage to force myself to eat a tiny bit this morning, and I will continue to try the rest of the day. It has been 3 days that I've been sick, and all of the Dayquill and cough drops I'm sucking on, only seem to be making things worse. I am hoping that things get better soon, because it has been sixty degrees all week!! I want to get OUT. I want to go to the park, and go for another walk, and enjoy the weather outdoors. I just want to wake up feeling healthy tomorrow.

As for daddy...well, he texted me from work today and said "I'm currently stuck in the bathroom where I keep getting sick." Oh, that's just great. As if being sick myself for days and taking care of Emma wasn't bad enough. Now there are 3 sick people in the house?! He came home for lunch, barely said two words, ate his food, then rested in the chair. He kept groaning about how tired he was, and I really just wanted to pop him upside the head. I said "OHhhhhhhh yeah? ME TOO!" Because, well quite frankly he's slept in a nice, big bed, alone for the past 3 nights. He has been able to sleep, and I have not. It's not really fair of him to complain about being tired, when I'm the one whose been up for the past 3 nights, BUT alas.......he is entitled to his feelings. (grumbles angrily)

So, that's kind of how my week has been thus far. I am still planning on getting back on routine, if I ever get healthy again. If there's one thing about me that you need to know, it's that when I get sick.......I get SICK. It's never just a little bug. I am prone to bronchitis and have had it twice in the past few years. Last year I found out I had a nodule on my lung from a disease I didn't even know I had. I forget the name of it, but it happens when an infected bird is around you, or when you inhale the air that has been infected by a bird. Even being around a hot sidewalk can give it to you. I took some medicine for 2 weeks and was fine, but I have scar tissue on my lungs that I didn't know about. Isn't that something? I'm always getting sick, and now Emma is as well. I hope we get better soon. This week has been pure hell. PLUS, she has about forty million teeth coming in at once. Her mouth looks like it has hills growing under ALL her gums. It's been a rough week, someone wanna come help a sister out? I'll pay you in juice!

Wish me luck that the rest of the week improves....or I may just keel over.

Peace, Love, and Medicine
Sarah V.