Sick, Sick, Sick

What a yucky week! I haven't posted because I have been busy taking care of sick kids and then myself. My last post last Sunday I posted about Hannie having a fever. I woke her up Monday morning before I went to work to check on her. She was still febrile despite Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours. I couldn't get it down below 101. Her cough sounded terrible and was down in her chest. I brought her with me to work and so she could be seen in the walk in clinic. I may have mentioned before that I do not rush my kids to the doctor and usually by the time that I do, they are pretty sick. Sure enough, she was wheezing (which she has never done before) and had an ear infection. Yep, RSV! I have worked extra hard and been overly cautious to protect her from RSV for the past two years! After working in pediatrics for 5 years I know about RSV and I have been determined to keep my kids from getting it. I know that it can predispose them to Asthma later on the down the road and Stuart had asthma as a child. I know that as a newborn born during winter she could have ended up in the hospital. I know the cough and snot that goes along with RSV. I know that RSV is a just virus, just a cold in adults, but not good for babies. Hannah being (2 weeks short of turning 2), it isn't that big of deal. Its really not so much RSV in her but more of a cold. She will fight it off... I now have to worry about HUDSON! Great! Hannah has been on antibiotics, steroids, and breathing treatments. She never acted too sick but has had a hard time getting over this. Of course, she coughs all over her favorite little brother. So Wednesday I brought him in. I wanted someone else to look at him. I thought his lungs were clear, he wasn't coughing much, and was breathing just a little bit fast. Hudson having RSV is bad for multiple reasons. RSV is really a lot of mucus that gets into the lungs and causes mucus plugs and difficulty breathing because their lungs are so small. Due to Hudson's (possible) prolonged QT syndrome, he cannot take certain medications, primarily medications he would need if he had RSV (breathing treatments and possible a macrolide antibiotic that would cover a pneumonia). So, I took him in Wednesday just so that someone else could see him. Like I said earlier, I tend to be very laid back because I see so much that I don't want my kids health to fall between the cracks and them end up so sick before they get treated. Thankfully, the second set of eyes agreed that he looked really good but tested him for RSV just to be sure. He is POSITIVE. But thankfully he has done so well. I thank God because I have seen hundreds of cases of RSV in the past 6 years and Hudson is very atypical. He has had some boogers which have actually seemed worse this weekend but his lungs have remained clear!!! No fever, no ear infection - yet (knocking on wood here), and has been his general happy little self! Thank you God for not needing breathing treatments, not needing hospitalization for oxygen, for not needing an antibiotic! Thank You.

So, while the kids were getting better, Thursday night I started to feel kind of bad. I went to bed and woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't swallow. My right side of throat felt like there was a golf ball size razor in it! Ouch! My lymph node on the right side of my neck stuck out the size of a ping pong ball. I was miserable. I had a tonsil abscess! I felt so bad, I couldn't take care of my children! I spent two full days in bed without eating or drinking! Two Rocephin shots in two days I finally started feeling better and today I am feeling much better. My lymph node is still enlarged and painful but my tonsil is much smaller, less inflamed, and free of pus. It is terrible being a Mommy and being sick. I don't remember the last time I was sick... Definitely before having kids and definitely when I still had my mom around to take care of me.