Emma got sent home from daycare last Wednesday after throwing up. I really hoped it was an isolated incident, but no suck luck — it was the beginning of yet another illness. Jose’s mom arrived that same day for a visit, which actually worked out really well since she was able to keep Emma at home on Thursday and Friday. She was running a slight fever and had a good amount of congestion but otherwise seemed fine, and was acting normal. But then on Saturday morning she felt a lot warmer than before. A thermometer in her armpit came back at 102, so we ended up at the pediatrician. AGAIN.
(I’m just grateful our pediatrician has Saturday morning office hours. That probably saved us a trip to urgent care.)
The pediatrician listened to her congestion, which was clearly in her chest, and ended up taking some blood (needle #1) and, after that showed a white blood cell count three times the normal level, giving her a shot of antibiotics (needle #2). As if two needle sticks and a visit to the doctor wasn’t enough, she also sent us to the hospital for a chest x-ray. You can google “baby chest xray device” if you want to see what it looks like, or you can just trust me that it was a little traumatic to watch Emma get strapped into that thing. I probably cried more than she did. The chest x-ray confirmed that Emma has pneumonia. For the next week, she gets antibiotics and two puffs from an inhaler twice a day. Oh, and probiotics twice a day to counteract the lovely digestive side effects of the antibiotics.
So let’s recap. In the month of May — yes, in the span of a single month, and really within 3 weeks — Emma has had:
- Hand, foot and mouth disease
- Two ear infections
- Staph or strep infection on her butt and legs
- Pneumonia
If there is a silver lining to be had in all this, it’s that it’s been awesome to have Jose’s mom here to help out. Plus, Emma is one tough little trooper and she bounces back in no time. The only time she even seemed particularly sick this time around was when she had the high fever on Saturday morning. By Sunday she was back to her normal, happy, giggly self.
laanba says
Awww…. poor poor baby. Hugs to you Emma.