Mommy, I Don't Feel Good!

I knew something was up when Liam slept in on Tuesday until 9:15 a.m.  That is NOT like him - ever.  My children are good sleepers - but do not sleep in that late.  So I figured something was up.  Well, when he got up he definitely had a stuffy nose, and was coughing just a little, but I figured it was just a cold and that we would just have a whiny little boy on our hands.  Nope.

It was Tuesday night, and Matt and I had just gotten back from youth group.  The babysitter told me that Liam wasn't acting like he felt well, and he had a fever.  He was in bed, so I went in to check on him.  He didn't seem to warm to me - just a little, so I got him something to drink and tucked him in.  A couple hours later when Matt and I were getting ready to go to bed, I heard Liam up - and coughing, and immediately knew that it was not a cold.  If any of you have ever had a child with croup, you know that the cough is very distinct.  It really does sound like a "barking" noise.  I went back in to check on him, and he was burning up.  He was coughing, his nose was running, and he told me, "Mommy, I don't feel good!"  I hugged him, told him I was sorry and got him some medicine to help with the fever.  After he took his medicine he looked at me and said, "Mommy, when I get to number 20, then I will feel better."  I laughed, because it was cute and then I asked him what number he was at now.  "Um, I'm a number 9 right now."  I have no idea where he got that, but it was pretty good at telling me how he felt!

Matt and I debated for a while whether we should take him in to the ER to get checked out or not, but eventually decided to wait and see how the night goes.  Liam also had this last year, around the same time.  He had a good nights sleep, but in the morning his cough was worse so we took him in.  I wasn't too worried, but I knew they would give him some steroid meds that would help him to breath a little better.  Well, unfortunately everybody in the county and their brother was there and the wait was quite long.  But, a Popsicle, some meds, and a few hours later Liam was home and resting.  Within a few hours he was much better, with really just a runny nose and slight temp.  I was praying the girls would not get sick, too.

It was just after I had gone to bed on Thursday night when I was awakened by Libby crying.  She usually sleeps all night, so this was unusual.  I went in to check on her and, yup, she was burning up too.  I got her some meds and tucked her back in, but spent the rest of the night getting up and down with not only Libby, but Leila too.  They both had high fevers, and were coughing and fussy.  And it didn't take long for the coughing on Libby to turn to the croup cough.  So, first thing Friday morning, Matt took Libby in to the ER (our dr. office was closed) to have her looked at while I stayed home with the other two.  As the day progressed, I saw Leila getting worse, and I could not get her fever to go down at all.  It was hovering around 102.5 F to 103 F.  In retrospect, I should have just taken her in with Libby, but we didn't.  When Matt was there with Libby, there was no one waiting in the ER, so he got right in.  They did a chest x-ray and found a little fluid on her lungs, so prescribed some medicine and sent her home.  By the time they got home, I was thinking Leila needed to go in, too.  I was worried since I could not get her temp down.

So, I went to ER this time with Leila, while Matt stayed home.  My mother-in-law took us and it was nice to have her there.  Again, the ER was FULL of people, many of whom had the same exact thing my kids have.  We had to wait quite a while before we even were able to see the triage nurse, but when we did, and she saw how high Leila's temp was and how her heart rate was quite rapid, we were bumped up to high priority and got in right away.  We were there for about 2 hours, during which they gave her a dose of Tylenol and late some ibuprofen since her temp was still not coming down.  They did a chest x-ray as well, and found that she had some fluid on her lungs, too, although she had more than Libby did.  It was the same dr. who saw them both, and he immediately recognized Leila and Libby as sisters because they "looked exactly the same!"  Hehe.

Anyways, we went home and I had another near sleepless night with my kids.  We laid low for the next couple of days to try and get over this.  They did not go to church yesterday.  I stayed home in the morning and my mother-in-law stayed with them last night (the church had a surprise b-day party for me after church!  Did I mention my b-day is tomorrow?  It is.  Its tomorrow...).

This is the first time that all three of my kids have been sick at the same time, and it definitely is even busier than normal!  I actually had to make a chart of when I administered medicine and to whom and how much.  I even am having to keep track of their temps and when I took it.  It is hard to remember all that without a chart!  Thankfully they are all starting to get better.  They are still coughing like crazy, but it is just a "normal" cough.  Leila had a temp again today, but it came down right away with medicine.

Today Matt and I had to head to St. John (2 1/2 hours from here) for a dr. appt with me.  I was scheduled to see a neurosurgeon about all my problems recently.  He went over my MRI with us and is not concerned about my tumor or anything.  I will write more later on all that is going on there.  We also stopped by to see Andrea who is still there getting her chemo and radiation treatments.  The treatments are starting to take their toll on her. She still has 4 weeks left.  Please keep praying for her!

Needless to say, we are so, so tired today.  It has been a LONG week, but God has gotten us through it.  I am so thankful that we live in a place where medical help is so easily accessible, and that we have encountered some great nurses and drs.  The ER doctor especially was the nicest dr. I have met in a while.

So, that has been our life as of lately!  Always eventful here in the Sealy household!  Now I am going to relax a little and then go to bed.  Got a big day tomorrow.  Did I mention that it is my birthday tomorrow?  It is.  :-)

Until next time...