Thursday, October 16, 2008

oh how it sucks to be sick

This is life with Sadie over the last week:

Thursday - Sadie woke up with red blotches on her back.  It didn't seem to bother her so I figured I'd wait and see if it just went away

Later that day I got a call from her daycare.  Seeing that number on my caller ID really freaked me out.  They were calling to tell me that she had a rash all over her torso and back.  I picked her up and made an appointment to see the doctor the next morning.

Friday - Her regular doctor wasn't available so we saw one of her colleagues.  He felt that the rash was an allergic reaction.  I thought about it and figured there could be two culprits.  I had given her strawberries in her lunch the last two days and prior to that she had only had strawberry flavored things.  OR, I had put baby lotion on her back and torso (exactly where the rash was) the two previous nights because her skin seemed dry.  I had used the lotion before, but I think I had only put it on her arms and legs.  The doctor told me to give her Benadryl if it was bothering her and to call if it got worse.

Saturday - Sadie woke with a disgustingly runny nose.  Words cannot describe the grossness. 

Sunday - The runny nose continued and the rash was still there.

Monday - The rash was less red but the bumps were still all over her chest and back.  I took her to daycare, because the doctor cleared her, but didn't like that the bumps were still there so I left work at noon and took her back to the doctor.  After waiting an hour and a half, we got to see the same doctor we saw on Friday.  He felt pretty confident that it was still an allergic reaction.  He asked if she'd had any fever and I said no.  He asked one of his colleagues to come in and take a look and he concurred that it was an allergic reaction and said it was normal for the bumps to remain for a while after removing whatever it was she was allergic to.  OK...that was good to hear. 

Monday night, I started to feel sick.  Not fun!  Sadie also started coughing.  Great!

Tuesday - I woke up feeling like crap so I showered, put on jeans and a sweatshirt and packed Sadie up to go into the office so I could cancel my appointments for Tuesday and Wednesday (just in case).  She was such a trooper.  She ate snacks and played with my magnets while I got things in order.

Tuesday afternoon, Sadie started running a fever.  Her first fever - scary!  It didn't go over 102, but she felt so hot and just wasn't herself.  I gave her Motrin and eventually her fever went down.  I called the doctor because he kept asking about a fever and now she had one.  This time I spoke to her regular doctor.  She thought that since the fever had gone down, she was probably at the end of the virus.

Wednesday - I decided to stay home again.  I was still feeling crappy and Sadie's nose and cough were no better.  On a positive note, her rash started looking better.  She had another fever Wednesday afternoon, but again, it went away with a little Tylenol.  I had to go to work the next day because I had to reschedule all of the appointments I had canceled earlier in the week.  We were leaving Friday for Arizona for my cousin's Bar Mitzvah and I couldn't put it off until Monday.  Thankfully, my mom said she'd come stay with Sadie Thursday so that was the plan.

Thursday - I went to work, still congested and now coughing.  Nice, I know.  Did I mention that I work in a hospital?  Oh well.  I stayed in my office all day.  My mom stayed with Sadie and she did pretty well.  She didn't eat a lot and she was itching, but my mom gave her Benadryl and she seemed OK.  When I got home, we went to give her a bath and noticed that she has a new rash on her back, chest and neck.  Are you freakin kidding me?  It looks different than the original and it is definitely itching her.  We gave her more Benadryl and put cortisone cream on the really red areas.  I called the doctor again, and this time got the colleague that the second doctor called in to see her rash on Monday.  He recommended that I bring her back tomorrow to see the 4th and final doctor in the practice. 

So, Sadie is asleep next to me on the couch.  I have to call the doctor's office at 9am and hope to get squeezed in and will be going to the doctor for the 3rd time in a week and speaking to the 4th doctor about my daughter.  To say that I am worn out would be an understatement. 

The worst part about all of this (aside from the fact that my baby feels so crappy) is that we had to cancel our trip to Arizona.  We were really looking forward to it.  I bought a new stroller and Sadie got a new dress.  I so wanted the rest of my family to meet her. 

I know that kids get sick when they start school or daycare, but Sadie has been sick every week since she started.  It never occurred to me that I would get sick.  I don't know why, I just hadn't thought about it.  Let me say that to date, that has been the hardest part of being a single parent.  Being sick and taking care of a sick baby is not easy.  Unfortunately, my mom couldn't help before today so I was truly on my own.  The good news is we got through it.  I just hope we don't have to do it again anytime soon.

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