Ok, so not really me, but Julia! The poor child has been dealing with a fever that just won't quit since Sunday. :-(
We were at my sister's house for a welcome home party. We all went and jumped into the pool for a bit and were having a good old time! The kids were loving it, and it made me realize that we need to get Justin into swim classes right away! The kid is a fish. He didn't want to be held, just wanted to kick and put his face in the water.
When Julia got out of the pool, she sat on peoples laps until we were all done playing. She just hung out, laying back and relaxing. Or so we thought. Once we got inside, she clearly looked like she wanted to go to sleep. After all, this was the second day in a row that she didn't really take a nap aside from maybe 15-20 to or from wherever we were heading. I didn't really want her to go to sleep so close to bed time, but I didn't want her to feel miserable either. Well, she crashed on her auntie Stephie's shoulder so we laid her down on the couch. We figured - give her a 20-30 minute cat nap and see how she feels after. I laid down on the couch in front of her and started trying to wake her up. I brushed her hair back, rubbed her arms, legs, and back. She really wasn't interested in waking up, but when she did, that's when I started getting freaked out. She wouldn't focus on me. Her eyes were all bloodshot, shifty and her pupils would dilate then constrict. I was starting to think that she was still sleeping, but with her eyes open.
I finally got her to wake up fully and acknowledge me. Then I kissed her forehead and she was on fire. I asked Stephanie for a thermometer, and stripped her tank top off. Her whole body was warm. When Steph came back and we took her temperature, it was 104.1. Too high... We got some cool towels and a cool wash rag and started wiping her down, and eventually, just covered her with the cold towel. Between all of that, and Michael sitting in the bath tub with her running cold water over her, we managed to bring the temp down to about 100. We got everything packed up and decided to head home. Michael sat in the back to keep an eye on both of the kids just to be safe.
When we got into our neighborhood and came close to the stop sign, Michael said "Um, why are there firetrucks in front of our house???" All I could think was "Oh please don't let our house be burned down!!!" Well, that's a blog post for another day...I will tell you, our house is not burned down, though! We pulled into the driveway and got inside. Julia was starting to feel warm again, so I checked her temp. It was back up to 103.9. I got a diaper bag ready, and once everything had been unloaded, I took her to the emergency room. Mind you, she had been on Amoxicillin for an ear infection, and for whatever reason, the pamphlet said not to give acetaminophen (Tylenol) while on the Amox. I didn't want to take the chance with Ibuprofen (Motrin), so I didn't give her anything. Well...needless to say they basically made me feel like a fool for freaking out over my daughter having that high of a temp. They gave her what looked like a double dose of Motrin, and sent us on our way saying "keep giving her Motrin".
*sigh*
Sunday night was "ok", I guess. Her temp never really broke, and Monday was when it got really fun. I started alternating Tylenol and Motrin every four hours, checking her temperature constantly. She hovered right around 102 for most of the day. When Michael and I went to bed - around 10:00 - I checked her temperature again and it was 105.6. 105.6!!! I FREAKED. I ran to the bathroom, got some more Motrin for her, and told Michael to bring her to the bathroom for me. I threw my swim suit on, and got the water going. Michael brought her in to me, and sat her on my lap. I explained to her that it was going to feel really cold, but it was only because she was so warm. That was quite possibly the most torturous 10 minutes of my entire life. Poor Julia screamed and cried the entire time we were in there. She kept saying "No mommy!!! STOP!!!" It. broke. my. heart. I hated every second of it. By the time I got out of the tub with her, we managed to bring her temp down to about 102 again. The rest of the night, even with alternating, it hovered right around 102. I was checking every hour on the hour, just to be safe.
This continued on pretty much through Wednesday night, and into this morning. Up until Wednesday afternoon, her temp had only dropped below 100-101 maybe four times. I had called the pediatrician three times, she had been to the emergency room once, and to the after hours clinic once. However...since her ears, nose, throat, and lungs checked out ok, the doctors just kept saying "It's probably just a virus, keep doing what you're doing." Yeah...keep watching my poor lethargic, feverish two year old suffer from a fever that won't go away. Thanks! I'm sure I'll quite enjoy that...
Anyways, thankfully her temp this morning hasn't gone above 100.8 without medications yet. Here's hoping that it stays down...
God bless!
!!! Poor Julia! Your post nearly made me cry. I can only imagine what *you* were feeling!
ReplyDeleteLove you guys, know of my prayers...
-- Jenn
So sorry to hear! :( Ben has been fighting a fever too - low-grade but still making him feel yucky nonetheless. Best wishes!!
ReplyDeleteAmy - Fellow Birthclub member (BBC)
I'm looking through blog posts from the people I follow while I wait for my sister to call me back and I am just stunned with what you wrote! My sister is at the hospital right now with her 3 year old son who's been running a fever for the last two days. He was at 104.5 when she left a hour ago... :( Worried folks over here...that's for sure! He couldn't keep anything down since 1am last night...I as well was throwing up all day yesterday. I'm guessing some of my family picked up a bug somewhere...I don't know...just hope he is ok.
ReplyDeleteI will say some prayers for Julia as well. I'm so sorry for you guys. That just sounds like the worse last couple days for her! And you and the husband!
:( take care as best you can...
-Chellie
Thank you everyone! It really was very scary. Especially seeing that 105.6 pop up on the thermometer... I will admit that a certain "f-bomb" slipped out when I saw that. *blush* I took her back to the doctor again last night, and found out that it is hand, foot, and mouth disease...along with "terribly infected" ears. (doc's words...). Just as an FYI, if you don't know this already, ear infections can pop up within hours. :-(
ReplyDeleteChellie, I hope your nephew is better soon! That sounds a little bit different than what we were dealing with over here... Thankfully, Julia seems to be feeling significantly better today, but I'm afraid Justin might be catching it now. :-( Prayers to you, your sister, and your little nephew!!!
God bless!