So, it seems I have myself...
a stoic child.
See, the Boy has had a naggy cough and a snotty head for about a week and a half. I Dr. Mom'ed it as long as I could, but when we were trick or treating Friday night, I could tell that his breathing was weird...and then he crashed Saturday night...and when this kid crashes, you can just tell...i.e. he was in the bed and wrapped up and sleeping at 8 p.m.
Sunday, we laid out of church because of the cough and his general unwell appearance, yet, Sunday he didn't seem so unwell, so i kept pumping him full of Zyrtec and cough stuff and Tylenol, but the cough...wasn't going anywhere.
So, today, off we were to the doctor.
Our PA (physician's assistant), Tanya, who we love, since she basically saved his life back when he was about 2-1'2 and we transferred care from Dr. Manito aka 'as long as he is eating and drinking he is fine.' See, when his lymph glands went crazy swelling and I was calling his pediatrician's office saying, uh, hello, this kid's lymph nodes in his neck region are HUUUUUGE, all I got back from her office was if he was eating and drinking (and hello, this kid would have to be in a coma to keep him from eating and drinking, which is what I told the chick on the phone...), he was fine and it was probably just leftover from his prior ear infection 2 weeks prior.
I remember standing in the card aisle at Walmart and taking that call and wondering what the hell they were smoking.
They told me to give him Tylenol and as long as he was eating and drinking, he'd be fine.
The next morning, when this baby couldn't move his head without it hurting, I made the call and took him to Tanya.
and she took one feel of this kid's lymph nodes and we were lickety split getting blood tests because IT WAS SERIOUS.
It seems that what Dr. Manito thought was leftoever from the previous ear infection was, in fact, bordering on A BIG OL' BLOOD INFECTION.
And i had to put that baby through a series of injections of antibiotics that nearly killed ME.
He got better pretty quick, but about injection #2, I had to pass the baton to the Mr.
So, yeah, we love Tanya. She loves the Boy. he is always so stoic and answers questions so well, and funny, how could she not.
Today, as she looked in his ears and throat and listened to him breathe, she asked:
Dane, does your ear hurt?
Nope, he said.
Does your throat hurt?
Nope, he said.
Does it hurt when you breathe?
Nope, he said.
And as it turned out, this kid...this kid who never complains about anything other than 'my ear feels clogged,' had a right ear infection so bad that she said 'this one is firey red and looks like it is about to pop.' Also, his right tonsil is all red and aggravated AND his lungs sound junky.
The good thing is that Tanya knows this boy...she knows his stoic nature, so that she doesn't ever look at me like WTF MOTHER, WHY DON'T YOU KNOW TO BRING HIM IN SOONER THAN THIS. She just knows that this kid doesn't complain about much, period...so, she never looks at me weird. Though, I know this kid better than I know the back of my hand, but still...sometimes I can't even tell when he is feeling bad.
At any rate, the Boy has an ear infection that is firey and a tonsil that is firey and lungs that are kind of wheezy...and is now on a powerful antibiotic and a nasal steroid inhaler and Zyrtec and Singulair, and I will be keeping him home tomorrow to dose him up with a few more pops of the antibiotic and cough stuff before i send him back into the mix.
and in the midst of it, i will go vote in the most important election of my life. and i hope you do, too.
See, the Boy has had a naggy cough and a snotty head for about a week and a half. I Dr. Mom'ed it as long as I could, but when we were trick or treating Friday night, I could tell that his breathing was weird...and then he crashed Saturday night...and when this kid crashes, you can just tell...i.e. he was in the bed and wrapped up and sleeping at 8 p.m.
Sunday, we laid out of church because of the cough and his general unwell appearance, yet, Sunday he didn't seem so unwell, so i kept pumping him full of Zyrtec and cough stuff and Tylenol, but the cough...wasn't going anywhere.
So, today, off we were to the doctor.
Our PA (physician's assistant), Tanya, who we love, since she basically saved his life back when he was about 2-1'2 and we transferred care from Dr. Manito aka 'as long as he is eating and drinking he is fine.' See, when his lymph glands went crazy swelling and I was calling his pediatrician's office saying, uh, hello, this kid's lymph nodes in his neck region are HUUUUUGE, all I got back from her office was if he was eating and drinking (and hello, this kid would have to be in a coma to keep him from eating and drinking, which is what I told the chick on the phone...), he was fine and it was probably just leftover from his prior ear infection 2 weeks prior.
I remember standing in the card aisle at Walmart and taking that call and wondering what the hell they were smoking.
They told me to give him Tylenol and as long as he was eating and drinking, he'd be fine.
The next morning, when this baby couldn't move his head without it hurting, I made the call and took him to Tanya.
and she took one feel of this kid's lymph nodes and we were lickety split getting blood tests because IT WAS SERIOUS.
It seems that what Dr. Manito thought was leftoever from the previous ear infection was, in fact, bordering on A BIG OL' BLOOD INFECTION.
And i had to put that baby through a series of injections of antibiotics that nearly killed ME.
He got better pretty quick, but about injection #2, I had to pass the baton to the Mr.
So, yeah, we love Tanya. She loves the Boy. he is always so stoic and answers questions so well, and funny, how could she not.
Today, as she looked in his ears and throat and listened to him breathe, she asked:
Dane, does your ear hurt?
Nope, he said.
Does your throat hurt?
Nope, he said.
Does it hurt when you breathe?
Nope, he said.
And as it turned out, this kid...this kid who never complains about anything other than 'my ear feels clogged,' had a right ear infection so bad that she said 'this one is firey red and looks like it is about to pop.' Also, his right tonsil is all red and aggravated AND his lungs sound junky.
The good thing is that Tanya knows this boy...she knows his stoic nature, so that she doesn't ever look at me like WTF MOTHER, WHY DON'T YOU KNOW TO BRING HIM IN SOONER THAN THIS. She just knows that this kid doesn't complain about much, period...so, she never looks at me weird. Though, I know this kid better than I know the back of my hand, but still...sometimes I can't even tell when he is feeling bad.
At any rate, the Boy has an ear infection that is firey and a tonsil that is firey and lungs that are kind of wheezy...and is now on a powerful antibiotic and a nasal steroid inhaler and Zyrtec and Singulair, and I will be keeping him home tomorrow to dose him up with a few more pops of the antibiotic and cough stuff before i send him back into the mix.
and in the midst of it, i will go vote in the most important election of my life. and i hope you do, too.