This post is not about packing and getting ready for vacation in the traditional sense, don't you worry. It is about the universe wanting to make sure I really appreciate this vacation!
What a week! Is it only Wednesday?!? I spent the weekend sick with my first cold or something all year, so I wasn't exactly ready for the week. Monday started off with a bang with Jamie sick as well and home from school. At the same time, Britain decided to listen to the Labrador side of himself, ate six food bars including wrappers, and needed an emergency trip to the vet on Monday afternoon. (He's fine now, thankfully. It was a rough deja vu, though, since we lost our sweet Golden Retriever cross two days before our last vacation. I seriously was thinking I shouldn't plan any more vacations if I valued the health of my dogs!) Jamie has chugged along and seems to be fighting whatever is going on with her. We're both coughing like crazy ...
... and Annie started coughing a tiny bit yesterday. She was a bit worse today, so I thought I'd better have her checked out. I have traditionally been pretty slow to take Jamie to the doctor, but I'm learning to jump to it with this little girlie. And, as it turns out, our primary care doctor sent us over to the hospital ER for an RSV test and chest x-rays after he listened to her. Oh, boy. I think I'd been at the hospital for an hour before they decided who was even going to do the RSV test! (This necessitated a couple of trips in and out of the ER entrance and over to the hospital's main entrance; and did I mention it began to snow pretty heavily during this adventure?!?) Four and a half hours later, we finally got the word that the RSV test was negative and that her lungs looked clear.
We got to experience the 'torture tube' as my friend Teresa calls it, sitting Annie upright for her x-rays and enclosing her in a clear plastic holder. AWFUL to look at, but she took it in stride as she does everything. Picture Annie wearing just a diaper, placed in this funny contraption with plastic forms squashing her torso, arms stretched way above her head, facing the x-ray plate and gazing around at everything with big blue eyes full of curiosity. They told me to stand in front of her so she could see me, but she wasn't big enough to see over the plate. I held onto her hands and she squeezed my fingers like crazy, but she never let out a peep. She's a champ!
I had tried to take Teresa's advice and tell them that they don't do chest x-rays that way at Children's, but they didn't go for it. As they briskly ignored my resistance in one breath, they told me that "the kids cry, but that's good for the x-ray because they take a good, long breath" with the next. I think they were shocked when Annie didn't cry, but also a bit superior as in "Why were you complaining, lady? Your kid didn't even object!" (I kind-of suspected she wouldn't object, so I have to admit that I didn't fight too hard ... especially since my rule-following husband was already putting Annie in the seat while I was still questioning!)
We're home now with a brand new nebulizer (I'm learning -- I called insurance FIRST and they're finally covering something -- hooray!) and the medication recommended by the cardiologist covering for Dr. Smoot, who still is out of the country. There had been a lot of talk on the list serve not too long ago about cold medications for kids with cardiomyopathy (there are only a few that are ok to use), so I'm glad we knew ahead of time that it wouldn't be a simple thing to treat Annie's cough and congestion. So here's hoping that Annie will be feeling better and sounding better as soon as we get a few of these treatments into her system! (I'm sure there's room in the suitcases for a nebulizer, right?!?)
I get it, universe! I'll savor every minute of vacation, I promise. But really, the four inches of snow in April was enough to accomplish that job all by itself! I could have done without three colds, a puking Weimaraner cross, and a day lost in the emergency room.
Friend, thy name is MARGARITA!
What a week! Is it only Wednesday?!? I spent the weekend sick with my first cold or something all year, so I wasn't exactly ready for the week. Monday started off with a bang with Jamie sick as well and home from school. At the same time, Britain decided to listen to the Labrador side of himself, ate six food bars including wrappers, and needed an emergency trip to the vet on Monday afternoon. (He's fine now, thankfully. It was a rough deja vu, though, since we lost our sweet Golden Retriever cross two days before our last vacation. I seriously was thinking I shouldn't plan any more vacations if I valued the health of my dogs!) Jamie has chugged along and seems to be fighting whatever is going on with her. We're both coughing like crazy ...
... and Annie started coughing a tiny bit yesterday. She was a bit worse today, so I thought I'd better have her checked out. I have traditionally been pretty slow to take Jamie to the doctor, but I'm learning to jump to it with this little girlie. And, as it turns out, our primary care doctor sent us over to the hospital ER for an RSV test and chest x-rays after he listened to her. Oh, boy. I think I'd been at the hospital for an hour before they decided who was even going to do the RSV test! (This necessitated a couple of trips in and out of the ER entrance and over to the hospital's main entrance; and did I mention it began to snow pretty heavily during this adventure?!?) Four and a half hours later, we finally got the word that the RSV test was negative and that her lungs looked clear.
We got to experience the 'torture tube' as my friend Teresa calls it, sitting Annie upright for her x-rays and enclosing her in a clear plastic holder. AWFUL to look at, but she took it in stride as she does everything. Picture Annie wearing just a diaper, placed in this funny contraption with plastic forms squashing her torso, arms stretched way above her head, facing the x-ray plate and gazing around at everything with big blue eyes full of curiosity. They told me to stand in front of her so she could see me, but she wasn't big enough to see over the plate. I held onto her hands and she squeezed my fingers like crazy, but she never let out a peep. She's a champ!
I had tried to take Teresa's advice and tell them that they don't do chest x-rays that way at Children's, but they didn't go for it. As they briskly ignored my resistance in one breath, they told me that "the kids cry, but that's good for the x-ray because they take a good, long breath" with the next. I think they were shocked when Annie didn't cry, but also a bit superior as in "Why were you complaining, lady? Your kid didn't even object!" (I kind-of suspected she wouldn't object, so I have to admit that I didn't fight too hard ... especially since my rule-following husband was already putting Annie in the seat while I was still questioning!)
We're home now with a brand new nebulizer (I'm learning -- I called insurance FIRST and they're finally covering something -- hooray!) and the medication recommended by the cardiologist covering for Dr. Smoot, who still is out of the country. There had been a lot of talk on the list serve not too long ago about cold medications for kids with cardiomyopathy (there are only a few that are ok to use), so I'm glad we knew ahead of time that it wouldn't be a simple thing to treat Annie's cough and congestion. So here's hoping that Annie will be feeling better and sounding better as soon as we get a few of these treatments into her system! (I'm sure there's room in the suitcases for a nebulizer, right?!?)
I get it, universe! I'll savor every minute of vacation, I promise. But really, the four inches of snow in April was enough to accomplish that job all by itself! I could have done without three colds, a puking Weimaraner cross, and a day lost in the emergency room.
Friend, thy name is MARGARITA!
P.S. Yes, my Texas friends and family, these pictures were taken TODAY in my backyard.
3 comments:
You must have some good carma coming, maybe you'll win the lotto while sipping your cocktail at the pool....XOXO
Vicki
Just catching up on your posts...we are all too familiar with the nebulizers. It may be too late to get one, but we just found out your insurance may cover a smaller travel one that comes with an adaptor for the car, plane, etc. I tried ours in the car and it kept shutting off as the car battery just didn't put out enough power to run it. (Car on or off!)
Enjoy your trip...you guys deserve it.
Enjoy your vacation! I finally am getting caught up on all the updates! Glad to hear everyone weathered their illnesses well -- and hopefully Annie's bronchiolitis is well on its way over during the trip!
XO
Noel
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