Sick Puppy

Until last night, I've been fortunate enough to never have had to take one of my children to the Emergency Room in the wee hours of the morning for illness.  Joey has gone to the ER twice in his lifetime -once because we thought he broke his leg (he didn't), and another time for an unfortunate incident involving a crayon and his nostril. (the crayon won.)

Joey started showing signs of illness on Monday.  Low fever, runny nose, a little cough.  Then he was up all night, and yesterday my boy was really sick.  His fever was higher, nose was runnier, and the cough was worse.  His fever was very persistant throughout the day, and never dropped below 101 despite my best efforts. 

If you've ever had the pleasure of meeting Joey, you know that he doesn't stop for nothin'.  It takes a lot to slow this kid down, and even when he's sick, he's still bouncing off the walls.  Literally.  Yesterday was different.  He was lethargic, cranky, glassy-eyed, and very tired.  I decided I'd hold off taking him to the DR for one day, and take him today if there was no change.  This decision was mostly driven by our lack of health insurance at the moment, and having to pay out of pocket for a visit and prescription was not something I was looking forward to.  That probably sounds terrible, as I really shouldn't put a price on health care, but Obama has, so why shouldn't I?

Anyway, Joey's fever got higher over the night, and was approaching 103.  No amount of Motrin, Tylenol, or cool compresses was helping him.  So at 3:30 in the morning, my forever-thoughtful husband made me a cup of tea and packed up my little man, I plugged "hospital" into the GPS, and off we went.  As luck would have it, his fever had come down 1.5 degrees by the time they got him checked in, and another 1 degree by the time we left the ER at 5:45.  Go figure...  Don't misinterpret that.  I'd been praying for that fever to break for 12 hours.  I was relieved beyond belief.  But somehow it always seems that as soon as you head for the doctor's office, the kid is better.  Or maybe it's just my kids.

Well, the nurses and doctor at the ER were very responsive.  They determined that Joey has the flu.  Probably H1N1, but they don't test for it unless it's a very serious case and the patient is being admitted.  Doctor prescribed lots of fluids, rest, and hugs from (a very tired) Mommy. (and Daddy)

Here is a picture I took with my phone in the ER.  Doesn't he look sad?

All my munchkins are napping now, and I shall go do the same.  Or maybe I'll get caught up on some laundry.  I haven't decided yet.