When I said I was going to write every day, I freaking meant it. But then, life went and got all BATSHITCRAZYINSANEWTF?!
I don’t even know where to start because so much has happened, but there is so little I can actually write about it. This is why I’ve remained silent. Because what’s the point of writing through something if you can’t write what you really need/want to say?
What I can say is this: I went to Vegas, had an amazing time with friends and family, came home and shit hit the fan. In an instant, everything was different. Friendships were severed, lives were in ruin.
I spent the last week processing my feelings about the situation and have come to the realization that it just sucks. And it’s going to continue to suck for months and months.
You know what else sucks?
When your child has pneumonia.
Over a week ago, G developed a cough. I always worry about her when she gets a cough because of her history with RSV and asthma and 911 calls and late night trips to the ER. The cough seemed pretty ordinary, until Wednesday night. So, I called early Thursday morning to try to get an appointment to see her doctor. Unfortunately, he had no appointments available, so they scheduled her with another doctor. This doctor was nice enough, but her diagnosis of “allergies” didn’t sit right with me. But she’s the doctor, right? (WRONG.) On Friday, I was back at Kaiser. This time we were able to see our doctor and he was all “yeah, sounds a little bronchial to me. Let’s get her on antibiotics.” I thanked him and said “I’ve not had much sleep the past few nights” to which he responded “No wonder you look the way you do!”
Dysfunctional doctor/patient relationships are so much fun!
She started to improve, enough so that we decided to take her to the pumpkin patch on Sunday.
Apparently, that wasn’t our best Parental Move because Sunday night, her cough intensified and she broke out with fever.
We took her back to the doctor’s on Monday. He took x-rays and didn’t like what he saw. He said he was going to treat her for pneumonia. He gave her a shot of antibiotics and switched up her medication.
She seemed to be doing better yesterday, but last night, around 1am, she had another coughing spasm and today, the coughing and wheezing continues.
I am now trying to decide if I should take her back to see the doctor because I think she should be improving after 2 days on the new antibiotics. But maybe I’m not giving it enough time? The thing is– it’s her lungs. You don’t screw around when it comes to the lungs.
I feel so bad for my daughter. All of the coughing and sleepless nights have left her physically exhausted and emotionally fragile. She’s doing the best she can to get through this. She takes her medication and her inhaler without complaining. She rests when I tell her she needs to rest. She drinks all of the water and juice that I ask her to drink and all without whining or complaining. She has had a few moments where she’s broken down and cried. All I can do is hold her closely and let her know that I am doing everything in my power to make sure she’s being taken care of properly so that she gets better as soon as possible. I’ve broken down and cried myself a few times–It’s rough when you have to watch your child suffer. I want nothing more than for her to get well so she can get back to being a little girl again.
You probably don’t want advice and so that’s why I’m sending some. ha ha. Yeah, that wasn’t even vaguely funny. Take G back to the doctor – her lungs should be better after 2 days. Your intuition is pinging. Worst thing that can happen is that the doctor can roll his eyes at you. And when it’s pneumonia that is a big WHATEVER. And hang tough gorgeous one. The shit storm will eventually subside.
I feel for you. My little guy gets the same way when he is sick. Coughing turns to pneumonia overnight. It is scary. I agree you should take her back. She should show improvement after 2 days of antibiotics. I hope she gets well soon.
Dealing with the dread Big P here too. Though it is the heathly of the preemie twins that has it (the baby with chronic lung desease has an ear infection and the born 7 weeks ealry healthy as a bat twin don’t get it)
We seem to be at a standstill like you are, but from my chronic kid BTDT thinking is the crud is now loosening and the cough gets more productive now that the antibiotics are doing the job. Sorry bout the typos have not slept in a long time.
I hope your daughter gets better soon. And sorry you have to deal with alot of chaos right now!
Take her in — don’t worry if they think you’re worrying for nothing (and all that crap) — there are worse parents that hound docs over nothing — this IS something. (I so know what you mean about those dysfunctional relationships…)
Hugs – hope she is breathing free and easier real soon!
Take her back to the doctor. Just do it. Better safe than sorry. Don’t ask me to explain. You don’t want the story. What can they do? Tell you she’s fine? Then it’s yippee time anyway! Go. Don’t mess with pneumonia.
I hope your daughter feels better soon. I know I hate it when my kids are sick, I feel so helpless even though I’m doing everything I can. Hang in there.
Go. go. go. So what if he gives you the eye roll. 🙂 Better to be safe than sorry. My daughter and I deal with this all the time. She gets it every year about this time. Sigh…..She has asthma and severe allergies and I do too. Mine is under control, her’s not as well, so I can understand how you feel and how your baby girl is feeling. Hope she is better soon. Hang in there Mama.
I would take her back too, especially if you feel like you should. My son had pneumonia 2 years ago and was in the hospital for 2 days. Did they take her oxygen? When I took him it was 86 % we had an e-ray and they admitted him. Hope she feels better soon. ((Hugs))
This breaks my heart. I’ve had similar problems with my seven-year-old son. When he was in kindergarten, he was very sick and was eventually diagnosed with asthmatic bronchitis, but only after having been diagnosed–the same day–with pneumonia and croup, and had been sent home with antibiotics. He worsened, even with albuterol, at home. He just really needed extra help–like, hospital help. It took multiple doctors looking at the x-rays and listening to him to get the diagnosis that stuck, and he was admitted to the hospital. My point is: if she’s not doing better, I would take her back. With respiratory stuff, it’s better safe than sorry. That’s the advice I’ve been given over and over, and I believe it unswervingly.
I’ve had a couple wacky incidents with his lung x-rays during his lifetime, and was finally told by a pediatric infectious disease specialist (sigh) that little children’s lung x-rays are often misread. They are just different from adults’ and sometimes a specialist needs to have a look.
Does your doctor have a nurse? My kids (knock wood) haven’t been really sick in a long time but when they were younger, I could call and talk to the nurse. My kid’s doctor was pretty awsome though because he would often call me after his nurse had talked me off a ledge.
Sorry your kiddo is under the weather. We have a 3 year old who has the same sort of issues and any little cough piques our senses a bit. I hope she gets to feeling better soon!
Hugs and love to you and your little one. I hope she’s belting out the ABC song again real soon!
I would call the clinic and ask questions since she is not doing better than you thought she should. Also, sorry you have a lot of other junk on your plate – keep your chin up.
Oh, poor girl. Well, girlS. Both of you!
I never get the doctor thing right. If I take them in, it’s almost always unnecessary. If I don’t, I end up shooting myself in the foot at 4 am on a Friday night. Grah.
Hope she feels better soon.
I wish I had had a mom like you.
I hope they at least gave you a nebulizer or some albuterol cough syrup. Even if the antibiotics are working, it sounds like it is going to take a minute for the gunk (yes that is the medical term) to clear out of her lungs.
I’m with everybody else. Call your doctor back. Eye rolls are easier to handle than constant worrying about what to do 🙂
Hope the little one feels better! It’s so hard when they have a cough. It’s a fine line between a productive cough getting rid of the ickies and if the cough is signaling something worse.
“In an instant, everything was different. Friendships were severed, lives were in ruin.” I don’t know what your specific situation is, but I think I understand how you feel. Sorry. It sucks.
Hope G gets better fast! Hugs
Hmm, did they put her on steroids too? Sounds like she probably needs them. I’d take her back in. I am with you, lung stuff you can’t really ignore. I hope she starts feeling better soon.
On the other? Huge hugs. Friendships that end can be like a knife to the heart.
Oh, pneumonia. I know you so well.
If she isn’t improving on the antibiotics you need to take her back to the doctor.
I have two asthma kids and frequently find myself in the pediatrician’s office, receiving prescriptions for antibiotics and inhalers and nebulizer solutions. I have a multistep process I go through when the girls start with a cold. Lungs are NOT fun to mess with.
If only breathing were optional…
I hope she feels better soon!
Just a thought…there is a pertussis (whooping cough) outbreak in California right now. I’m no doctor, but something to ask about. Hope G feels better soon and that things get back to a new normal for you. Sorry to hear about your DRAMA!
Oh honey, this, too, shall pass. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but it will.
As for G, I’m echoing the general sentiment here that you go back to the doctor. My father was healthy as a horse and died from complications from pneumonia…it’s not something to eff around with.
And if they roll their eyes at you, just smile patiently and tell them to check her again. That’s what they’re paid to do.
Hugs for G and a speedy recovery for BOTH of you xo
Nebulizer or just inhaler? We use Singulair over here (this is NOT a product endorsement) and it seems to help. I hate pneumonia and asthma so much, they are dangerous as hell. The doctors and I go back and forth on the steroids, because I know my kid is going to most likely struggle with this her whole life, and I don’t need her lungs even more broken down then they already are. But I need her to be safe and healthy. Keep at it, and you guys will all be fine.
I’ve had pneumonia as an adult. I cannot EVEN imagine what it would be like as a kid! Let alone the MOM of a kid with pneumonia. I hope she gets better soon. (And I’d be at that doctor so fast your head would spin.) (which may or may not be a good thing when you are not feeling well.) (but whatever… go back to the doctor.)
As for the shit/fan/hitting thing… I could say all the stuff people say “Sorry for your troubles.” “Things will get better.” yadda yadda yadda. But you know, sometimes you have to go through the shit to find the shiny stuff; to find out who your REAL FRIENDS are; to find out who is gonna stick with your through the CRAP. I know… that sounds sappy too. Guess what? I AM A SAP! and proud of it. Mostly. Ok. not all the time.
Hugs to you and your girlie!
PS. A humidifier helped me. a LOT. =o)
I didn’t know G had RSV. I 1,000% know what the fear is. My little man had it at 6 weeks and now as he’s approaching his 2nd bday can you say 2 hospitalizations, oxygen, and now w/ daycare he is on pulmicort all winter and the last month he’s been chronically ill?
Was it the fever that made you wonder if it was something more? I ask because the little man has been battling some upper respiratory shit for 3 weeks–2 rounds of zithromax and 1 round of omnicef hasn’t killed it. No one has suggested xrays .They did in the past when he was small but now? Nada.
Hmm maybe I should ask/push it. No fever though.
So from one RSV mom to another, I know the feeling. I hate it too.
Hope she gets better fast.
Although my daughter is 14 we live in SOCal also just a heads up. Daughter was coughing and wheezing was being treated for pneumonia/ bronchial crap and it was not going away, wasn’t getting worse but not better either. So doctor did some testing sure enough she had Pertussis/whooping cough even though she had been vacinated.
All better now but Health Dept was notified and they had to contact us also… going around bad in SOCal. I know G is younger but just a heads up if she doesnt get better.
Did they put her on oral steroids? If not and she’s still coughing/wheezing, they should.
Sometimes pneumonia is viral, so the antibiotics won’t work and you’ll have to wait it out. Hope it is all better by now, though.