The dotter was better yesterday. The fever, at its highest in the morning, was around 101.5. She was bouncy and chipper and happy, and I was gladly imaginging returning to the office today.
Then 4 p.m. hit.
And her temp spiked up to 106F again.
And we spent yet another night dosing her up with ibuprofen (the tylenol substitute is worthless. Worthless.).
And there was this gargly cough.
So we trekked off to the pediatrician again today, and sure enough, she has pneumonia. The doc toyed with the idea of tossing her in the hospital, but decided she was "too happy" to be hospitalized. (I knew what he meant, but he should have seen her an hour previously, before the ibuprofen started kicking in.)
So we have zithromax--carefully flavored with orange creamsicle, not orange oil. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter, dotter thinks it's gross.
I have an irrational fear of pneumonia. My maternal grandfather died of it relatively early, and every time my mom comes down with it, I panic internally. The dotter had pneumonia and was thrown in the hospital when she was home only a month, and we were all miserable.
No heading down to the Valley of Death for the FCC Chinese New Year this weekend, after all. But we will be going next weekend for the official Chinese Cultural Center celebration...
Just a quick thank-you to everyone for the good thoughts on the illness, and the great commentary on my various posts. I'd do my usual portmanteau comment response, but...right now, my mind is kind of blank and I'm feeling worn down. Just...thanks. Y'all are a good bunch.
10 Comments:
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At 2/08/2007 07:24:00 PM,
RichardQuerin said… -
At 2/08/2007 08:02:00 PM,
Space Mom said… -
At 2/08/2007 08:31:00 PM,
Granny J said…Hi -- this is not the week for my loved ones! I had a call from Bro. who, with wife Enid, is grounded in the capital of Tierra del Fuego with the grandfather of the trots, which he had for days and days at sea. His problem: recovering sufficiently that he can manage an airplane flight (or 2 or 3). Tell the little one to get well fast. I did after my last bout, thanks to xanthromax (or however it is called.)
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At 2/08/2007 08:47:00 PM,
said…When those fevers spike that high it can be soooo scary. Hope the zithromax helps soon and the Dotter starts feeling better. Pneumonia can be nasty. I had it as a baby and then again as an adult. My niece from Korea-same age as dd- had it two weeks ago-and she also had her flu shot.
Besides freezer pops we let dd have those zinc/pectin lollipops when she is sick. It may be a placebo effect but it does help,esp. if she has a scratchy or sore throat and/or cough. -
At 2/08/2007 09:52:00 PM,
said… -
At 2/09/2007 08:57:00 AM,
said… -
At 2/09/2007 10:21:00 AM,
said… -
At 2/09/2007 12:51:00 PM,
said… -
At 2/09/2007 06:04:00 PM,
MomEtc. said… -
At 2/09/2007 07:01:00 PM,
Julie Pippert said…This sucks for you guys. I'm so sorry.
Get well soon.
Omegamom my friend, I've survived three bouts of pneumonia. Let's see, last bout was about two years ago. My lungs were a bit scarred, a little asthmatic for a short bit, but I've fully recovered.
Just keep on top of it like you are.
Hang in there. And get well soon.
Hi Kate,
Sorry to hear about Dotter's troubles. It hit home for me since my mom entered the hospital 3 weeks back with a bad case of pneumonia (and a mild heart attack to boot). She should have been in there a lot sooner. Frustrating since she's a retired emergency nurse too. Anyway, she's finally back at home after two weeks in there, but she's been quite weakened by the whole ordeal. Definitely not something to be ignored.
Myself, I spent today feeling guilty about having to pin my screaming little girl down to administer eye drops for a case of pinkeye she picked up a day or two ago. Needles? Okay. Medicine? No problemo. But eyedrops? Fuhgeddaboutit! I spent 2 full hours negotiating before resorting to force. Definitely not in my repetoire as a father up to this point.
Again, best wishes to Dotter. It sounds like you guys are on top of it.