Sickie- Part two

Molli shared her cooties with me so I suggested Myles take our car to work since his truck was outside, covered in snow.  I had big plans to stay in, nurse Molli and myself back to health, catch up on laundry and unpack all the junk I had so meticulously packed away just a couple days before.  None of this happened.  Instead, we threw blankets on the floor and sprawled out on them while neglecting “Finding Nemo.” 

She crashed on the floor on the "blanket bed"

It did not take long to realize that I was not going to get anything done and it was a day of survival, not productivity.  We survived, but it was rough.  Molli was obviously not well, and was getting worse quickly.  The poor girl has been treated for pneumonia 4 times since last March and I’m learning the signs quite well.  After two breathing treatments and a conversation with a triage nurse, I called Myles to come home.  She was breathing fast and retracting, despite the breathing treatments. 

crashed again in the dining room, waiting to go to the hospital

We got to the hospital and went directly to the respiratory unit, to avoid the ER fees. Thankfully our favorite respiratory therapist, Kevin, was there and Molli’s doctor was the pediatrician on call.  All things worked out perfectly and Dr. Iagulli, who obviously knows Molli by now, got her admitted directly without having to be seen. 

No one wants to be in the hospital.  Duh.  Hospitals are unpleasantly cold and you can smell the battle between disinfectants and germs everywhere.  They are also creepy.  Honestly though, I commend everyone who helped treat my precious daughter.  They were so compassionate and tried hard to make it as positive an experience as possible for Molli.  They put “The Little Mermaid” sheets and comforter on the bed, started her off with a coloring book and a small stack of stickers and brought in little toys for her throughout the visit.  Everyone got a little silly with her to make her laugh and honestly, I think she even enjoyed the experience.  Even when she was discharged she spotted her respiratory therapist, Kevin, or “Mr. Heaven,” and took off running down the hall to him.  He was great with her!

Pretty Ariel bed!

They brought her these sunglasses, along with several other little goodies.

Janel and Ryan Elliot came to visit... Absolutely made her day!

She fell asleep snuggling with Daddy in his bed, watching "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" for the millionth time that weekend.

After monitoring her for the day and night, an x-ray and drawing labs it was concluded that she had a viral infection in her lungs and it was asthma causing the bulk of her problems.  The plus side is that we got to avoid another round of antibiotics, the down side is that she has asthma. The other plus side is that she was treated very effectively with Prednisolone.  However, the downside is that Prednisolone temporarily hijacked my girl! Insomnia stole her night, then lethargy took over in the morning, followed by a week of insanity.

She started out VERY lethargic.  Sloooow moving, super tired

This was before all hell broke loose.  She was exhausted from staying up most of the night and walked out from her room, sat on the floor like a zombie then ended up asleep right here.

Eventually I moved her to the couch, gave her some "strawberry milk," aka Pediasure, and she zonked again while I made her oatmeal.

This is her "playing." The poor thing had nothing left in her.

I have never seen such dramatic changes in personality.  The child hardly slept and was moody like I’ve never seen her before.  I’m not talking about a little fit here and there, I’m talking a full on meltdown over next to nothing.  She would be playing just fine when suddenly she would become explosively angry. This was constant.  Do you know how hard it is to figure out the balance of discipline in this situation? Is she out of control because she’s sick? Because she’s Molli? Because she’s two? Because of the meds? Time-outs couldn’t contain her safely, her bed couldn’t contain her safely and after being hit and bitten and eventually I couldn’t even contain (restrain) her safely.  I had to strap her into her car seat and call the doctor.  It was seriously scary.  Her doctor confirmed that this behavior was directly a side effect of the medication (mood changes, unusual behavior and insomnia) We cut the dose in half and it helped but you better believe I was counting down the days to throw that stuff away! 

She is now back to her normal, silly self and we are desperately awaiting spring.  We need some good weather so we can spend more time outside and hopefully avoid getting sick for a good long time.  This poor girl has been such an amazing sport in this maze of colds, pneumonia, asthma and the like. I think it’s safe to say she deserves a break, and summer will be perfect for it.  So come on spring, deliver your refreshing and rejuvenating promises.  We are ready.