Samantha called me on Monday telling me she wasn't feeling well. By Tuesday night it was kinda obvious.
Wednesday morning she woke up with a fever of 102. I kept her home from school and we went to the pediatrician & the eye dr. The pediatrician told us she had an ear infection. I was not a happy camper. She has been ear infection free for over a YEAR. The ENT & I were actually discussing on Monday when I had Brooke in there about how they will all eventually outgrow it...like Sam. So, the pediatrician started her on an antibiotic. She slept most of the day.
Thursday I took her temperature before I ever woke her up. Her temperature was still 101 so I didn't even bother waking her up to send her to school. By about 2 pm on Thursday Sam told me she wanted to try going to school. So, I sent her to school for about the last hour. After school she seemed to be doing ok, so we went to dance. After dance it was apparent that we had done too much. She went to bed kinda early, without doing any homework.
This morning I woke her up & told her to get ready for school. She immediately began telling me she wasn't feeling well, etc. I pleaded with her to go to school at least long enough to take her spelling test. Nope. Wasn't happening. So, I called the ENT's office to see if there were any available appointments (which there wasn't). So, I asked if I could leave a message for Dr. Blotter. I briefly told the receptionist what was going on. Less than 10 minutes later a nurse called me back & I then explained to her what was going on. Now, let's face it, I am no stranger to prescriptions, infections, or much of anything in the way of ear/sinus infections. The nurse proceeded to tell me that the prescription would stay in her system for 10 days even though she only took if for 3 (duh the kid is allergic to penicillin, all she ever takes is zythromax). Then she told me that it was likely just a virus but, if I was that worried, she would squeeze us in at 10:45 so Dr. Blotter could look at her. I took the appointment & hung up rather annoyed with the nurse.
Fast forward to a little after 10 when I arrive at the ENT's office. We sat and waited and waited and waited. On the bright side, I was able to almost finish my required reading from my text book for my meeting next Friday. Finally we go in. When he saw me he said that we shouldn't have jinxed ourselves earlier this week by saying they outgrow it! I explain to Dr. Blotter what's going on so he takes a look. Well apparently her left ear has created a vacuum of sorts and her ear drum is being sucked into the ear canal. Awesome, right? Her right ear is a little waxy, but nothing major. He takes a look at her nose. It is the worst looking nose he's seen in a long time. It looks "very, very allergic". What does this mean? Allergies. He said that with her being on a prescription and her not getting better would be because the pollen count has gone way up. He gave me two prescriptions. One is a steroid that she takes SIX times a DAY for SIX DAYS. The other is a nasal spray that she does 2 times a day. We will also need to continue the Claritan we've been doing for a week. And, last but certainly not least, we scheduled allergy testing. (She's not happy about this one after watching the video & seeing the kids with hives on their arms.) We finally left the ENT's office a little after 12.
I find it odd that neither Travis or I has bad pollen allergies but Samantha is apparently going to suffer horrendously. Travis suffers from hay fever a little, but nothing major. And really only when he helps bale hay & is in the thick of it. I don't have any pollen allergies at all (I'm allergic to just about everything else though).
So this week we've had the pleasure of:
1-Brooke's tube was clogged again at our appointment on Monday so we get to continue ear drops & go back next week.
2-5 chiropractor appointments for various people in the house.
3-A trip to the pediatrician for Sam which resulted in 1 rx & an ear infection diagnosis
4-A trip to the ENT which resulted in 2 more rx & an allergy diagnosis & allergy testing for Sam
5-I missed 2 days of work & am getting a tickle in my throat & a cough
6-A trip to the eye dr. for Sam which resulted in a nearsighted diagnosis for her & picking out new glasses
7-In between all these fun appointments we've had piano lessons, dance 2 x, me trying to get back with potential sponsors for Relay & a Relay for Life meeting!
It's a good thing their dad comes home on Monday so I can take a break from the dr.'s office! Thank goodness it's FRIDAY!
