April, 2009 (Me sick again)

I had gunk in my eye when I returned from our trip. April 1 started a whole new round of illness for me. School called and said that I was not eating and seemed sluggish, so Daddy picked me up and took me to the doctor. We found out that I had pink eye in both of my eyes and seemed to have another respiratory infection.

The good news was, Grandma and Papa came to visit me on Wednesday night on their way to Hilton Head for vacation! Even though I did not feel good, I played and played with them that night. They had to leave the next morning, but waited a few hours to leave so Nana could come over to stay with me because I had pink eye and a fever and could not go to school. We were so blessed that Nana was on spring break and was available to spend a whole day with me. And even though I was sick, I love to spend time with Grandma, Papa and Nana so it seemed like a party just for me.

That same morning (Thursday), when Mommy was running (she was excited to work out again because she did not on our trip), she felt a weird feeling in her back. It felt pretty sore so she stopped running and hoped that the feeling would go away.

Throughout the day, Mommy’s back started feeling worse and worse and she had a hard time moving and picking me up. That night she woke up at 4 am because her back muscle was in spasm and she could not move her hand above her head or even get out of bed. Luckily, Daddy had some muscle relaxers for this sort of thing so Mommy took one and got a little bit more sleep. No, Mommy usually does not take medicines that are not hers, which should tell you how much this hurt. At this same time, Daddy’s back was so bad that he scheduled surgery. Mommy and Daddy were not in the best health for healthy people! And I was not in the best health either!

Luckily, Nana was still on spring break so came over to stay with me on Friday. Mommy was really glad because she could not pick me up because her back hurt so much. Mommy went to the doctor that morning, and unfortunately, all the doctor could tell her was that she probably pulled a muscle in her back. The way to help this was to limit activity and lifting. Hmm. Mommy probably could have figured that out on her own. Mommy cannot take anti-inflammatory medicine because her throat swells, so there was little she could do. The doctor did say that it was okay to take Daddy’s muscle relaxers. Mommy was able to meet her team (Jeff, MK and Lisa, Carol could not come) for lunch then headed back home. Nana left that afternoon and Daddy came home early so he could help with me. We were quite a site to see!

The weekend was okay. Mommy went to the Sharonville Easter Egg hunt because our church was handing out goodies to the kids who attended. I was going to go but I was sick so stayed home with Daddy instead. On Sunday, Mommy put prayer requests for Daddy and me at church. She believes whole-heartedly in the power of prayer and although she usually does not share our concerns broadly, figured that this was a good time to ask for prayer.

After church and my nap on Sunday, we all went to the zoo (not Bella). It was a cool, nice day and we had a blast. I really love the carousel too! I love how it goes round and round and I get to wave to everyone, including Daddy who are standing there, just waiting for me to come around again. I enjoyed it so much that Mommy and I rode it two times in a row! I was very sad when it was time to leave and I could not go round and round again. We also saw the giraffes, the elephants, the zebras, polar bears and flamingos. I know about all of these animals from one of my favorite books “Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?”

On Sunday night I was still not myself. I did not have a fever most of Saturday or Sunday so Mommy and Daddy thought I was better. When Mommy checked my temperature, though, it was 103 degrees! That meant not only was I not better (even though I was on an anti-biotic) but that I could not go to school and see my friends again. Because I was sick, “Aunt JJ” came over to stay with me in the morning so both Mommy and Daddy could go to work. I had a great time with JJ! Mommy came home at noon to get us all lunch, put me down for my nap and to get on a conference call at 1 pm. It was really busy but she made it! Mommy got me a doctor appointment at 5 pm and I had to get another chest x-ray and blood taken before the appointment. It was a long afternoon! Daddy met us at the doctor’s office too. Dr. Ringel said that the bloodwork told her that there was not some big issue and the chest x-ray showed that the pneumonia in my right lung was better but it looked like I had something else going on in my left lung. She thought this was all positive and thought that putting me on a “controller” would help with the lungs. I was not sure what this meant but was suspicious.

That night a nice guy came over and gave me my very own “bubbles.” This is what I call my nebulizer and mask. Remember the “screaming treatment” that we already told you about? This is the machine for those. Luckily, Mommy and Daddy were much better trained and after the first treatment, that night, I had no problem with the treatments. They also made me feel much better! By the next day I was back to myself, had a ton more energy and was jumping and giggling and having a great time all day and all night! My teachers said it was great to have me back! Daddy went over to school for three days to give me my treatment during lunch. I did not mind them at all and even lean into the mask (called “bubbles”) to make sure I got all of the good medicine. It’s not nearly as scary as it was the first time in the doctor’s office.