Sick Days Around Christmastime

-
This week has been quite the week with Faith missing three days of school due to being sick. She started getting sick on Sunday and didn't sleep well at all that night, so I kept her home on Monday. Tuesday she actually seemed to be getting better and I was hopeful about her going to school on Wednesday so she could take part in all of the pre-Christmas festivities at school. But Tuesday night was a horrible night for sleep and we both ended up sleeping until 11 the next morning to catch up.

Yesterday I finally took her to the doctor and here she has not only a sinus infection but an ear infection as well. Poor girl! So of course, now I am kicking myself for not taking her in sooner. The thing with Faith though is that even though she is sick, she doesn't act sick. She's still smiley, still laughing and yelling, still her cheery self. 

If I had a sinus infection and an ear infection, Lord knows I would be anything but cheery! And even when she just has a simple cold, she doesn't sleep well. But Tuesday night I knew something was wrong when she not only didn't sleep well but she cried a lot throughout the night.


 It was kind of cute when we did go to the doctor. She was actually excited about going. She thought she was going to see her regular doctor, but we couldn't get in with him, so we had to go to the walk-in clinic. We told her it was going to be a surprise who we got to see.

We got in fairly quickly and the nurse who took our info was actually one of the nurses who helped take care of her in the NICU. She seemed glad to see how much Faith had grown and how well she was doing. After the nurse took her temp and turned to her computer to input the information, Faith beat her to the punch by asking, "Any medications?" The nurse laughed and said, "Wow, she knows the drill!"

Later, a very subdued, very laid-back doctor walked in and the first thing he said to her in a very monotonous voice was, "Hi, Faith. I'm not as exciting as Dr. Ocejo." Boy was that the truth! Dr. Ocejo usually laughed with Faith, joked around with her, tickled her, even head-butted her, but not this guy! Faith still seemed to like him though., especially after he complimented her on how well she spoke.

After we received our diagnoses and got our prescription for antibiotics, we ventured down to pediatric therapy and got to hand out a few Christmas cards to the receptionists and a few of Faith's therapists. We also had a nice talk with our friend, Jacey. If anyone can turn a medical appointment into a fun thing, it's Faith!

After we got home, Faith wanted to play on her computer keyboard so she could pretend to be a nurse and put in my information. She asked, "What's your first name? Can you spell that? And your phone number?" She would make a great receptionist one day!

So, our getting ready for Christmas has been on hold for this week and I guess we'll see how Faith feels these next couple of days before deciding to do things like going to church and over to a friend's house for Christmas dinner.

As of right now, I'm having a nice, relaxing time catching up on my blog and other writing while respite care is here to look after her. I'm listening to my new Susan Boyle "The Gift" Christmas CD. It's really good and has many of my all-time favorites, including Do You Hear What I Hear, The First Noel, O Holy Night and Away in a Manger.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

My Little Vacay to Nebraska

-
Image
When one thinks vacation, they probably don't think about Nebraska, especially in November! But when I heard that a friend of mine was going be having surgery in Omaha, I began thinking about how great it would be to go down that way, especially since my sister, Tesa has lived in Lincoln for 17 years, and I have never had the chance to visit.  Lo and behold, my dad had also been talking about heading South to Texas in November to hunt wild pigs. My two respite care workers were available to look after Faith starting on a Friday morning through Tuesday evening. All I had to do was book a flight so I could get back home.  Despite all the details falling into place, I was still anxious about it. I haven't flown since Faith was a baby, so I was especially nervous about that part. I prayed about it and believed that everything would be okay.  On the morning of my departure, Faith woke up just in time and her respite care staff was able to get her dressed and take her to her da...
Read more

My Tetanus Shot Ordeal: A Real Pain in the Arm

-
Image
Last Wednesday I had my yearly doctor exam and when she said I should get my tetanus shot updated, I didn't think twice about it. The nurse said my arm would be sore for a couple of days, gave me a handout and stuck the needle in my arm.  The next day my arm was sore and although I found it a little harder to pick up and carry Faith, I was glad the pain wasn't going to last long. Boy was I wrong! But not only was my arm sore, my whole body was. I felt achy and extremely tired. According to a medical site on the Internet, these were mild side effects of the Tetanus shot. If these were only mild side effects, I would really hate to have them at a moderate or severe level. My arm is still red and sore on day 2 after my tetanus shot. On Friday, two days after getting the shot I felt so tired that I took a four-hour nap after getting Faith off to school. Then on Saturday I took a three-hour nap up until 7 o'clock, but still felt tired and was able to go back to sleep around 10. ...
Read more

Goodbye to Our Special Tomato Adaptive Car Seat

-
Image
Today we said goodbye to our Special Tomato adaptive car seat. And special it was. It helped Faith stay safe and secure in our Hyundai driving her back and forth to therapy appointments, shopping excursions, and many other activities. It also helped us through our time of not being able to afford an accessible van. Like all adaptive equipment , the special car seat was expensive and although it is the law that a child is secured in a car seat while traveling in a vehicle, neither health insurance nor Medicaid would pay for it.  Thankfully, we were able to receive funds from the fundraiser, the Great American Bike Race ( GABR ) which helps families pay for services and equipment that insurance doesn't cover for kids with cerebral palsy and related disabilities.  After doing research on the Internet and talking to Faith's physical and occupational therapists, we decided to go for the Special Tomato adaptive car seat. You would think something with that name would b...
Read more

Guest Post: Who Needs Sympathy?

-
Image
Guest Post by Stephen Gallup Last week, a columnist for the local newspaper interviewed me in connection with a memoir I wrote that’s being published this year. It was a comfortable, low-key discussion in which he asked about the basic facts regarding my disabled son Joseph and what I’ve learned that might be of value to other families. It was the sort of dialog that required no special preparation in advance. I just sat down with him and talked about the subject closest to my heart. But looking back on it now, one thing bothers me. In concluding the interview, the reporter expressed heartfelt sympathy for everything I’ve endured. He was being more than polite. I mean, he laid the compassion on with a spatula. Startled, and already thinking ahead to what I had to do next that day, I just thanked him and said goodbye. But now that final note troubles me. I don’t want sympathy! First of all, from the point of view of a new author hoping to promote his book, sympathy...
Read more