The Sickies

Because this blog is for me to remember stuff as Hadley grows older -- I'm playing catch up with some things that have happened around here, recently. Let's go back to May. 

 

In the middle of May (I believe the 17th?) Hadley girl began to run a slight fever. She was acting fussy, wasn't eating much, and was overall acting funny. I had a gut feeling that something was wrong. It was already five o'clock at night so I knew that there was no way I could get her in to see her personal doctor.

I slightly panicked. 

I've never taken Hadley to an Urgent Care before. Mostly because she really likes her doctor. She always has and still seems to now. I have never wanted to confuse her by taking her to anyone else. 

I had no choice. Like I said, "gut feeling." 

I took her to the Pediatric Urgent Care here in town. I was very impressed with them. Hadley thought it was a fun place because it was so colorful and "playful" for kids. 

When we were taken back to the examination room, we talked to the nurse and we decided that to go ahead and run a Strep test would be best. 

The doctor came in and she told me that the test came back "negative."

Say WHHHHAAAATTTTT? I thought for sure this is what she had. Luckily, so did the doctor. She decided that despite the test saying "negative," she was going to go ahead and treat it as if it was Strep.

Since Hadley had a fever she was obviously considered contagious. I took off work the rest of the week so we could stay home and rest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me and Hadley playing while she was recovering from "Strep."

 

 

 

 

 

Two days after Hadley started her antibiotic she seemed to be feeling so much better. Thank God! She was still running a slight fever, but we knew she was also teething (all four, 2 yr old molars coming in!!). We didn't think much of it. 

Saturday morning Hadley got up and around. She was extra cuddly. She wasn't feeling 100% yet, but acting much better. I was gone for most of the morning with Zumba. When I got home I put her down for a nap. She took a decent nap, but woke up incredibly hot. She had a fever of 102.3. 

Something was absolutely not right. Something was very wrong. 

...again, gut feeling. 

Lee kept insisting it was just her teething, but said we could take her back to Urgent Care if I felt necessary. 

I couldn't kick the feeling of something was wrong so we took her in, again. 

The doctor look in her throat and jumped back. She looked at me and asked "Did you see that?!!!" I said no so she showed me. Hadley's tonsils were literally so swollen they were touching. They were completely cover in white pus with infection. 

They ran a Strep test again. Negative, again!!

They ran even tested for mono. Negative! 

Lee holding Hadley while waiting at the Urgent Care. She was so sick she couldn't even sit up.

After being there for hours (literally! We were there from 6 - 10 pm) they just chalked it up as "exacerbated tonsillitis." They changed her antibiotic. We hunted down a 24 hr. Walgreens Pharmacy. Got her medicine and put her to bed. 

She woke up in the morning fever free. 

This different medication cured her sickness and she was fully better within about three days. Hadley's personal doctor contacted me for a follow up. He said that children under 3 yrs old generally do not have tonsil issues. He said that since this has happened that we will need to keep an eye on her tonsils.

Speaking of check ups... I think I need to schedule Hadley's 24 month check up. 

...I'll get on that tomorrow.

chaos

I've been out of the blogger world lately. We've been so busy and coming and going. It's madness around here.

Two weeks ago, Hadley came down with a runny nose. No biggie - until it turned green!!! T.M.I.?? Then she started pulling at her left ear! GREAT! We made a doctors appointment and got her checked out. No ear infection and no sickies - thank goodness!

This past Memorial Day weekend Hadley and I packed up and headed to North Missouri with my family, for the yearly family reunion. I haven't been in the last four years. This year I was determined to go. It is an eight hour drive so I was nervous how Hadley would do. She did great. But when got there she didn't seem to feel well. She was a little "off" all weekend. Then she came down with a fever. THEN she didn't sleep at night. She cried every five minutes from ten pm until midnight! So I let her sleep in bed with me. She has never, never, EVER, in her eleven months of life EVER slept in bed with us. That is the one thing I was adamant about never doing. Well, I guess things change when you're eight hours from home, without Daddy, and running a fever! OY! Luckily, on the day home, she seemed to act a little better. She crashed when we got home.

Then there is today - she woke up covered in a mysterious rash? What the heck is going on with my baby love? So I call the doctor and they suggest I bring her in today. I took her in and when the nurse came out she reached for her with excitement. THAT'S how you know when you are in the doctor's office too often. Apparently the rash is the result of a little virus working out of her little system. (see previous paragraph about her fever and acting funny).

...all while Lee is working nights! I have no idea how single mother's do it. They are super heroes.

Obsessed

Has anyone ever watched the show "My Mom is Obsessed?" This show is nuts.

Each episode there are different women with different "obsession." I caught one episode of a woman obsessed with weight. A woman being obsessed with her weight (especially in today's society) is completely normal. BUT this woman's obsession was on another level: 

*She weighed her self every-single-morning.

*Works about every-single-day for at least two - three hours. 

She also obsesses about her daughters weight in fear that she will gain weight when she gets older. Everyone gains weight as they get older. This lady "blames" her weight issues on when she had her first pregnancy she gained 50 lbs. Totally normal. Maybe 50 lbs. was more than her doctor suggested, but still normal. She is so paranoid about her daughters potential weight gain that she: 

*Makes her daughter call her at lunch every-single-day so she can tell her the options the school is providing so she can tell her what she is allowed to eat and what she is not allowed. 

*Lectures her daughter when she eats anything that she does not give her permission to eat.

*Grounds her daughter if she goes out for pizza (or any other place that involves food) with her friends. 

*On occasion weighs her daughter if she feels like she has eaten things behind her back or hasn't felt comfortable with her meal choices that week. 

I'm serious - this show is nuts!...impartially this lady!

I just don't understand how this lady really thought she was "helping" her daughter prevent future "weight issues" by being so critical of her. It was more like she was preparing her for her future eating disorder and self-conscious body images. 

Our job as parents - especially mother's to young girls - are to empower them. 

To brush their hair, when they are 4 years old, and them how beautiful they are just the way they are...

To remind them, when they are 13 years old, that all girls go through that weird phase when we gain weight, change shapes, and feel awkward...

To set an example, when they are 17 years old, and teach them to dress modestly. (Cor. 6:19-20)

...so on and so forth.

You see where I'm going here.

"The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and good conscience and a sincere faith"

1 Timothy 1:5 NIV 

g-free for me.

With tests showing that my husband's gallbladder was only function at 16% (40% is considered low-functioning), we assumed that the removal of it, back in 2010, would cure his pain. Now, with it being almost two years later, he is still in pain. 

Recently, he began doing some research. He would search his symptoms and ironically gallbladder disease would never show up as a cause. After a couple weeks of research, all signs point to gluten intolerance. 

Do you realize how many things contain some form of gluten? It's unreal! We went through our cabinets and realized that we would need to throw about just about everything...literally, everything! 

No wheat, in any form.

No barley.

No malt.

No rye.

No breaded or floured or "crusted" meat, poultry, seafood, or vegetables.

No soy sauce.

No teriyaki sauce.

...but after years of pain, we have decided to give gluten free a try. 

Last week I did all of our basic grocery shopping at Aldi. Ya know, your fruits, vegetables, meats, your basics. Then I went to Reasor's in Jenks to buy my g-free flour and bread and whatever else I stumbled upon. The Reasor's in Jenks has the largest variety of g-free food because Mr. and Mrs. Reasor live in Jenks, OK. Mrs. Reasor has Celiacs Disease. So to accommodate Mrs. Reasor's g-free lifestyle, they keep the Jenks store fully stoked with things she can eat. Lucky for us, Jenks is the closest Reasor's to our house :) With all that being said, I assumed that changing to g-free ingredients, cooking, and lifestyle, it would be really expensive. Well, come to find out, I spent the exact same amount of money that I would have just buying all my regular groceries at Wal-Mart. It all worked out!! 

We haven't fully "converted" to completely g-free yet. We are trying things here and there. Lee tried the sliced bread that I bought. He said it doesn't have a bad flavor, but the texture is weird (which we knew would be). He said, "Imagine eating a sandwich on a cracker. With every bite you take, it crumbles and falls apart." But like I told him, there were plenty of other brands of bread we can try. 

Last night I made our favorite: Fried Chicken :) Who doesn't love fried chicken? Well, it was my first attempt at doing it g-free and with g-free flour. It worked out and was pretty yummy too!

I planned to do more g-free cooking this week, but I threw my back out like an old person yesterday so I'm out of commission for a few day. Bummer.