sickness continues

Last Thursday as in Thursday, September 25th, Meredith's school called to tell me she was crying and not feeling well. She didn't have a fever they said, she just was not her self. Fast forward to today Tuesday, October 7th, my two year old is still not herself.

She came home that Thursday and laid in my bed, she opted to skip dinner and go back to bed. I knew something was terribly wrong with my two year old and didn't know what to do. She had no fever, she had no physical ailments I could see, so I decided to chalk her not being herself up to her new molar she was getting.

On Friday night, Noah started running a temperature. Friday, as in Friday September 26th. I brought him in to the pediatric clinic the next morning on the 27th to find out he had Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Great. So I decided that this was also the reason that Meredith was not feeling so great.

My father-in-law also came to visit that weekend, it was a weekend with two very cranky tikes and a little sleep. Thankfully my father-in-law left early and we were able to all relax a little and get some rest before the start of a new week came.

On Monday morning, Meredith still wasn't herself, but still not running a fever and wasn't complaining of anything specific. I took her to gymnastics thinking some activity and playtime with friends would be good for her. She fell at gym and hurt her arm and cried to go home. We left early. She then threw tantrum after tantrum and again skipped lunch and went to bed. That night, we missed her beloved dancing class because she still just wasn't herself.

On Tuesday, both tikes appeared to be better so off Meredith went to school. She stayed the whole day and was excited when she first got there, but when I picked her up at noon, the teachers told me she had, had a really rough day. They knew this was unusual for her and just thought she "wasn't quite herself."

On Wednesday, October 1st, we were invited to a play date with some pals. Neither tike was running fever and we were getting a little stir crazy so decided to go for pumpkin donuts and finger painting at a friends. That morning before we left everyone was fine. We got there and Meredith ate a donut and finger painted and even asked to play outside. We all ventured outside and about and hour and a half into the play date my daughter completely broke down and asked to go home. And I got really worried....this is so not my daughter. So we came home she refused lunch and asked to go and take a nap. She climbed the stairs by herself and got in her bed on her own. When she awoke from her nap it started.....she threw up her whole donut. I called our friends to let them know that we had possibly exposed them to something unintentionally, but I had no idea what.

On Thursday, I dropped Noah off at Mother's day out and took my daughter to spend the day with me. She was in what I now call meltdown mode the whole day and had been the whole week prior. Meltdown mode was new to us, it meant she would melt down for any little thing, with no explanation. At noon we picked up Noah and went home. She ate lunch, crawled into her bed for a nap and I was hoping we were seeing the light at the end of the sickness tunnel.

On Friday, October 3rd, we woke up bright and early and made plans to get a donut snack, run errands and then meet up with friends for lunch. On our way to the donut shop, Meredith puked all over my car. Her entire breakfast was covering every square inch of herself, her car seat and me. I stripped her down to her naked butt and brought them back home. We did get the donut first which I knew I would be cleaning up later. I then immediately called the pediatrician to bring her in. This "not acting quite herself" had been going on long enough. Now she was vomiting every other day, they had to be something, someone could do.

I brought in to the pediatrician at 4:30pm. I asked the nurse for a bucket, I saw the look in Meredith's eye....that donut from this morning would be reappearing very soon. She handed me the bag and took the history of this "not acting like herself" illness with the occasional vomit. I told them about Noah with hand, foot and mouth and then waited on the doctor. He came in rather promptly and asked me what was going on. I started at the very beginning and went through the I noticed she wasn't herself, my husband has noticed, her teacher has noticed, and on and on. He then examined her and tested her urine. The physical exam was normal, it wasn't her ears, nose, throat, chest or lungs. Her urine was fine and showed she was a little dehydrated, but not to the extent of needing IV fluids.....music to my ears. I truly wanted everything to be fine, but at the same time I knew something was wrong. He then royally pissed me off when I said, I get all those test are fine, but something is wrong with her. She is not herself and hasn't been in over a week. Is it a bug? Can they last that long? I HAVE MOTHER INSTINCT YOU KNOW! He then asked me what I wanted to be wrong with her. The look on my face must have said it all because he followed it with...."You know some moms come in her thinking their children have brain cancer and stuff like that"."

What I wanted to reply to him after that response was not very nice....at all. But I didn't say anything I sat there in shock......did he really just mention brain cancer. Does he think that is professional? Does he have a flippin license to practice medicine? What the hell. He then dismissed us with nothing, no prescription and no diagnosis.

On the way home in Josh's acura the donut reappeared. It was gross I will save you the details. I wanted to call back the ass of a pediatrician we saw and say "see, I told you she was sick, now come clean my car." But I didn't, I just went home worried.

That weekend we basically hung low either at my mom's or at home. We visited with my 90 year old grandpa who I am sure we infected with whatever it is we have. On Sunday I started feeling like death and on Monday Josh took off to help me with the kids. On Monday afternoon, Meredith threw up again. After being okay Saturday and Sunday, except for being very lethargic and barely eating, I thought we were getting back to normal. We missed gymnastics and dance again and just laid low watching Nemo for the 875th time.

Today I sent her to school, I know I am a bad mother. She wanted to go and we don't have fever. Next week Mrs. Jenny probably won't have anyone at school except for Meredith. But she did good, she cried a little, she didn't get sick, she ate her snack, but then she came home and didn't eat lunch and went to bed. She woke up and has been moping around since and is still pretty tired.

Tomorrow we go back to the pediatric clinic to see her pediatrician to try and figure out what is going on. No, I don't want anything to be wrong with Meredith, I just want her to be her self again. I also not expecting much. Wish us luck. I have no idea what is going on, I am hoping it is a 2 week bug....do they have those for two year olds? I'm also hoping she is her self again soon and Noah misses this bug. Say a little prayer for us. Hopefully I'll be blogging about something other than sickness very soon.