Trust Your Instincts

Yesterday was not a good day at the Silva house. Things are looking up today but yesterday, man o man. Not a good day.

Cam woke up with a 101 fever. No big deal. Popped some Motrin in him and let him rest. I made an appointment (first available) for 4:20pm.

I don't know why I felt compelled to check Cam's temp every 30 minutes. I just did. He was on the couch looking very sick. It kept hovering around 101. Check 30 minutes later. 101. Check 30 minutes later. 101. Check 30 minutes later. 104. We had an appointment scheduled for 4:20pm. First instinct, we can't wait until 4:20pm. He did not look good. He was shaking hard from shivering. He couldn't open his eyes because he said they hurt too badly. He was so hot his face looked sunburned.

Long story short, it took about 2 hours for his fever to come down at Children's urgent care. He had strep. Fluid in his ear (not an ear infection yet). He needed a dose of antibiotics at urgent care and another before the day was over. The Dr. said if we hit him hard with oral antibiotics we could avoid needing an iv. We spent 3 hours at urgent care that trip. His fever had finally come down to a respectable 102 and they felt comfortable sending us home.

Fast forward...we're home. Steve got Colin from school. I had to step out to pick up Cam's prescription. When I came back an hour later, I found Steve in the bathroom with Cam. Cam could not stop vomiting. I know that as a parent, watching your child vomit is never pleasant. But this just seemed different. This wasn't the "Mommy I feel like I'm about to toss my cookies and my face just turned three shades of green". This was "Gut wrenching, my stomach hurts, my head hurts, I can't open my eyes, and can't swallow, my fever is going up again" vomit.

When I called the nurse line to see if this could be a reaction from his meds, I did not get a good feeling. She urged that Cam had a stomach bug on top of strep. She told me to wait 3 hours and call back. Also, no Motrin, Tylenol or antibiotics. Her solution was to cool him with a washcloth, wrap him when he was shivering, give him chilled Gatorade (but not for 3 hours) and if I felt like he needed it,get suppositories to bring his fever down. I could not give him antibiotics until the morning and only after he had eaten.

Um, no thank you. I was looking at my kid. He had snot coming out of his nose, vomit coming out of his mouth and a 103 fever (and climbing). He was shivering so badly he couldn't hold the puke bucket. He was crying because he felt like his throat was closing, he wouldn't open his eyes. Wait 3 hours? No. Thank. You.

So, my instinct told me to take him in again. Let me tell you, when you go to urgent care twice in a day, they are very very nice to you. Long story short, the vomiting was due to his belly being swollen. His belly swelling was due to the lymph glands that are in your belly which had been attacked by the strep. Between his high fever and strep swelling his lymph glands, he was nauseous. They gave him anti-nausea meds. We waited 30 minutes. Then a sip of Gatorade. We waited 15 minutes. Then more Gatorade. Wait. Tylenol. Wait. Popsicle. Wait. Antibiotic. Wait. Motrin to top it all off. Between all of this he had rounds of shivering and teeth chattering. It was interesting to me how he could go from shaking to burning up in a matter of minutes. Three hours later, he was like a new kid. He actually walked out of the office on his own.

I am so thankful that they took the time with us to take small steps. The Dr. could have just admitted us and hooked him up to all kinds of iv's. She really felt that if we could get the nausea under control, we could get his meds in him to get everything else under control. I am so thankful for that doctor. To make things even more interesting, I sort of know her from a friend. After we made the connection, she was extremely attentive to us and was so sweet with Cam.

To sum all of this up, I am so glad that I took him into urgent care. Twice. We have been to urgent care enough to know the ropes. However, these two particular visits were worth whatever price they charge us for the 2 tsp of Motrin. I promise I will not complain when those bills come our way. My boy is doing better. I am so thankful for all of the prayers and concern from my friends and family. I am certain that the prayers allowed Camden to sleep through the night and wake up this morning feeling better. Although he still looks like this,I know he is feeling better because he wanted to know if he earned a toy yesterday since he had to go to the hospital and he did not complain. That has been our bribe the last few times he has needed stitches.

He still woke up with a 101 fever. He is still complaining that his eyes and his head hurt. But he is not throwing up, he has kept down some food and he is not shivering. What a difference a day makes. Moms, trust your instincts. It's better than trying to reason with the phone nurse that you think your child is really sick. It's better than watching your child shake and vomit at the same time. It's better than being up all night worrying. Trust and prayer. It worked for us.