Camryn's birthday weekend - from Carson

Owen's had a pretty serious fever for almost a week and with no other symptoms we decided on Saturday we'd better take him to the doctor. So we scheduled an appointment, 6:40 on Saturday. By the time we got there, we were glad we had the appt. O was in pretty rough shape. The doc ran a strep test, ear infections, and after listening to his chest thought maybe he has pneumonia. So the doc ordered a chest x-ray. Meanwhile me and the kids are sitting in the lobby of the doc's office trying to pass the time. They took an x-ray, doc looked at x-ray "man, come look at this, his liver is HUGE you better go to the hospital and get an ultrasound."

Uh..... instant gut-ache. Across town we head, it's now almost 9:00 and we're worried SICK. I call Jess' mom and she agrees to meet us at our house and watch the kids. So I drop Jess and O at the hospital and head home, drop off the kids, run back to the hospital and.... WAIT. Jess and Owen are sitting in the waiting room. Of course the imaging place is technically "closed," so now we're sitting in this dark waiting room, alone. At one point the fire alarm goes off and they page some doctor to something. It sounds like somebody's dying. And naturally it's getting late, we have no information, the last doc is all worried... so I'm writing his eulogy in my head. Thinking about how I'll arrange his croaker on the table with his glasses at the funeral. MAN. About an hour and a half later later we finally do the ultrasound. Owen is delirious, temp 104, screaming out in pain as they run the sensor all over his torso. Tech can't say anything of course, so out we go, up the hall, check in at the ER.

Do the triage, wait, etc thing...

Finally a doc comes in, "just looked at the ultrasound stuff with the radiologist, there's nothing remarkable about his liver."

I'm sorry, can you say that again? What the...

Finally he convinces me.

Phew.

But he still has an unexplained fever. The doc was actually great - and of course we ordered every test imaginable. To start the good little guy peed in a cup, I couldn't believe it. The doc was certain we'd have to do a cath. Then of course they put him on an IV. O is soooo trusting, in they come, I reassure him it'll just be a little pinch, and of course that's just pure betrayal, it's not a little pinch and he's screaming. I hold him down (what fun) and they finish the IV, draw blood, etc.

Results of blood and urine show nothing.

Next step - a spinal tap to test for meningitis.

And these hurt. And you have to hold perfectly still.

Doc says "one of you can stay, or you can both leave, if one stays, it should be the stronger one (as in physically)"

That's me. Then he orders in 2 nurses and they put him on his side, bend him over (at this point he's totally trusting and fine). Then I can't completely betray him so I just warn him there's going to be a pinch on his back. The doc did not want me to tell him that I'm sure, but I had to warn the little guy! Owen reaches for me, gets a panicked look and starts to squirm. So the 2 nurses, and I put all our weight on him to hold him still. I'm trying to reassure him as I mush his head into the bed that it'll be ok, I'm right here, etc. In between wails of pain Owen says "STOP...... IT...... STOPPPPP" Oh man. The nurses even melted at that. The doc does the procedure, only take a few minutes, but O has now been completely and utterly betrayed. Off goes the doc with the spinal fluid, the nurses leave, Jess comes in to comfort and Owen is mad, hurting, bleeding and just really not having a good day. Jess calms him down, and we wait.

30 min later (at 1:10am) doc comes in - "The test is clear, he doesn't have meningitis"

So what the heck is it?

Doc's feeling -- just some bizarre virus. Medicate him to keep his fever low and wait it out.

Oooookedokee. He finishes his IV and we're home at about 3:30am.

Thank you $3,500 ER bill I'm sure.

And, I actually agree, and we consulted with Owen's real doc today, I think he'll be fine. He's still a little sick, but I think he's going to be ok. All the more extensive tests came back today negative. Everyone agrees it's just a bug. Of course we had to rule the other stuff out, and I'm glad we did. Please pray for him to fully recover quickly.

So it's 3:30am. Today is Camryn's birthday and baptism. We ain't cancellin' it, so let's get a few hours of sleep and take on the day.

At 7am Cam and Jacks were up, ready for a day. We got up, fed, got ready for the day, ready for church, ready for the baptism, etc.

Right before 1pm church Jackson says "Dad, my throat really hurts"

I thought he was just trying to bum a cough drop so I told him to go get a cough drop if that's what he wants.

"No dad, it really hurts"

That's nice, go get in the car, we're going to church.

After J couldn't swallow the sacrament I figured it was probably for real, so I took him home during the rest hymn. Had to go back though, Camryn knew she was getting Skittles and attention during Primary.

Jess and O had just recovered from strep, so I was sure that's what was up with Jacks. Told Jess to make an appt for him, but not till AFTER the baptism. 8pm at the earliest. So she made the appt for 8pm.

The baptism was wonderful - in every way you can imagine. Owen was sick, I told Jackson not to touch anyone, but for Camryn, it was great. It really was wonderful.

Home we go, family over, cake and candles, and at 7:30 I leave with J to go to the doc. Strep test is positive, the doc offers J a choice: 1 shot of antibiotics now, or a 10 day regiment. J is tough so he opts for the shot. In the leg.

Doc forgot to tell us that the shot HURTS. J really is insanely tough so when he couldn't even walk to the car I figured it must really be hurting. As we're driving home I call to give mom the update and Dad takes the phone: "Carson, just so you know, when I got an antibiotic shot it really knocked me for a loop and I went into shock" Mom's in the background "Rick, don't upset him, don't tell him that, sheesh!"

Fifteen minutes later we're home and Jackson is white as a ghost, shaking, lying huddled on the bathroom floor vomiting. I call the doc back he says "oh, yeah that sometimes happens, it's normal, if he's not better in a few minutes, take him to the ER."

This happened to be the same wonderful doc that got scared about the liver. He was just full of helpful news and care.

Fortunately, J did get better in a few (30) minutes. I got him cleaned up, bathed, threw all his clothes, shoes and coat in the washer, got him to bed, and at about 11 last night collapsed with Jess into a near-coma. Well, except for checking Owen's temp all night and changing the ice on Jackson's leg. That and the hysterical laughter. I looked at Jess and I just started laughing hysterically (she laughed too, but more of a muffled - can I got sleep now? laugh.)

Gratefully today Jackson is all better (going to school tomorrow) and Owen's fever seems less vigorous, although he has a cold now.

And honestly, in spite of all that, I can say that it was a good weekend.

a) Camryn was baptized, and I think she felt like she had a good birthday. She wanted Mac and Cheese with weenies for her dinner. Man alive were we thankful for that at the time. 10min to make it!
b) I never once felt tired. Honestly - not at the ER, not the next day, I felt great. What a blessing.
c) It all happened on the weekend. I didn't miss a single hour of work! Start, middle and end between Fri and Mon. That was really nice. What if had happened when we were at the reunion, or when we were in China. Yikes!
d) We're all truly healthy and strong. What a tremendous blessing, our health. And our health care in this day and age. Some Tylonol and Owen's good to go. A shot and Jackson's cured. What a blessing.

Phew.

Here's Jess' post about the important stuff.