Pneumonia (3/23/06)

So here's the deal... We had friends over on Saturday afternoon. They have a son who is 10 and a daughter who is 4 and Nora was having a blast riding bikes with them and playing on the swingset. At 4ish I was talking to my friend while I was feeding Georgia on the couch and Nora comes in and says she's cold and snuggles under the blanket. I didn't think anything of it - just figured she had done a 180 in personality and suddenly wanted to snuggle with mom (I should have suspected something was wrong right there.) After a while we got up and got dinner together and sat down to eat. Nora just zoned out at the table - again I didn't think anything of it, she had already complained to me that she didn't want to eat the pasta that we were having so I figured she was being a typical 4 year old and choosing not to eat. When we got dessert out and she was told that she wouldn't have any and she just said "okay" and went downstairs to lay on the couch while we ate dessert and her friends played for a while longer, I figured something HAD to be wrong with this chica pequita. After our friends left we took her temperature - 103!!! Okay, no wonder she's been lethargic and poopy for the last couple of hours...

Sunday - fever was 101. By 6:00 she was sound asleep on the couch and temp was 102. However - no complaints. Slight cough.

Monday - fever was 100 all day. No complaints from Nora, she seems perfectly fine. Slightly decreased appetite and more of a cough.

Tuesday - sent her to school based on reading that as long as a fever has been below 101 for 24 hours and the child is behaving normally, things are fine. Bad mom. Bad mom. She was fine all afternoon (temp still around 99/100). Again, slightly decreased appetite and more of a cough. She was sound asleep on the couch by 4:30 - temp 102ish. Called the doctor at 5:15 just as they were closing. The doctor asked if I could come in right away - I hesitated based on the tone of voice of the receptionist when I called in and asked if they were still open (lets just say, she was none too pleased at the thought of staying late and let me know it without coming right out and saying it). The dr. said I could come in the morning, so we set an appointment for the next morning.

Wednesday - fever 101. Took her to the doctor (minus Ryann who played with Doug for the morning so I didn't have to be distracted by her monkeyness while talking to the dr about Nora). I expected the dr. to tell me that she has a cold or a viral infection or an ear infection. She listened to Nora's lungs for a long time - still didn't clue me in... Georgia was fussing so I was trying to get her to quiet down. Then the doctor says, "I think she has pneumonia". Uh, you THINK?

(This is the newest doctor in the practice and I've had some confidence issues with her as have all of my friends who go to the same practice. I think she is probably a fine doctor, but she is newer and doesn't act very confident about her diagnosis and decisions - which is not what a mom of a sick child wants in a doctor.)

So anyway, we got prescriptions for 2 antibiotics and a nebulizer and gave Nora a breathing treatment and were on our way home. I spent an hour trying to find a nebulizer and if my insurance would cover the cost... My WONDERFUL (can I say that any louder or more emphatically) husband was out on the road and came home to fill the prescriptions and chase down a nebulizer so I didn't have to do any of it with a sick child and two others. By 2:30 Nora was sound asleep on the couch - fever 102.7. She was one miserable soul, but she is such a good, good girl - You'd never know she was sick other than the fever or the lethargy. She just doesn't complain or get crabby or anything. She's a sweet, sweet child. We managed to wrestle her into submission to take her antibiotics - TWICE because she immediately vomitted after the first dosage) and snuggled up to watch Deal... Or NO Deal and off to bed.

Thursday - no fever!!! Yea! And only 2 minute struggle for the antibiotics. Double Yea! Off to the doctor again this afternoon (if you are family you need to know that you will no longer be getting any christmas presents from us because we are now officially going broke due to copays and prescription costs...)

One very cute thing from all of this is that her voice is extremely raspy and hoarse from all of the coughing. It is more adorable than usual;) My poor little Peek...