Taking Things to the Extreme

The past two and a half weeks have been filled with sickness at our house. Starting with Selah's stomach bug and ending with colds. For some reason my children have decided to take common viruses and make them extreme. On Sunday the 16th, I noticed that Ephraim could not move his neck. He could look right, left and down, but could not look up at all. He would stare forward and then roll his eyes up as high as he could. He also started to come down with a cough, runny nose and low fever. By Tuesday morning he was also complaining of his throat hurting. In to the Dr's office we went. Dr. LeClair sent us down to get an xray of Ephraim's neck. He did great laying still and thought the lead apron I wore was neat. While we were getting xrays, Dr. LeClair was consulting with other doctors at Mary Bridge about the possibility of Ephraim having meningitis. They decided we should give E a dose of motrin and wait an hour to see if that helped him move his neck. Ten minutes after that dose and E was able to move his neck without any problems. Dr. LeClair and I just laughed. The little dude had made us worried for 2 hours, Dr. L had several consultations and all of a sudden he was fine. Dr. L sent us home with instructions about what to look for (high fever and stiff neck) and when to go to the ER.

Fast forward several hours and Ephraim woke up from his nap screaming. He could not move his neck at all - up, down, to the side, anything. He still had a low fever (99.5) but this was the one scenario we didn't cover. I called back, and by the time I talked to the nurse, and Dr. Leclair had consulted again with the doctors at Mary Bridge, had all decided to send us to the ER (I was wearing the exact same outfit and hairstyle that I wore when we took Selah in - talk about deja vu), Ephraim could move his neck again. ER avoided. Again. In the middle of the night Ephraim spiked a high fever (103.5), but could move his neck. Getting a very sleepy 2 year old to comply with your instructions at 3 in the morning isn't fun, but we were so glad he never had the two symptoms they were concerned about at the same time.

This week we got to visit the doctor's office again for Selah. The silly girl WILL NOT take her antibiotics so we went back in. I was mixing the stuff with blueberry syrup and she still spit it out. Selah turned her cold into bronchiolitis and her ear infection is still raging.

We also got to visit an Ear, Nose, Throat specialist for Ephraim. On his neck xray our doctor noticed that he has very large adenoids. He asked us to see an ENT specialist in Tacoma. Nothing urgent, just needed to get done. Yesterday we drove to T-town. They did a hearing test on Ephraim - with little toy dogs that played music and barked. If he looked at them, they knew he could hear them. A woman also spoke to him through some speakers. Ephraim always looked at the dogs, but stopped looking at the speakers as she got quieter. He has fluid in both ears and is not hearing as well as he should be due to the fluid. The doctor believes ear tubes will help him. Ephraim's adenoids are enlarged and "weeping fluid" as though they have been continuously infected for quite a while. He needs those removed. Surgery is scheduled for February 7th. It is being done at Mary Bridge's day surgery center in Tacoma. I am very thankful that our pediatrician recommended this ENT. If I have to put my child under general anesthesia, I want it done in a place that specializes in kids.

Needless to say, this momma is tired of sickness. I have come down with a bad cold, probably from all of the holding and snuggling I have been doing. I am ready for January to be over and for my kids to feel better. I am actually looking forward to being able to really clean my house - it has become more of a disaster than normal as my priorities have been elsewhere. I am also looking forward to doing our weekly activities that we haven't participated in for 3 weeks. Poor Ephraim keeps asking to play with friends. Soon buddy, I promise.