A little low on excitement? C'mon over!!

I KNEW that saying there was nothing to blog about would turn around to bite me in the backside. And now it has.

Jack has been very sick for a really long time. It started the day after Christmas with a high temp and a cough. This lasted for 8 days. I took him in to the doctor on day 8. It was a Friday. The doctor (actually it was a stupid PA....and usually I don't mind a PA. It wasn't our usual PA that I trust and love) said he thought it was viral. No problems with the throat or ears. If the temp continued over the weekend, bring him back on Monday. That was $20.

On the following Wednesday the temp had not come back but Jack was very pale and very lathargic. He wakes up at 10 am, moved from his bed to our bed to watch shows for an hour and then slept until 3pm. Then he would wake up, move to the couch and lay there until it was time to go back to our bed about 6 pm. I would move his sleeping body back into his own bed about 10. Everyday this is the routine and if you though he was borderline albino before, you should see him now!! He is not eating, drinking and cries in his sleep. When this continued happening, I became more and more concerned and I left him in bed by me all night. Nothing says a good nights sleep like waking up every hour to make sure your child is still breathing. It was reminisent of those newborn SIDS days. I called the oncall doctor at 2 am. He is no help.

I took him back into the doctor on Thursday. I saw an actual doctor this time. I did not care for the woman. At all. She explained to me that sometimes kids get viruses that are like "little bugs" in their body. She told me that he had an ear infection and probably a sinus infection. She prescribed antibiotics. She told me that antibiotics are like "little soldiers who battle the virus bugs" I wanted to throttle her. I seriously wanted to beat that woman. I asked her to test for other issues. She told me that I was over reacting, she was the one with the medical training and I was being a "Nervous Nelly".

There was another $20. I start the antibiotics in the car while we are parked at the pharmacy.

Friday was the two week mark and there was no improvement. I call the nurse. I know I am being a pest but I could not care less. I have rocked my crying five year old all night for two nights now. It has been 15 days. It's not a sinus infection. They told me I had to give the antibiotics 72 hours.

I have had it with these people.

Sunday morning at 11 am. 73 hours post antibiotics I call the nurse again. NOW my child hasn't urinated for 12 hours and he is itchy and has sores in his mouth. She acts surprised that I haven't taken him to the ER yet. I hang up on her.

I bundle him up, crying the entire way and pull into the Hospital parking lot. He recognises it instantly. Daddy comes here. They make Daddy stay here for weeks at a time. They cut Daddy's body parts off. And Jack begins to scream. I literally have to unclench his hands from the carseat and pull him out of the car. I then shut the doors and lock them. He is screaming and crying and everyone who walks by is looking at me. I love that. I stand there and watch him until finally his little spirit breaks and he holds my hand and walks into the ER.

We wait awhile and then they Triage us and bump us to the front of the line. I write a check for $100. (Honestly, the money is not important, it is just adding to the frustration.) Jack will not take his coat off. Will not take his boots off. Will not wear the hospital bracelet. He will not lay on the bed. I hold him on my lap. The doctor comes in and looks at him. He says "How long has he looked this way?" I tell him 16 days. He looks at me surprised and asks if I have sought medical treatment for him. YESSS!!!!! He instantly wants to run blood work and wants to start an IV. I agree. He wants to swab for Strep and Mono. He wants chest x-rays and a urine analysis. I consider leaving my pediatrician and just start coming to this ER doctor. I love you Doctor Boyles.

The nurse comes to do the swabbing. Jack only whimpers. Good sign. Then they bring in three nurses to start the IV. Jack begins to cry. They hold him down and insert the needle. He is SCREAMING. The people in the cafeteria can probably hear my little boy. He is angry and sick and completely powerless. He screams "I HATE YOU IDIOTS!!!! I HATE IT! YOU ARE IDIOTS!!!" My heart breaks a little bit right here, and I am shocked at the same time. Where is this language coming from? They get the IV in and it takes me about 40 minutes to calm him back down. We are laying on the bed now, wrapped in blankets and the weird people on the other side of the curtain are listening to me sing. (Which really was unfortunate for them. First they have to be weird, then they have to be in the ER, then they have to listen to me sing. They are probably blogging about it too, afterall, we are in Utah County and you have to blog to live here.)

As soon as I got him asleep it's time for x-rays. They again have to hold him there screaming the worst words he knows. ("Stupid idiot" Seriously, where did that come from?)

Anyway, long story short, we were there for >4 hours. He has Mono. He is sick and I am so incredibly grateful for a diagnosis of Mono. My mind was certainly going to worse places. He is still sick and still tired and still not eating. And yes, he is still sleeping with me. Tomorrow is day 18.

My discharge papers say I need to follow up with his pediatrician on Thursday. I have not decided if I am going to take him or not. It's a virus. It was complicated by the antibiotics they gave him. (A no-no with Mono. Its what caused the mouth sores and the itching.) And it will just be another $20.

I swear, I have had it with health care lately. First Greg's stupid idiot nurses during his last hospital stay, then the stupid idiot Intacare doctor who can't find a couple broken bones on an xray and now these stupid idiot Pediatricians.

Geez!!!!!! And what's up with his language???? He probably learned it from some stupid idiot person on tv!