Saturday, July 30, 2011

Mile a Minute

Ethan is talking so much these days... his speech goes along in waves, where for months he'll sort of sit back and store up language and phrases and expressions, and then BOOM! Right when we're starting to get worried about him lagging behind in his speech, he pops out with "Daddy's bringing me the tools, Mommy!" It's so crazy. Thursday, I was talking to Joel on my cell phone when Ethan said "I want to talk to Dad, Mom" and took the phone. He then proceeded to chat with Joel, "showing" him the toys and TV and books that he'd just been playing with by turning the phone around and pointing the display screen around the room. It was pretty adorable. Then on Friday, I was talking to my mom and asked Ethan if he wanted to say hi to Baba. He took the phone with this gentle smile on his face and said, "I wuffoo, gamma"-- completely unrehearsed and unprompted. It was the sweetest thing ever!

That's my boy... already a heartbreaker, at two and a half. :)

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Allergy Attack!

Yesterday, we took Ethan to the urgent care (Kaiser's emergency room) because he was having an allergic reaction to something. In fact, we believe that "something" was the long scratch he'd gotten from one of the rose bushes in the back yard. About 10-15 minutes after the scratch, he came over to show me his arm, which was now sporting a huge lump about 1/2 an inch to an inch high along the entire scratch. And that's also when I noticed he was rubbing his eyes, which were swelling up, turning red, and starting to water. We gave him Benadryl at first because of its antihistamine qualities, but another 10-15 minutes later I looked over and saw the corners of his eyes, which were starting to bulge out. I don't mean his eyelids-- I mean, the actual whites of his eyes were bulging as if there was liquid or air building up behind them. Just like this:

allergy-eyes1

Needless to say, not what you want to see when you're looking at your two-year-old. We freaked out and drove like maniacs to the hospital, where eventually the doctor examined him and found that the swelling was starting to go down enough to send us home. He prescribed Zyrtec and then told us to follow up with our regular doctor for an allergy test as soon as possible. I'm sort of surprised that he didn't give Ethan any eye drops while we were there, but I didn't even know about that until I got home and did some more research. He also told us to keep up with the Benadryl every 6 hours until the swelling was gone for 12 hours altogether, so we're still dosing him up because it's still lingering on. Poor thing! Must be so uncomfortable... and here I was hoping he wouldn't be cursed with the Valley allergies that everyone seems to get. Ugh!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Musings from the Sickbed...

So, while trapped at home struggling to get better this past week, I was able to finally get down to some serious contemplation. Not really, but I did come out of it with some interesting thoughts.

- Not being able to speak carries with it a sense of peace, a tinge of mystery, and a gratitude that I didn't fully understand until I could talk again. I was grateful after the fact that I couldn't say all of the impulsive, thoughtless, reactive things that I can say now, and that I realize I say far too often. I was grateful that I couldn't spout off the slight bitterness towards my husband that I sometimes allow full rein, a bitterness that does nothing but injure both of us. And I was grateful because my silence allowed my son and husband to say more than they usually do, when my volubility can overwhelm them.

- Being somewhat dependent on others makes you realize two things: First, that it's not a comfortable place to be, and Second, that you suddenly see who you can rely on and exactly how far. It might be a friend who checks in on you regularly to see if you're okay, or it might be someone who offers (sometimes forces) their assistance rather than waiting for you to ask. It might be a co-worker who steps in to help carry your workload while you're out, or it might be the boss who blames any problems on your absence. It's a funny position to be in, because it can be a vision-clarifying one.

- Sick days always make me slightly resentful, as well. If I were single, I wouldn't have that luxury. No, I'd be stuck with getting myself better and not worrying about how anyone else was or wasn't taking care of me. Now that I'm married, I get to watch my husband sort of move through the days as if nothing were wrong, letting me deal with feeding the child, putting him to bed, making sure he's ready for school in the morning, and so on-- only stepping in when I clearly state my request and add "Because I still have a fever and can hardly stand up!" to it. Why is that? Why doesn't he see how sick I am and want to take care of me? Is this need of mine to feel cherished and valued so selfish and absurd? Does it mean I want him to become my "wife" instead of husband? Not to me, it doesn't, but trying to convince him of that might be a lifelong struggle. I just wish, somehow, things were different.

That said, I'm almost back to 100%. So I guess the point is moot, until next time that is...

Thursday, July 7, 2011

B.T.I.D.

... which stands for, of course, the Bermuda Triangle of Infectious Disease. First, Ethan's out for several days with his virus. Then, on the 4th of July I woke up feeling very ill-- tired, worn out, drained of all energy, a little dizzy. Turns out I had a fever, so I started taking ibuprofen. Didn't help much. Later that day my throat started hurting. I woke up Tuesday morning with what felt like little shards of glass in my throat, making the act of swallowing quite painful. And guess what? A throat injury is like a back injury; you never realize how much you actually use it until it starts to hurt. Ouch....

Anyway, went in to the urgent care Tuesday a.m. and got some Amoxycillin prescribed. Took the day off work, hoping to feel better. Woke up Wednesday actually feeling worse-- throat was even more swollen and extremely painful, could hardly speak, still had a fever, coughed up some blood (turns out, it was from my throat, not lungs) and just generally felt miserable. Called in to the urgent care for advice. The RN who called me back was concerned, and gave me another two-day note off from work. She prescribed Prednisone to help reduce the swelling, plus a lidocaine rinse to deaden the pain a bit. Altogether, it seems to be working. Still painful to speak or swallow, but much less so than before. And I can't really afford any more days off work, both financially and in terms of the massive workload I'll have waiting for me on my return.

As a friend said on Facebook, when I get sick, I *really* get sick. No halfsies for this girl, I go whole hog or don't go at all!