A Doozy of a Cold

They say that in the hour before an earthquake the clouds hang leaden in the sky, the wind slows to a hot breath, and the birds fall quiet in the trees of the town square. Yes, but these are the same portents that precede lunchtime, frankly.
-- Little Bee (Chris Cleave)

Saturday evening, Aaron started coughing, and I saw a summer cold in our future. Sunday, it was confirmed: wheezy breathing, gurgly cough, fever, diarrhea. Poor guy. We set up the humidifier and let him rest.

By Tuesday, the congestion lessened while the fever strengthened. He still didn't want to eat or drink much, but he was sleeping well and I kept assuming he'd wake up better.

Wednesday evening, I finally called our pediatrician to see if there was anything we should do. We spent 2 hours at his office that night, trying to "force" a 1-yr-old to swallow Pedialyte. As we left, the doctor said, "Keep pushing the fluids; if he hasn't had a wet diaper in 6 hours, take him to the ER. Otherwise, come back tomorrow."

At 10pm, a wet diaper! Whew. At 5am, another, and he drank 4oz. We're out of the woods! Except it's now day 5 of that dang fever (103)...

I woke him at 11am Thursday for our doctor's appointment - after nearly 14 hours of sleep. In the exam room, he started out OK, but his temp was 104, and he was too quiet. Then, it was like he started fading. He slumped against my chest or limp in my arms, and gradually couldn't hold his eyes open. That's when the pediatrician said to take him to the ER at Vandy Children's Hospital so they could give him IV fluids and rule out bacterial causes.

I called Josh and a dear friend who could take Noah, then headed downtown around 1pm.

The urgent care room looked identical. The symptoms were similar. We even had one of the same nurses. Only the boy was one year older. I was comforted and chilled by the resemblances to our visit last summer when Aaron had meningitis. There's something soothing about knowing Aaron is in such good hands. Though the stress of the moment tends to hide this soothing effect.

I didn't realize just how stressed I was until we were getting ready to go home around 7:30pm. The tests had all been negative for bacteria, and he'd had two big bags of fluid pumped into him. Now his body should be replenished and able to fight off the virus. It was a giant relief, but I felt slighlty nauseous and totally exhausted. We all collapsed into bed.

Today, little Aaron was fever-free (hurray!) but still pretty miserable with congestion, diarrhea, fatigue, and lack of appetite. I love knowing it's just a virus, but I'm a little frustrated that he's still feeling puny. Please take a second to pray for the little guy, especially that he would regain his appetite.

That said, I'm so very thankful that it was nothing worse, that our boys are rarely sick (hallelujah!), and that we have such first-rate care at our fingertips. And I continue to be impressed with all three of my boys and how well they handle changes and challenges. Now if only we could get out of the house!