My, how the times have changed.
I guess that's to be expected when you triple your number of children, huh? I guess one thing's for sure. It's never boring.
Back in November, the plague and the pestilence descended upon our household. Everyone except me was sick. Sam had an ear infection. Miracle got the flu. Mike started it with a nasty virus that he shared with the little ones. Oh yes, and he got the whooping cough. And we discovered Sam is allergic to ammoxicillin.
Fun times. Fun times.
December was upon us before we realized what was happening. Thankfully I had most of the shopping finished, so that was one less worry. The baking was scaled back because, honestly, I didn't have the time. We did iced Christmas cookies, buckeyes, and cinnamon cookies.
Our Christmas trip was delayed until January. We simply didn't have time in December. Plus, we decided to go the week of Mike's birthday, so that made it a double celebration.
We made really good time on the way down. We left the house around 8:30 and we were in Pigeon Forge before 5:00. For us, that was nothing short of miraculous. We picked up some stuff to fix for supper and for breakfast on Wednesday, then headed to our rooms.
We had a huge jacuzzi tub so we stuck Grace and Sam in after supper to play around as the pool area was closed for the day. Everything was a-okay until Sam started throwing up. In the tub. With his sister in there with him.
We figured he had just been too wild and swallowed too much water. We got everyone out and cleaned up and in bed for the night. Sam seemed fine. He was okay the next morning, also, although we did notice some red-yellow spots on his face. But he was eating and acting like his usual self, so we didn't think much of it.
Sam did his freak out about the enclosed stair well, but we finally made it to the van and in town for lunch. Afterwards, Mike and the kids went to the on-site water park and I took the van to be washed. They spent the afternoon splashing around and came back for a bath and a nap. Miracle stayed until almost closing and came back in time for supper. We cheated and went through a drive-thru for the kids, and Mike and I ate left overs. Then we had birthday cake because it was Mike's 39th birthday.
Everything was going fine. We had talked about going to the aquarium the next day and doing some shopping. Sam was standing next to me in front of the fireplace, watching television, and he starts throwing up. Not just a little bit, but everything he had just eaten.
It was not pleasant. And I was so surprised all I could do was stand there and watch him.
Thankfully his dad had more sense than I did. He held Sam and comforted him, and then started cleaning him up. I cleaned up the mess and started laundry (because of course he threw up on their bed) and Miracle cleaned up the supper mess. A quick parental confab confirmed the thought that, yes, we should leave the next day and not stay until Friday.
So we spent the evening packing up. The drive home was just as quick as the one down. Mike even called the doctor's office to get an appointment for Friday morning. Did I mention that the stuff on Sam's face was getting worse? Yeah. It was nasty.
We learned Friday morning that he had Impetigo. It's extremely contagious. Great. The doctor prescribed Bactrim because Sam can't have a penicillin-based antibiotic. It would clear up the bacterial infection on his face and help his sinus issues (she thought that was causing the vomitting.)
Everything was going great. Mike had an extra day off thanks to MLK, Jr day. Peggy's knee replacement went well. Sam hadn't thrown up since Saturday night. Then Tuesday came.
Mike was back at work. It was a Bible study day, and I was so excited because we were starting a new one by Beth Moore. My phone rang around 7:00 (can I just break in here and say it's never good when your phone rings that early? It's really not.) and my sister-in-law told me they had called the squad for my mom. She was having pains and her heart beat was irregular again.
(This is a really long, rambling post, huh? Sorry about that. Not much sleep lately.)
So, I left the kids at home and went to the hospital. They had mom hooked up to the medicine she needed. They said she could stay there and be monitored, not having to transport her again and get her all worked up. Good deal. Coincidentally, she was in the same hospital as Peggy, so we brought her down to see Mom for herself (she was determined, even though it was really bad for her and she was totally wiped out by the time we got her back up to her room. And can you believe they let Randy and me take her down and bring her back? He almost ran her leg into a wall and threatened to shut her foot in the elevator door. I just pushed to IV pole.). They put mom in the ICU and ran a bunch more tests.
They discovered she had fluid in her lungs and was technically in congestive heart failure. They weren't really worried about that, it could be treated with medicine. They were more concerned with the irregular rhythm and racing that her heart was doing. They consulted with her cardiologist and got things settled down. She got to come home on Thursday, the same day they discharged Peggy.
Miracle went to stay with Peggy, to help her out, do the things she can't for now. She was glad to get away from us, I think. I spoke with her yesterday, and she said Peggy is actually behaving, which is amazing. She is coming home tomorrow.
Last night at supper, Mike noticed spots on Sam's face. Hmmmm, not just his face. His whole stinkin' body. Great. Off we go to the urgent care. Again.
And yes, my friends, he is apparently also allergic to Sulfa.
No penicillin. No sulfa.
But it doesn't seem to bother him. He was performing for the doctor. He ate french fries on the way home.
He and Grace were both exhausted by the time we got home. They went straight to bed with no complaints or stall tactics. I went to bed, but I couldn't sleep. Evidentially, I can no longer drink caffeine late at night. So, at 2:15, I finally laid down for the last time and managed to get to sleep. Of course, when the kids came in at 8:00 I could barely pry my eyes open and my head felt like it weighed about 20 pounds. So Mike made the executive decision that we would go to second service.
Yeah, about that. I got out of bed at about 11:00, which is when second service begins. Mike hadn't slept well either (this weather is awful for his ankle), so I made the executive decision that we would go out for lunch. We needed to do into town anyway to get Sam's prescription filled.
So here we are now, watching Independence Day while the kids nap.
What a glamorous life.
ps
You never realize how many words use the letter 'U' until it starts sticking on your keyboard and doesn't always show up.
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