It’s truly ALWAYS something

Well, Tuesday was a very busy day for us.  I had to take all three kids to the dr…but not all at once…because that would have been too simple (not really but a little less time consuming)…Let me just give you a run down of our Tuesday.  First, let’s remember that we had FIVE ears infected that were all diagnosed the week of April 23rd.  Larkin and Campbell just finished their 10 day round of antibiotic and Trigger just finished his 14 day round of antibiotic….btw, we have NEVER taken an antibiotic for fourteen days!!!  And, something else to be noted, Campbell and Trigger were on augmentin which is what Dr. Slusher calls the mac daddy antibiotic…in other words, it’s the strongest.  Anyway, back to our tuesday…

8:50- I take Trigger to school and meet Liz there.  She takes Campbell with her back to her house.

9:00- I arrive at Green Clinic for appt #1: Larkin’s 4 month Check up and skull fracture recheck AND ear infection recheck. 

We started by looking at her weight which was 11 lbs 15oz.  Larkin is right on track at the 25%.  I was really surprised that she had not dropped off her curve some because of her last month of illness (she lost weight during rsv and flu) and head injury.  So, that was a huge praise.  Her length was 24.5 inches which put her at the 75%….she was at the 25%…so dr. slusher was pretty sure that she wasn’t measured right yesterday.  I would be pretty surprised too if she was in the 75% because she is still wearing 0-3 month and 3 month footed sleepers….and, let’s face it, my family genes are not going to help her out in the height department. ;)  Anyway, something that was really good was her head circumference.  She was right on track at the 25%…this is good because her head was REALLY swollen so it’s good that her head is back to normal.  After we finished talking about growth, Dr. Slusher started her exam.  She listened to her chest, looked in throat, etc.  When she got to her ears, she looked in her right ear and it looked good…she looked in her left ear, STILL not good.  Antibiotic failed!!!!  SIGH!!!  Everything else looked good.  Her head control is a little lagging but she wasn’t really surprised with her recent illnesses/injuries PLUS the fact that she pretty much is NEVER put on the ground because her brothers pounce anytime she is on their level.  She suggested that I put her in a playpen which would be a grand idea EXCEPT that we had to put it up because they kept climbing on it to see her and I was scared that they would flip it.  Anyway, I’m not worried about her neck strength…it will come!  She had to get her 4 month shots and then we had to go to the lab to have a CBC to check her hemoglobin.  LSUS wanted it checked because it was a little low while we were in the PICU and that is some kind of indicator for bleeding that she had on her brain.   I was thankful that they only had to do a heel stick.  I took Larkin out to the car and nursed her.  Liz met me in the parking lot.  I wasn’t done feeding Larkin yet and Campbell had an ENT appointment for his ears at 11 so Liz took him up to get checked in.  In the mean time, I get a phone call from green clinic…I was assuming it was dr. slusher’s office to tell me about Larkin’s hemoglobin.  It was and her hemoglobin was LOW so they needed to do a recheck to see if it was just the test or if it was really low.  So, I went upstairs and told Liz (and they were actually being called back) and took Larkin back downstairs for another blood draw…but this time it was in a vein and not a heel stick…poor baby had two blood draws and three shots yesterday!!!  Oh, and she is now on another antibiotic: omnicef

 

11:00- Appt #2: Campbell’s ENT appointment with Dr. Neal. 

I got done with Larkin’s bloodwork and got up to the room just as Dr. Neal was coming in the room.  Liz and I switched children, keys, bags, cars, etc. while Dr. Neal graciously waited.  ;) Dr. Neal looked in Campbell’s ear and said it was still red and had tons of fluid.  He thought he definitely needed tubes and probably adenoids too.  We went and had the hearing tests and another test to check movement and level of fluid.  Dr. Neal said (which is what I expected) that Campbell had fluid in his right ear and it was NOT moving….not moving means it’s just sitting there waiting to get infected.  Anyway, we are planning on tubes for next Thursday.  We are not sure about adenoids yet.  I had to take Campbell down to get a couple of xrays of his sinuses and BLOODWORK.  Seriously, at this point (third time in the lab that morning), the people there were just laughing and shaking their heads.  Campbell was NOT fond of the blood work.  He screamed from the moment we sat down in the chair.  He wailed for daddy most of the time…and inserted a few “zizzy” and “papaw” screams in there…I guess he was convinced that one of the three of them would surely come rescue him from mean mommy that was holding him down.  However, they did NOT so mean mommy continued to hold him down.  When it was over, we got a “suckka” and went on our merry way.  By this point, it was 12:45 and Campbell was starving and very cranky.  We rushed home and I fed Campbell, fed Larkin, and ate a bite of lunch.  Then, I left again to take Trigger to the doctor.  Oh, and Campbell is now on another antibiotic: high dose amoxicillin

2:15- Appt #3: Trigger’s ear infection re-check

We rushed to the dr.  Trigger kept insisting that his ears were fine but I was a little concerned because they both were so highly infected and one ruptured 2 weeks ago so I wanted them rechecked.   Dr. Slusher checked them and his ears are still infected….highly infected.  THis is after 14 days of the “mac daddy antibiotic”.  I was sooo highly aggravated!!!!!!!  SIGH…SIGH…SIGH!!!!!  So, he is going to have to start omnicef and come back for a recheck.  If we have to do three rounds of antibiotics (we are on the second), then he will head to dr. neal.  NONE of the three have runny nose or the cold/virus that usually sets them up for an ear infection which means that they aren’t contagious but they are just having continuous ear infections.  Anyway, while I was there, Dr. slusher said that she had been trying to get Larkin’s medical records from lsu for 2 hours.  She needed to know what Larkin’s hemoglobin was at lsu so she would have something to compare.  It’s a long story and we had the potential for having another ct scan because low hemoglobin can mean more bleeding on the brain…but, Dr. slusher finally got the records and made the determination that she did not need a ct scan and thinks she might just have low iron.  we will have to start her on iron supplements. We will recheck hemoglobin in a month…plus, she will go to the ped neurologist in a few weeks. 

So, we now have FOUR ear infections…maybe five because my ear is still filled with fluid and I can’t hear anything out of it.

THAT, was our Tuesday…I was at green clinic from 9-12:45 and 2:00-3:45…it was a LONG day.

UPDATE…Today is now Friday…I have been working on this post off and on for a few days now. 

Campbell ran fever last night and this morning.  I took him to see Dr. Moak (because Dr. Neal and Dr. SLusher were not working today).  She checked his ears and said that they were way worse than on Tuesday when we saw Dr. Neal.  When we saw Dr. Neal on Tuesday, his right ear (which was the one that has been infected) still had a lot of non-moving fluid and was red.  Well, today Dr. Moak said it was HIGHLY infected…and his left ear (which was clear on Tuesday) was bulging with fluid and highly infected.  SO, since his ears got worse…way worse…while on an antibiotic (that dr. neal had put him on to prevent any infection on tuesday)….and since he has been on omnicef and augmentin and amoxil…all back to back, she decided that he desperately needed something to knock out this infection quickly.  Poor little Campbell got his first Rosefin shot today…it is the first in a three shot/three day series.  He will have to go back tomorrow morning to get another…I’ve already told Matt that he will be taking him! ;) And then, I will take him to the surgical center on Sunday to have his third one.   Poor, Poor baby!  He has limped since he got it.  I know his little leg is so sore….plus his feelings are hurt!  Don’t feel too sorry for him…he had an icee, sonic for lunch, and had three toys waiting on him (from zizzy) when he arrived home.  AND, Matt said “I’ll take him tomorrow (matt didn’t realize that he didn’t have a choice…I’m not going to be the only bad guy) and we will probably go get a prize after”.  He is spoiled rotten…but he should be!