Luckily Miles had gotten Tamiflu and started improving almost immediately. Cruise spent Saturday vomiting but was all better by Sunday. Sunday evening Jett woke up sick and vomited the entire next day as well. Dave and I were completely bed-ridden for that entire week. We took turns feeding and bathing the kids, which was dependent on who felt the least crappy. At one point we ran out of milk for Miles, Gatorade, Sprite, and crackers. Dave's brother, John, was kind enough to run to the store for us and pick up the items, as well as grab us some lunch. One sure way of feeling like horrible, neglectful parents to is to be sick in bed for a whole week. It was absolutely miserable and I don't remember the last time I was that sick.
By the 18th, we were out of the woods. Dave and I still had some congestion and a runny nose, which led to me getting an ear infection on the 21st but luckily I was able to catch it before it got so bad, and got on some antibiotics to treat it.
On the 22nd, we celebrated Miles turning 16 months by giving him his very first haircut! I was sad to cut his lovely wavy curls, but I made sure to cut it long enough that he could keep the wave but not have a mullet anymore. He did so well! He would put his face in Dave's hands so I could get to the back; he was very patient and didn't make a fuss.
Before:
After:
At 16 months, Miles can now blow kisses, give high-fives, and will sometimes wave bye-bye. He is still an incredibly picky eater and prefers things like noodles and rice. I still can't get him to drink juice and he doesn't want anything to do with a sippy cup.
He loves to be outside! Luckily it was nice that week we were all feeling better, so I would put his jacket on and take him outside to walk around and explore. Some days, Jett would push him around the cul-de-sac in his little blue car.
He is now at that age where he will take stuff from one place and stick it in another, like plastic teaspoons in the Easy Bake Oven, toys in the VCR, and mommy's make up in the dresser drawers. And every now and then we'll find an old nasty bottle in the most random place. Ew!
That was a nice week. And then...
Sunday we got home from church to find Miles had a weird rash in the creases of his elbows and on his tummy. We thought maybe he just got hot, but he woke up from his nap still with the rash. He seemed to be acting fine, so we just ignored it. Then on Tuesday he woke up with a fever and feeling pretty terrible, so Dave took him to the doctor where they found he had an ear infection. The doctor looked at the rash and said it was eczema; when Dave told me that I looked at him and said, "Did this doctor actually go to med school?! This is not eczema!" By then the rash had gotten worse and was now on his legs.
The doctor prescribed him an antibiotic called augmentum which tasted absolutely horrible! He would just throw it up every time we attempted to give it to him. So I took it back to the pharmacy to get it flavored, which didn't help because he still couldn't keep it down. So Thursday we called in and asked if they could prescribe something in a capsule so we could put it in his milk. That worked a little bit, but he still would vomit from us trying to give him Tylenol or ibuprofen, so who knows how much of the antibiotic actually stayed in him.
Thursday night he was up all night. Crying, coughing, and overall miserable. He was retracting and was working too hard to breathe. His heart was beating incredibly rapid, and his rash had spread to his hands and one of his ear lobes. Finally, we were able to go to sleep at 5am. Friday morning, I called the doctor and made an appointment for 4pm (that was the earliest time available). I made an appointment for Jett as well, as he was coughing terribly and had had a fever the previous day as well.
Dave and I spent the day taking turns sleeping. Finally, we all got into the car and headed to the doctor's office. You know there is something not right when the doctor comes in immediately after the nurse. Usually we sit waiting for at least 15 minutes before he shows up. The nurses all looked worried, and Dr. McCune seemed very concerned, but you could tell he was afraid to tell us his assumptions. They gave Miles a breathing treatment and listened to his chest. He looked at his rash and didn't know what to make of it. After quickly looking at Jett, he told us that we needed to take Miles to the ER as fast as possible.
We got to the ER in American Fork at about 5pm and Dave went back with Miles where they took his vitals and asked some questions. I sat in the waiting area with Cruise and Jett since they won't let any children under 14 in the back area unless they are being treated. I called my sister Abby to come pick them up and take them back to our house, which was so nice of her because she was already tired and had things of her own to do. While we waited, I called Texas Roadhouse and put in an order for dinner since we all hadn't eaten yet. Once Abby got there, I had Dave go with them to pick up the food and go home to get his car.
While I stayed with Miles, the doctor informed me that they were previously worried he had meningitis, but from what they could tell, he didn't have that at all. But because he was in desperate need of some antibiotics and fluids, they decided to start an IV. I hate watching my babies get IVs. It takes them at least 3 tries to finally get a good line. Once they got the IV in, they took some blood to run some tests on. Then they got his fluids and antibiotics going, and they managed to get some Motrin in him as well. The poor kid was tired and in pain and just wanted to sleep, but people kept coming in to poke and prod. Finally, the x-ray technician came in and took an x-ray of his chest right there in the room.
After that, Dave came back with dinner and the laptop so Miles could watch Sesame Street and get his mind off his hand being all taped up with the IV.
Dave called me on my way home and told me that the doctor didn't need to do a spinal tap and that they could go home! Miles came home so happy! He was happy to have that IV out of his hand, happy to not be bothered by strangers, and happy to be able to snuggle with us in our bed.
We were instructed to follow up with either our doctor or one in the practice to be sure he is doing well and won't need to go back to the hospital. Everything looked like it was improving and the fluids and antibiotic helped a lot. The doctor told us to keep doing what we're doing and that he didn't need to return to the hospital. The rash is still rampant, but they attributed it to the respiratory virus that he is currently fighting.
Hopefully this will blow over quickly and that Miles will get feeling better fast. We are so sick of being sick!
And that was January. I hope the rest of the year goes significantly better.
