It’s Not Monday Anymore

Apparently, in my little world, it has been Monday all week!

 

Hannah came down with a (low) fever on Monday, which turned into a lovely little cold on Tuesday, which then morphed into a painful sounding cough by Tuesday evening…and has decided to stick around for the past few days.  But, true to form, aside from her (adorably cute) congested voice and the alternately runny and stuffy nose, you really wouldn’t know she was sick!  Contrary to what my blog has been telling you, time did not stand still.  Aside from being somewhat housebound (in an effort to avoid sharing the germies), our days have been fairly normal.  We have continued to “do school” (at her request!), and she has been consistently cheerful, obedient, and as always, ready to play!!  (I could take a lesson!)  And, she kept apologizing for being sick!   (How cute is she!?)

 

She woke up yesterday (Friday) morning, and informed us that she was “feeling much more better.”  She still sounded a little stuffy, and had a few coughing fits, but the fact that she said she was feeling better, made us think that this might be shorter-lived than we expected.

 

Of course, that would just be too easy…

 

Around 5:30 last night (about 30 minutes after most doctors offices close for the weekend!), Hannah spilled something on her shirt, and changed into another dress. And that is where the fun began.  Almost immediately, she started complaining that she felt “itchy.”  She does this occasionally when she doesn’t like a particular article of clothing, or if she wanted to wear something other than what Mommy or Daddy chose.  So, like the oh-so-sympathetic parents that we are, we told her to stop.  Well, when she didn’t stop, we began noticing red patches/bumps on her hands and face…and pretty much everywhere else!  (Um, yes, we were duly remorseful for our earlier lack of sympathy.)

 

Of course, my mind went straight to the warnings on her cough medicine which says something along the lines of a cough that occurs with a fever or a rash could be a sign of a serious condition, and to contact a physician…

 

Great.  We just moved here.  She doesn’t have a physician yet.  Her 4-year check-up is due this month, but with family visiting for her birthday, Easter, and then her cold, I just kept putting off the appointment.  So, she “technically” has a pediatrician here, although she has not been seen by her yet.  And, apparently, this is problematic if you happen to need the on-call doctor after hours. 

 

So, I called the on-call nurse provided by our insurance company.  She was very helpful, and suggested Benadryl, to help with the itching, and any possible allergic reaction Hannah might have been having (To what? We don’t know!).  But, because the rash was on her face, she said that while we shouldn’t be alarmed, we should watch for swelling on, or around, her eyes or throat.  If that happened, the nurse suggested going to Urgent Care to get her seen “right away.” 

 

So, we decided to try the Benadryl, and see where things went from there.  So, I was off to the store to find some.  But, as I was walking out the door, Jason noticed that Hannah had more spots on her face…including 2 rather swollen eyelids.  So, off to Urgent Care we went…

 

But, we got there only to find out that they had closed at 8:00…we missed it by 30 minutes.   On to the next!

 

Of course, our second option was further away, but it was specifically a pediatric urgent care…which also means that it was packed!  I guess they didn’t feel that Hannah was sick enough to warrant getting her in right away (a good sign?), so we waited…  Even though it was way past her bedtime by this point, Hannah was in a good mood, and was absolutely wonderful the whole time!  By the time the doctor saw her, the swelling on her eyes had gone down some, but she was still splotchy and itchy.  He checked her throat, after she told him that it hurt.  (With all the coughing she had been doing, that was no surprise!)  Although it was “quite red,” he was able to rule out strep, and pronounced the rash a strange, but relatively harmless part of, or reaction to whatever virus she has.  And, they gave her a dose of Benadryl, and sent us home.  🙂

 

On the one hand, it sort of seemed like a wasted trip, since we could have given her the Benadryl ourselves…at home…much cheaper.  But, we were (and are!) praising the Lord that she was okay, and that it was not a sign of something more serious after all.