Sick

"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut--my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is. . .Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

I used to read this poem over and over again when I was in elementary school. Love Shel Silverstein-One of my favorites...

Devin is sick. Sick. Sick. Sick. I feel really bad for this little guy. He has really bad allergies and the wind has been bad here on and off for the last week and a half. He was having slight issues this past week but was OK and I held off on giving him allergy meds. This Sunday he started to get wheezy and a little more whiny. He was still OK enough when he woke up Monday am with just a little cough and not too much of a runny  nose. He only has 4 days left of school and really wanted to go so I sent him to school and told the teacher that his allergies were acting up and let me know if his breathing was too labored. I got a call from the school saying his breathing was really labored and he had a temp of 100.3. The ped could not get him in so I took him to Minute Clinic at CVS. She told me that his one ear was infected from allergy drainage and that he had a minor fever of 99.1. Gave me amoxicillian for his ear infection and albuterol for the nebulizer to help his cough. She told me to give him Claritin as well. His fever spiked to 102.2 when we got home from CVS and I gave him Tylenol and he took a nap (with a hacking cough.) He woke up and I gave him a breathing treatment and it did nothing so I called the ped and she said to wait two hours, do another and if that does not help go to the ER. Devin still could not catch his breath and was wheezy, dry coughing and short of breath when he tried to talk.

My fantastic neighbor stayed at the house with Riley while I took Devin into the ER. He was given a dose of Tylenol with codeine (since codeine is a cough suppressant), an oral dose of Prednisone and an hour long breathing treatment of adult strength albuterol. His admitting temp was 97.8 and within the hour his temp spiked to 102.6. He already had Tylenol in his system so the doctor was worried about this. He was watching him to make sure he did not have any febrile seizures and Dev was sent to radiology for chest xrays to rule out pneumonia. Films came back clear and he never seized.  The respiratory doctor was super nice and she said that she would not be surprised if Dev was diagnosed with asthma when he gets a little older. She said that Ash and Juniper? pollens are high now and with the winds Dev's little lungs cant keep up. I have no idea if this is b.c he was a preemie or not...but it stinks. Hopefully when we move to NJ he will only have issues in the spring and be OK for the remainder of the year. Vegas is one of the worst places for tree allergies and dust since it never rains to clean the air and its temperate throughout the year so trees bloom and re bloom. Here's to hoping he only has mild reactions to pollen, ragweed and mold. It is scary to see your little kid not able to catch their breath. We got discharged with the diagnosis of bronchitis and an ear infection (just as CVS said from allergy drainage.)

Today he is better. Still short of breath, not as nasaly and still won't eat. Since there's no mucus in his throat or chest mucinex won't help and there is nothing during the day besides claritin and the Tylenol with codeine he was prescribed last night. I can give him dimetapp at night to help suppress the cough so he can sleep. Did not help last night after we got home and him into bed...but today is a new day. I have so much to do around the house so hopefully he and Riley can watch some movies and occupy one another. 5 days left to finish everything up...Holy crow time is flying!

On a side note-Devin is one of the whiney-ist dramatic kids ever! I know he is sick and uncomfortable...but for example, we went to Spring Mountain Ranch to take some pictures the other day. A friend met up with us when we completed the kids shots and her kids and my kids were running around this pasture. Devin stubbed his toe (slightest stub ever!) and was a mess. Crying, shaking, snot dripping out of his nose, yelling that there was blood...mind you it was the smallest dot of blood (maybe a pencil eraser) and he just gets so worked up. I told him he needs to relax and calm down and cut it out. He totally over reacts and if he was really injured I would have more sympathy and patience but come on! I gave him an ultimatum that we would leave if he did not cut it out and he turned it off like that. Totally unneccesary behavior and ridiculous. He never had tantrums or outbursts of negative behavior but every now and then he does this dramatic, crying, snot flinging over reaction to minor injury. Other times he shakes it off and keeps going. Sometimes I think it is because he is embarressed and does not know what to do with his emotions, other times I think he just wants attention. I am SO not ok with wussy kids and if he needs a hug and a bandaid then ok-but I will for sure not entertain the over the top drama he creates. I sure hope I am not the only one who deals with this from a little boy. Girls are typically more delicate while Riley is tough as nails and Devin is my delicate one. What gives?