December was chock full of medical drama. It started with Lauren's surgery on December 9, and oddly that was the least eventful of the month.
The day we brought Lauren home, I noticed that she would cough as she drifted off to sleep. It wasn't just a cough, but a worrisome, rattly cough that made my heart stop. In light of the recent organ extraction, I was a bit protective. The next day, off to the pediatrician we went. A concerned look from the doctor and xray later, and we were given the prognosis of "either a lung infection or a collapsed lung". Ha. Ha. Ha. There was a "cloud" on the xray that could have gone either way. We opted for the infection and began antibiotics.
That did the trick. The cough slowed and eventually ceased.
December 26 we took Lauren to her 15-month baby checkup. While we were there, we picked up the latest trendy virus, the norovirus. All three of us got it. I was the first to exhibit symptoms, namely being hugely and disgustingly sick between the hours of 2am and 6am (I could have sworn it was food poisoning). At 5am, Lauren barfed all over the bed, thus beginning her foray into viral hell. She was sick for the next two days, but I managed to keep her hydrated enough that she got through it fine. Brad and I, on the other hand...
At noon the next day, I had a major relapse and Brad's initial descent began. By 6pm, we were both dehydrated and miserable. I passed out in the bathroom (by some stroke of luck I had presence of thought to pass out in the bathtub rather than the floor). It was pretty obvious we had to go to the ER. Our friend Ashley came over to watch Lauren (thank GOD she was available to help, I have no idea what we would have done). Six hours, much Phenergan and two liters of fluid a piece, and we were feeling good enough to go home. Brad spent the next two days still sick as a dog.
Then Lauren developed viral pinkeye (the kind with no drops or antibiotics). Quarantine: 5 days
...And then the injection site where she had the chickenpox vaccination began to "sprout" a cluster of pox blisters. At first, I thought it was a spiderbite. Then I remembered the nurse's warning that "4% of children develop a pox-like rash, so don't be too worried if you see something..." Not surprising that my flesh would be in the small minority of "what the??" side effects.
That brings us up to date. Currently, she is in the bedroom screaming bloody murder because we are TRYING to teach her how to go to sleep on her own. It's going fretfully bad, and everyone is exhausted. I just hope it doesn't segue into yet another hideous bug. We've had our share for the season.