Danny told me Thursday morning that his throat hurt when he swallowed. Then he told me again that night at bedtime. I told him I'd call the doctor in the morning. He said he'd go to the doctor as long as she didn't stick that pokey thing down his throat. Yikes.
Friday morning he woke up and told me that his throat still hurt. I called the doctor. As soon as we got there Danny reminded me that he didn't want that pokey thing in his mouth. I told the nurse about his sore throat and runny nose and she returned with the pokey thing to stick in his mouth. Lovely.
She had to swab the back of his throat to test for strep. Danny saw the pokey thing and freaked out. That made Cate freak out. The nurse and I held him down on the table. I pried his mouth open and she swabbed as fast as she could (which is good because Danny was about to bite a few of my fingers off).
He was mad at me after that. Good thing the doctor took so long to come in. Danny had calmed down and so had Cate. (Note to self for next time: don't bring Cate.) The doctor checked his ears and proclaimed that both were infected. Lovely again.
She said the results of the strep test weren't clear. She saw a line but the nurse didn't (whatever that means). It didn't matter though since he had the ear infections. The medicine would clear up the ears and the strep if it was indeed there.
I asked her if she could just give him a shot instead of a prescription for him to take by mouth. I know that sounds pretty mean, but the last time he had to take medicine twice a day for 10 days was not fun. For him or for me. Tears were shed and a lot of medicine got spit back out or dribbled down the chin. I don't enjoy wasting medicine that's meant to make my kid better. I also don't enjoy wasting money that I had to spend on that medicine. So I asked for the shot.
The doctor said that he could have it because it had been 3 months since his last ear infection (3 months and 3 days to be exact). Danny heard the word shot and started freaking out again. I don't enjoy making my kid get shots. It's not fun watching him freak out and cry and be in pain. It's also not fun watching him spit out medicine for 10 days so I opted for the shot. (The only reason I know a shot is a choice is from all the ear infections he and Cate both had as babies and the times the oral medication didn't clear them up. That's when they get a shot instead.)
I'll spare you the details. Let me just say that my 4 1/2-year-old has got one cute little tushie and he can cry hysterically like no one else I know. I'm praying for no more ear infections ever again.
To help us all recover from the doctor's office trauma we headed to Target. The kids got slushies and I got a big fat Diet Coke. Then we walked around the store and bought a few other things to soothe our troubled souls.
And this morning Danny woke up and said his throat didn't hurt when he swallowed.
Hallelujah.
5 comments:
Aw. :( I feel bad for all three of you. My daughter has a VERY difficult time with shots. There's usually hyperventilation, near panic attacks, and lots of bribes and threats involved. It's not pretty.
If I ever find any good tips, I'll share. Glad he's feeling better!
Thanks, Marisa. He's back to his charming old self today.
Mia told us for a few days her ear hurt, but it wasn't constant and she didn't have a fever, so I kind of ignored it. This morning it was obvious her ear drum ruptured. I'm feeling like a pretty bad mom. But her ear feels better.
I only took Danny in because he was supposed to go camping with Dan. I didn't want him out in the woods somewhere if a fever was going to start or worse. Otherwise I probably would have ignored it for a few more days. I'm glad Mia is feeling better though.
Poor Danny. I am going to do that next time I go for a strep test. And get a shot in my rump!
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