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Halloween after being sick

Posted on October 31, 2009 2:56 pm by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

To say that you are going stir crazy would be an understatement. You have been home sick since after school Monday afternoon. It all started with a headache and fever. Then you added the cough, thanks to your asthma. You were so miserable and had a tough time keeping medicine down with all of the gagging from the cough.

Thursday you were starting to feel better. You were a huge helper when I asked you to get the door for the emergency crew coming to the house for your little brother. Here you are this morning with a mischievous twinkle in your eyes (much nicer than the feverish look).

I know it had to be a tough week for you. You were upset about missing first grade, especially your calendar job this week and the Pumpkin Picking trip. Thank goodness you are feeling better. Tonight you will probably put your costume on and go to see Nana and Papa and visit a few neighbors on our block. Hopefully next year will be a bit more fun, we just need to stay healthy.

Love,

Mommy

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Dear JSL,

Tonight is going to be hard for you. You remember going trick-or-treating last year and you can not go tonight. Thursday you gave me another big scare in my life. I held you in my arms when you were turning blue and barely breathing. You had your fourth febrile seizure while we were home alone with your big brother. The time after that as we made our way to the ER are all a blur.

Today you have gone without fever medicine since early this morning and so far so good. Thanks to this we left you go outside in front of the house for some fresh air this afternoon.

We still have no real answers about why you had such a high fever. My sweet little monkey, it just seems like we are going to have to be on top of fevers a little more since your poor little body does not know how to deal with extremes.

Love,

Mommy

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Categories:
Dear Kid Saturday holidays jsl looking back nhl photos sick kid weekend

Febrile seizure #4 and ER

Posted on October 29, 2009 5:10 pm by TheAngelForever

Frazzled – that would describe the way I feel right now (so remember that when reading this). I am just back from the ER with the little guy. Just thinking about the events has me scared, unsure and crying. Here is a quick bullet list of things:

Went to school this morning to pick up work for NHL (he’s been home all week with what we think is H1N1).
When I got home the boys were running around, screaming, yelling and playing nicely. I decided to pay bills because the companies are not sympathetic about flu. I was just about to pay the ER visit bill from September when JSL fell on concrete when he came to get me to change his diaper.
We went to the diaper changing station. I picked him up and he made a strange noise. He wold not let me put him down. Suddenly I noticed that his eyes were completely glazed over and he was looking right through me. My heart sank.
JSL’s body tensed up, his eyes fixed over and I knew he was seizing. I quickly felt his body and it was burning up.
I screamed to NHL to get a phone for me. Luckily I had my cell phone in the pocket. As I looked at my lifeless baby in front of me I called 911. This was the first time I was alone for a febrile seizure.
JSL stopped breathing and I started to turn blue/gray. I was about to do rescue breaths on him when he started to twitch a little. I told the 911 dispatcher that I had to go and call my father to come to watch my older son home with the flu.
Dad rushed over and was here right about when EMS arrived. I called TechyDad after I got off the phone with Dad. I guess he never heard that it was JSL and just knew we were likely heading to the hospital.
I carried JSL to the living room and waited for the EMS. They arrived and he was barely upright. We put him on the couch and he refused to open his eyes. He was not responding. Even my father said he has never seen JSL like this after a febrile seizure. It scared the heck out of me.
We went to the ER by ambulance and I listened as they tried to get an IV line into my baby. He screamed. They apparently got it in, but he pushed past three adults on top of him and it came out.
Once again we went back to the ER that I love to hate. We took his temperature there and it was 103.3 at that time. He got Tylenol and threw that up within 5 minutes. Motrin was given soon after and that stayed down.
The resident came after what seemed like forever. He did a thorough exam. The attending doctor came quite a while later, saw JSL gagging (after trying Tylenol again) and said to keep him longer for observation. He NEVER touched my child.
Our doctor’s office called and asked if they were doing blood tests. I told them no. I pretty much demanded it and was told nope, he’s fine. HELLO – my child has Motrin and Tylenol in him. He is not fine.
So we left with no answers. It may be the flu shot from Monday, could be a virus, or could be bacterial. No idea and just told to give him more fever reducers to keep his temperature down. I have flashbacks of April when we left the ER with no answers and he had another febrile seizure the following night (2 in 30 hours).

On that note I best be off to wake the little guy. It is time for more Motrin.

Categories:
doctor jsl looking back losing my mind sick kid

Apples up on top

Posted on October 28, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

There was apparently a joke with the boys about apples on their heads. Here was a group shot from our apple picking trip. More photos of everyone picking the 35 pounds of apples coming soon.

Categories:
fun jl jsl laughs my boys nhl weekend

Portrait conspiracy of the 6 yr old kind

Posted on October 22, 2009 9:39 am by TheAngelForever

Last night, we FINALLY took NHL to get his six year portraits done. Yes, he turned six two months ago, but who’s counting?! Throughout the entire thing, I kept thinking that there has to be a conspiracy. There must be more going on behind the scenes that happens when you go to these studios.

#1 – YESTERDAY, they changed the prices. Just our luck. We wait this long and they do it on the day that we finally go in. *sigh* Had the flu not gotten our house, we probably would have done this 2-3 weeks ago. Oh well, what can you do?

#2 – There has got to be something in the air once you enter the studio zone. The kids are great and cooperative when out in the waiting room. The second they walk into the actual room with the camera all bets are off. This happened in June with JSL for his 2 year portraits (had to do them twice since he would not stay still) and this time it was NHL’s turn. It was like someone was pumping sugar into his veins. He was bouncing off the walls after the first few pictures. NHL would wiggle, dance like he had ants in his pants, and look at the computer monitor instead of the camera.

#3 – Although you never really get the perfect photo, you select the best of the bunch just so you do not have to trudge back again for a second round of "fun" and excitement. I definitely felt this way last night. Even now I am second guessing what was ordered because I sort of like a different one more. Oy!

#4 – The child that is not celebrating their "birthday" is always the better behaved one. That child is the one that will pose, sit quietly and help to make the session work. I swear in May, I am telling NHL it is for him and not for JSL to test this theory.

So, you want to see some of the photos? Here are some thumbnails of the ones taken (sorry they are not the best). First up are the photos with the 6. We took dinosaur and Nintendo/Mario props with us. Two with dinosaurs made the photographers cut and only one with Nintendo.

We went with the first one because it was the best. TechyDad liked that one more than #3 because of the smile on NHL’s face. #2 was never really in the running.

Next, NHL was asked to go onto the floor. The photographer captured this gorgeous shot (this does not do it justice):

From this point on, the session started to go downhill. NHL was wired and did not listen well and could not stay still. He was looking the other way, doing a goofy smile, or something else that a six year old boy would do. Only three from this section made the photographers cut. (Please note the bad cropping was the program I used and not the studio)

Then we decided to be really brave and toss JSL into the photos. We were shocked that it was the little guy that was listening to what the photographer said (unlike at his portrait session in June). The photographer tried a few cute poses, but the little guy had a hard time balancing. Still, she sold us on this one: