It's Been A Week...

Blogging silence.  That usually means one of two things.  A - I'm struggling with something that preoccupies my thoughts or B - sick kids.

While there always seems to be a healthy dose of (A) going on - the latter this past week was option B.

Starting that Saturday afternoon at the 701 Whaley farmers market (previous post) - I began to get a weird ear ache.  It came, it went, and was bothersome to say the least.  By Sunday afternoon, however, it was debilitating.  I managed to make it through work on Monday - but Monday night it was horrible.  HORRIBLE.  I was up all night thinking my ear was going to explode.

Tuesday morning I head to the doc-in-the-box. No surprise.  Wretched ear infection.  What thirty-six year old still gets ear infections???  Leave there, get my prescription filled, get to work, put computer in docking station - phone rings.  Jack has a fever.

Leave work to go pick up Jack - immediately take him to the doctor - he's diagnosed with strep throat.

Quarantine for 24 hours. 

Wednesday, all three kids have their quarterly check-up with their ENT to see the status of their tubes.  Anna and James both check out fine - one tube on each kid is out.  The other tube(s) are securely in place.  No worries.  Jack, however, also has one tube out.  But that ear has been plagued with ear infections, and at the time of his exam, his ear was filled with fluid.  Problematic in a two-year old whose speech is still developing.  We go back in six weeks to see if it cleared or if he's also a repeat candidate like his brother for tubes and adenoid removal.

Back at work on Thursday.

Friday morning, I'm back at the doctor 'cause my ear isn't any better - and now I'm completely deaf in that ear.  Which makes for some interesting conversations with my spouse who has a tendency to mumble - and my children (which is kind of a blessing - being deaf in one ear makes it a lot easier to tune out the whining and bickering.)  Anyway.  Doctor says the ear looks better - and good news, my ear drum is still intact.  Really?  I didn't realize it was in danger of not being intact.  Says to keep taking the antibiotic - if not better, call on Monday for a referral to the ENT.

Pick up my new prescription for numbing ear drops and promptly return home to tilt my head on the couch so I can administer said ear drops and hopefully keep them in place in my ear and get some sort of relief from the incessant throbbing pain.

Friday afternoon, pick up Anna from her spring break camp at Edventure (that she LOVED and is the topic of another post) then the boys.  Halfway home James proclaims 'mommy, my mouth hurts.'  I get them home, get them settled, take my trusty otoscope (minus the ear piece adapter) and peek in James' mouth.  Bright red nasty throat with big red welts.  Awesome.

Friday night, as soon as Deonne gets home - I take James to the pediatric after hours care.  I heart them.  James has strep.  (Is it any surprise?)  24 hours quarantine.  Meaning he had to miss his soccer game Saturday morning.  And we had to keep him home - which is hard considering he really didn't ever feel bad, never had a fever, just the sore throat, and had WAY too much energy to contend with.

I watched Anna like a hawk over the weekend - sure she was going to contract the super contagious strep throat.  Thankfully, knock on wood, she's managed to escape it.

I, however, am still completely deaf and my ear still hurts.  I posted this on my facebook page earlier in the week - I totally take back every time I lost my patience with one of my children when they had ear infections.  Because these suckers hurt.  Tremendously.  Of course, theirs tend to clear up when they have been on antibiotics for 24 hours.  I've been on them for a week.  Little to no relief.

So off I go to the ENT tomorrow.  How funny is it that I'll be seeing the same doctor who we just saw last week but without my crew of kids.  I should have just asked him to look in my ear that day - since it was still hurting so much.

Oh well.

Apparently my children get their 'bad' ears from their mother.  Hopefully they also get my vocabulary and sense of style.  HA.

So it's been one of those weeks.  It's been a while - so I guess we were due.