Sunday, February 06, 2011

Good News - Bad News

Good: Amoxicillin is a wonder drug.
Bad: The fever was persistent.
Good: Josh's ear infection cleared up in 4 days.
Bad: Josh only made it to two mornings of his 3-day school week.
Good: He and Owen missed a good chunk of exposure to head lice at school.
Bad: I still did 6 loads of linen laundry on Thursday just to be safe. (Does you head itch now??)

Good: Our pediatricians are fantastic and willing to wait for us at 4:45 on Friday.
Bad: We had to make our second visit in 4 days.
Good: "Hive-like rash 4 days after starting amoxacillin" is an easy diagnosis.
Bad: Josh has a penicillin allergy.
Good: One dose of Benedryl and a big note on his chart, and he's good to go.
Bad: The story didn't end there.

Good: We were smart enough to grab the camera.
Bad: These pictures don't do it justice, but Josh has looked like this (or worse) all weekend:




Good: Safeway's open at 6:45 AM, so Scott and Owen can pick up breakfast pastries along with a big bottle of Benedryl.
Bad: Josh's skin got worse, not better.
Good: The pediatrician was able to diagnose over the phone - no trip to urgent care!

Bad: The allergy triggered a "hyper-sensitivity" in Josh's body, so he basically has a migrating rash from head to toe - including face and scalp. Heat seems to be the major trigger. When he woke up from a nap on Saturday, probably 70% of his body was red and bumpy. After a particularly hard crying spell today, his whole face was red and puffy. Thankfully, once his skin temp cools down, the swelling and color starts to fade.

Good: Josh doesn't itch and he's not contagious!

Good: The rash should go away in a couple days. In fact, we're already seeing quite a bit of improvement in just 48 hours.

Good: We could still host a baby shower at our house on Saturday evening.

Good: Josh's smiles and daredevil antics seemed to help everyone see past the plague-like state of his body.

We are praying for a truly uneventful week this week. Between the sickies in our house and a couple social events, we figured we made 8 separate trips to the grocery store this week! Add in a major closet purge that has filled my car with bags for the thrift store, 9 quarts of homemade soup stocked in the freezer, 3 more loads of laundry, and the party clean-up... we're thinking going back to work tomorrow is sounding downright relaxing!

2 comments:

Angie said...

Oh that definitely is a sad sight...but I'm glad it doesn't itch! It sucks you have to learn about allergies the hard way.

Anonymous said...

Bless his baby heart - it sure does look like it itches. I'm glad you have a good pediatrician. No more penicillin for Josh!!! I have a spot on my chin that has been itching since Thursday night - it's yucky looking - blistery and irritated. I called for and appointment for Friday, and he can't see me till tomorrow - hope he gets me relief like Josh!!! Love ya'll, Aunt Tracey