Sick Kid + Other Surprises

This week was more hectic than I imagined possible. Monday evening should have been an omen when Kevin ran over a roofing nail for the second time in a month. He spent part of the evening attaching his spare while I made plans to try and get the tire patched Tuesday morning. Bright an early on Tuesday, Reese and I made a trip to the tire repair place only to discover that his tire was unrepairable since the puncture was too close to the sidewall. We proceeded to spend the rest of the day researching tires and making trips to drop off and pick up daddy's car in between Reese's naps and meals. (BIG thanks go out to Aunt Kim who helped make the day as normal as possible--i.e. we didn't have to wait around in CostCo for 2 hours while the tires were being replaced.)

Our week only got "better" from there. On Thursday night Reese experienced her second major hailstorm. While this storm turned out to be less damaging than the one we experienced at the end of March, it was pretty scary since there were reports of a confirmed tornado touch-down just down the road from our house. We waited out the storm in the bathroom again. Luckily, we suffered no broken windows or serious roof damage this time around. (Yea for the new roof!)

Friday morning Reese and I made a trip to the pediatrician so he could inspect a strange rash she had developed. At first, the rash started on her bottom and I assumed it was a case of diaper rash. With our recent trips to the pool, it seemed a reasonable conclusion---until the rash spread to her feet and hands. The pediatrician confirmed my new suspicion--Reese has hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD). HFMD is nothing like the hoof and mouth disease that cattle suffer from; instead it's a common childhood virus. Since Reese puts most things in or near her mouth and she now spends some time at a daycare facility (at the gym) I'm not surprised she's caught something. The virus manifests itself in small fluid filled bumps on the patient's palms, soles, and the inside of their mouth. Other symptoms include fever, "diaper-like" rash on the bottom, and generally lethargy. Reese's case is pretty mild since he only has a few bumps and she's never run a high fever. There's nothing that can be done to treat the virus, it just must run its course. While at the pedi, however, they also gave her a "once over" just to be safe. This inspection revealed that she has an ear infection in her right ear. Double whammy--now we're on the 10 day amoxicillin treatment. I'm super glad they checked her all over. If not, I might have assumed additional fussiness was a product of her virus or teething and her infection may have gone unchecked until it was much worse.

In addition to her virus and her infection, Reese is getting all of her four top teeth right now. They are all breaking through the gums simultaneously. As a result, Reese is having a tough time eating and drinking. We can't be sure what the culprit is since a) it could be the sores inside her mouth from HFMD, b) it could hurt to suck on the bottle or sippy cup since she has an ear infection, c) her teeth/gums could hurt when she eats and drinks, or d)all of the above. So, we're trying to keep up with giving her ibuprofen which should help the pain and discomfort on all fronts.

Fingers crossed for a smoother week ahead!