It Keeps Going

Monday morning I took Drew into the doctor for a strange rash/sores that he has had the past month or so. He also has been battling a terrible cough, sore throat and drainage. He was diagnosed with possible impetigo and a sinus infection. While I was there I mentioned to our Pediatrician that Jacob had gotten a pill stuck in his throat a week or so ago and ever since then he had been complaining that food was getting caught. It was very painful and he was starting to get some chest burning as well as shortness of breath.

Our Pediatrician was immediately concerned and told me to go home but keep my cell phone close because he was going to call a Pediatric Gastrointestinal specialist and see what they suggested. Not even 2 hours later he called me and told me that the GI doctor on call was going to meet us at the ER to evaluate Jake. Not really what I wanted to hear.

To make a long story short, an hour and a half after we arrived at the ER we were standing outside the operating room because Jake was going to be scoped. They wanted to look to see if the pill was still in there and check for any ulcerations. When the doctor finally came back out he said the pill was gone but it left behind quite a few ulcers in the esophagus.

We were able to go home that night and Jake is now on 2 different medications. One is to coat his throat and the other is to reduce acid. He seems to be feeling a little bit better today. Lesson learned. If a pill gets stuck it is a big deal. Apparently it can actually erode the lining of the throat and cause a hole. Thankfully Jake's hadn't gotten to that point.

The 3 younger kids and myself have all been battling a terrible cold the last few weeks. Brodie stayed home yesterday because he had a really deep nasty cough. In the afternoon he started complaining that his ear felt full. By evening it was painful and by bedtime he was crying it hurt so bad. After an hour and a half of him sobbing and holding his ear we decided to take him to the ER. Thankfully we were in and out and on our way home around midnight.

They ended up giving him pain medication as well as an antibiotic for the ear. Of course it was an antibiotic he was allergic to so I had to go back to the pharmacy this morning to pick up the correct one. Sigh... When he woke up this morning I realized there was blood on the pillow. His ear drum had ruptured and it was oozing pus and blood. So another call was made to the Pediatrician for advice.

It has been a crazy 48 hours. The baby is sick now too. She has a terrible cough, congestion and runny nose. I just hope it doesn't go any further than that. One of these days we will all be healthy again and I'm really looking forward to that.

For now we are going to try and enjoy our night and celebrate Tony's 14th birthday! It is beautiful out so we are going to grill. I'm hoping the fresh air will make everyone feel better.