Dr. Appt #5

Yesterday we thought we were finally over the hump.  Alivia slept well and woke up fever free!  She hadn't had a fever for roughly 18 hours.  After 10 days of fevers on and off, this was huge.  However, at 1:30pm, she spiked again (101.4).  It wasn't awful, but was high enough I didn't like it.  I called the pediatrician again and asked for an appointment for today.  I really felt we needed her to be seen before the weekend.  Thankfully they were able to get her in first thing in the morning (because no one wants to go to the doctor right now!!).

I was so comforted knowing we'd see Dr. Moore (our primary pediatrician).  She quickly noticed her sinus infection hadn't resolved at all and gave her a stronger antibiotic for that and noticed she was wheezing a little so we started an albuterol inhaler.  In all honesty, since Alivia's last fever yesterday, she's completely turned a corner.  She wanted dinner, she was up playing legos with Drew, and even straightened my hair for me.  Dr. Moore was very encouraged when she heard this and really felt we were on the right track.  Off to Meijer we went for another prescription pick-up!

Corona Diaries: Panic

As the world goes into a panic, we're seeing stores quickly run out of the essential items.  I was down to six rolls of toilet paper and not knowing how long this craziness will last, I decided I'd better go find some.  Off I went to three stores with no success. :(

Meijer...

Kroger...

Walmart...

I decided to check for eggs at Walmart, too.  EMPTY!

The next day I planned to get to Kroger in Greenfield when they opened their doors.  I seriously overheard someone in Walmart talking about how she was there at 7am and got some, so I was sure I was on to something.  When I pulled in the parking lot at 6:55am, this was the scene.  Are you kidding me?  I walked in and made a bee line to the toilet paper isle and they had nothing. :(

Waiting for the doors to open.

I decided to stop at Walmart since I was already close and saw a man walking in the parking lot with Charmin in hand.  I literally took off running!  What is this world coming to?!  I hurried to the back of the store and found it.  I ended up getting four packages, thinking if nothing else I could share with friends if they need it.  We are set for a while now!

And an added bonus, this is what I normally buy.  At this point, I would have bought any brand they had.

Dr. Appt #4

Today is the day I said "I'm done."  After six days of fever, many sleepless nights and no signs of improvement, I called the pediatrician and said we're coming in.  We are immediately given masks as we enter and the NP greeted us with her mask and goggles.  The coronavirus (COVID-19) has officially caused all to be alarmed.  More alarming to me on this day was the fact that Alivia had lost 9 lbs. since our visit on March 5th.  My Riley brain started screaming at me when I saw it.  I quickly requested lab work to be done and the NP suggested we also get a chest x-ray.  Thankfully we didn't have to go far for either, but Alivia was so weak she could hardly walk in and out of the buildings.  She eventually needed a wheelchair to get back to the car after feeling like she might faint during the x-ray.  The poor girl was miserable!  All orders were placed stat, so we waited a few hours and then finally had results - pneumonia!  And praise God her lab work looked good!

The physician told us to come back if the fever wasn't gone in 72 hours but they were hopeful we'd see improvement soon.  We praised God for finally getting us a diagnosis, for it not being COVID-19 and for allowing us to listen to our gut when we knew something just wasn't right.  They called in another antibiotic and we are hopeful to be on the road to recovery!  We are all thankful we chose to stay home.

(Virtual) Dr. Appt #3

Today Alivia is on day number four of her antibiotic and I'm rotating Tylenol and ibuprofen every three hours because she's still having fevers.  We're frustrated to say the least.  She's not sleeping well, often waking up at 2am (it seems to be the same time every night) because of a fever and jaw pain and then she just can't get back to sleep.  I usually end up in bed with her until at least 6am trying to do anything that might comfort her.  Unfortunately there just wasn't much that worked.

We'd have moments of time where she would feel better, but as soon as the fever was back, she'd get knocked down again.  This time I opted to do a virtual appointment with a pediatrician.  (We were again trying to stay away from the exposure to the coronavirus.)  The pediatrician reassured us we were doing everything right and felt we would see an improvement by Sunday or Monday.  

At this time we knew our vacation was not going to happen.  While we were all looking forward to spring break with Dad and Karen and a trip to Disney, it just wasn't meant to be.  Travel bans were starting to be placed.  My work was declaring those that traveled may need to be quarantined for 14 days once they return and Alivia just wasn't well enough for me to feel comfortable going anywhere.  We weren't out much money either.  Our Southwest flights allow us to have a credit until December, so we'll just have to make it a point to go somewhere when this all calms down.  The hotel was fully refunded and for some reason, I hadn't purchased tickets to Disney.  That was a blessing!  So we are out only $300 (Brad's flight was not refundable and the rental car company charged a $50 cancellation fee).  It was disappointing, but we all knew it was best.  Thankfully, I'd been home since Thursday of this week and had planned to be off for vacation, so I could just focus on getting Liv better.

Dr. Appt #2

As I was preparing to leave work, I got a call from Brad that he was on his way to MVMS to pick up Alivia.  The school nurse had called saying she had a fever of 102.  Here we are five days from our first appointment and five days from leaving for Flordia. :(  I decided to take her to Minute Clinic to avoid the med checks in our area.  The coronavirus paranoia has started to come to light in the US, so all are being advised to stay out of doctor's offices if at all possible.  At Minute Clinic we were able to do our wait in the car and never crossed paths with another patient so this made me feel better.

Since Liv had already started an antibiotic, a strep test wouldn't be accurate, so they discouraged doing this.  Instead she gave her a different antibiotic and sent us on our way.  Again, we crossed our fingers and hoped this would be what we needed to see her improve.

Phone Call Request

After a long weekend, I wasn't sure Alivia would feel like going to school on Monday.  Keep in mind she hadn't missed a day all year, so when she called me at work crying, I knew she wasn't well.  She didn't really have any strong symptoms, other than a sinus infection and just feeling off.  I called the doctor's office and requested an antibiotic to clear up her sinuses before we jumped on a plane to Florida over the weekend.  Unfortunately, they prescribed amoxicillin (she typically needs something stronger) and I didn't know until I picked it up at the pharmacy.  We started it that evening and she went to school on Tuesday.  Fingers were crossed as we hoped this would do the trick.

Champions!

Drew's team played in one final tournament in Greenfield last weekend. They went out on top with a 3-0 weekend and 1st place finish. Despite a takedown at halfcourt, it went well. Brad was there while I was in Louisville, but Drew was literally picked up and thrown to the floor in a jump ball situation. If Brad describes it that way, it was bad. He's not soft when the kids are on the court or field. Thankfully he just had a slight headache and was able to finish the game after a brief stint on the sideline. Congrats, boys!

Bluegrass

Alivia was back to school on Friday and claimed she felt well enough to travel to Louisville that night.  Jaycee and Jessica went with us and we split the cost of the hotel to save a little money.  (This is the only way this travel stuff is affordable!).  We stopped in Edinburgh on our way to shop, then got to the hotel around 8pm.  The girls turned in early to prepare for an early morning of volleyball. 

They had a great day playing on Saturday and finished with two wins.  We spent some time at the hotel pool, then shopped again before Alivia hit a wall.  It was clear she was not feeling well at all.  She barely made it through the team dinner and crashed when we got back to our room.  At this point, I was worried strep was setting in as she typically comes down with it once or twice a year.  She managed to play Sunday but it was clear she wasn't 100%.  Thankfully, we made it back home safely. 

I couldn't find a pic of the two of them from the weekend, so this one will have to do. :)

This is such a big event.  Over 120 courts playing at once!

My favorite tournament because they have the world's best pretzels!

This was Liv at the mall.  Clearly not feeling well!

Dr. Appt #1

After working last weekend, I called in on Tuesday and Wednesday because I did not feel well at all.  I was pretty sure it was the flu (body aches galore, fatigue, headaches and chills) and a stubborn sinus infection that would not go away.  After 48 hours or so, I perked up and seemed to be on the mend.  I ended up going to Minute Clinic mid week to get a script for the sinus infection and felt so much better.  Then on Thursday, both kids woke up not feeling well.  Drew went to school, but Alivia didn't think she could make it.  Our upcoming weekend consisted of a volleyball tournament in Louisville and a basketball trip in Greenfield.  With spring break just ten days away, I decided to take them both to the doctor with the hope of getting some quick relief.  The doctor confirmed Drew's sinus infection and gave him an antibiotic, but didn't feel Alivia really needed anything at this point.  So off we went to rest at home and hope that would do the trick.

Runners-Up

These kids played their hearts out this week.  We were not expected to be in the championship game, but a good tournament draw and some strong efforts put us right there.  The boys played a really good HSE team that beat them in the final, but it was fun to watch them nonetheless.