reactions and over-reactions.

these ear infections are tapping me out.  i feel like an idiot for complaining, because i absolutely know that this is nothing in the grand scheme - absolutely nothing compared to lots of things i've seen other parents go through with their littles.  we are amazingly blessed and fortunate to have a bebe who has really had no major issues at all.  but the hint of any discomfort in my girl just breaks me down (as i'm sure it does for all parents).  anyway.  emme's first ear infection was the week of thanksgiving, in louisiana.  she had fever, wasn't sleeping, was fussy, etc.  i took her to a walk-in clinic, where she got a prescription for amoxycillin.  it seemed to (basically) do the trick.  until a few weeks later, the week before christmas or so, there was more fever, more fussiness, and more ear-tugging.  back to the doctor, and the diagnosis of yet another ear infection.  this time, they prescribed omnicef, so she was back on an antibiotic.  fast forward to MLK day (why does this always seem to happen on holidays?) and she woke up with a fever AGAIN.  i should clarify that, ideally, i am not the kind of mother who runs to the doctor at every sign of a temp.  but, as a working mom with a kiddo in daycare, i don't really have a choice but to bring her when she has fever on a weekday.  i have to be able to know whether i can take her back to school or what.  anyway.  back to the doctor again, and, you guessed it, another ear infection.  yeesh.  so, this time our doctor decided we should try augmentin, a ten-day, twice-a-day antibiotic to try to nip it in the bud.  she warned of tubes, but we were all hopeful that this stronger 'script and the promise of spring would keep us in the clear in that regard. 

so.  wednesday morning was day 8 of the augmentin.  she woke up and had a little welt on her cheek, but i assumed a mosquito had gotten into her room in the night and bitten her (yes, in texas we have mosquitoes all year round).  i brought her to school, as usual, and got a call around 9:40 that she was having an allergic reaction.  i'm lucky in that i have never really had a reaction to anything, but i had NO idea how to react to this situation.  i called her doctor, justin, and my mom in the 6 minutes it took me to drive to her school (amazingly, i was working from home that day).  the doctor said not to be concerned unless she was having trouble breathing, but to bring her in as soon as i picked her up.  when i got her, she was in good spirits, but her one "mosquito bite" had turned in to a fun little party of hives on her tummy, back, scalp, neck, and face. 

the doctor (not our usual pediatrician and one i'm not crazy about) diagnosed a penicillin allergy and told me to discontinue the augmentin (duh) and to give emme zyrtec for the reaction.  she said i may see hives come and go for a week or so, but that it was fine for e to return to school.  she also said despite 8 days of faithful medication, her ear infection was still in full force, so she needed to get on zithromax, yet ANOTHER antibiotic.  four different ones in three months - yay. 

so.  thursday morning her hives are much worse.  i call the doctor, they say this is normal and probably due to her being warmer while sleeping.  i believe them, so i bring emme to school.  i head to work, worried out of my mind, but trying to just be calm and get my job done so i can go get her.  in a morning meeting, we are discussing kids, i mention this allergic reaction that's going on with mine, and a woman tells me her daughter had this same response to augmentin, only she was diagnosed with erythema multiforme.  i do some googling and discover that this issue is basically hives on crack, and can cause breathing issues and damage to internal organs, etc.  i begin alternately flipping out and staying super calm.  i can make the argument for why she definitely has this condition just as readily as i can make the argument for why there's no way.  but it's obviously super scary, especially being away from her and knowing that she was in a class full of kids where they may not be noticing every slight thing going awry.  the straw that broke the camel's back was when the school called me right before 4:00 (i had a conference call at 4 that i was supposed to lead) to ask me if i could come early and give her some respite.  they said she had fever and seemed worse than that morning.  the emotions and helplessness of the day took over at that point, and a super gracious co-worker told me to leave and that she would handle my call. 

when i got to school, i could tell that e was worse, but nothing overwhelmingly scary.  breathing was still normal, she had been eating, etc.  her fever seemed to be more related to her ear infection, but the doctor on duty when i'd called thursday said to discontinue the zithromax.  so, i made an appointment for friday, kept an eye on her, and got her down early thursday night. 

friday morning brought the height of rash intensity.  holy.  you can see days 1, 2, and 3 below.  it was like she had turned in to a pink giraffe.  again, she was acting normal, but with a fever of over 101 and her skin looking like a topographical map, there was no way i was sending her to school.  justin stayed home with her in the morning and we let her watch tv (she never gets to watch tv) to try to keep her still/resting.  she was interested in that for about 5 minutes, but took a good long nap.  then, i came home from work and brought her to her afternoon appointment.  the doctor who had seen her wednesday saw her again friday afternoon.  she seemed unsurprised by the intensity of her skin, but she had not indicated to me that it would/could get worse, so obviously i was a little freaked out.  she also told me the inside of emme's ears looked like raw meat.  awesome.  she said to put her back on the zithromax, and prescribed an oral steroid to help the hives.  i filled it and decided to see how she looked saturday morning before giving it to her (also didn't want to hype her up right before bed on friday). 

amazingly, miraculously, when she woke up on saturday morning, she looked almost completely normal.  the welts on her legs looked mostly like chicken pox scars, and there was just some very faint swirling on her tummy and back.  i could definitely tell that her skin looked different than it had before, but if you hadn't seen her the day before, you'd never have been able to tell.  she still had a decently high fever, but i kept her on ibuprofen and she was in high spirits all day.  sunday was even better, and we had NO fever after the early morning.  

today, the little bean was back at school as though none of this had gone down.  craziness.  just goes to show me that their little bodies are way more resilient than my nerves, as it took me just as long to recover from the fraying they took over the course of the week.  we were inundated with support and well-wishes and prayers, and we SO appreciate everyone's concern for our bug.  we go for her fifteen month (!) appointment on valentine's day, so we'll know more about the ears and have a course of action at that point...