...that's how long we managed to go without ever having to take a sick child to the hospital.
So, Griff's not all better, despite 5 days on Zithromax. A re-check at the pediatrician's on Monday indicated that his ears are both infected and his lungs still sound lousy. His cough sounds better, he hasn't had a fever in a few days, and he's acting much healthier, but he's still sick.
The ped ran a new CBC, which came back normal. Poor Griff knew what was coming this time and didn't want the finger stick but was really, really brave. The fact that mommy caved for the second time in a row and let them give him a lollipop probably helped to bolster his bravado. He also took the nasal swab like a champ, although Reese (who also has infected ears and is on day 4 of Zithromax today) was not as thrilled with it. We'll find out on Thursday or Friday what lovely critters the kids are growing in there. Dan and I will probably re-medicate ourselves accordingly - whatever this bug is, it laughs at azithromycin.
Dr. Smith prescribed Cefzil (cefprozil), which made me worry, because Griff is allergic to the penicillins and that gives him a 1 in 10 chance of reacting to cephalosporin drugs. The problem is that the penicillins and related cephalosporins are more effective against crud like this. So we've got the Cefzil and I dosed him with crossed fingers and Benadryl at the ready. So far, so good.
Then, because 1.5 hours in the ped's office and fetching a prescription from the pharmacy wasn't enough to keep two sick kids and their sick mama busy for an evening, we went for a chest x-ray. You know, just for kicks and to keep our insurance company on their toes. No, really, it was to see if the pneumonia is bacterial or viral. Apparently bacterial pneumonia looks wedge-shaped on x-ray images, while viral pneumonia is more diffuse and hazy. Now that you know that, you can hire yourself out as a radiologist and collect the big bucks.
I was worried that Griff would be really fearful about going to the hospital and having his x-ray taken so I talked it up. He's been to the hospital before with Dan (and we picked the same hospital, the one with the famed "underground parking garage") but not as a patient, and he really isn't big on visiting the doctor in general. I told him we'd stop at home, take some medicine and get some dinner and clean diapers for Reese, and then go to the hospital to have x-rays. Do you know what x-rays are, Griff? It's when they use a big camera to take a picture of your insides! Wow! My camera can only take pictures of your skin and clothes outside your body but this camera can take pictures of your bones and your lungs and your intestines. Cool!
Mom's marketing plus the parking garage excitement made for a smooth trip. Miraculously, the outpatient registration lobby was nearly empty and the woman behind the desk was happy to meet me, having checked in lots of my husband's patients. On our way to the radiology department, I remembered Curious George's hospital adventure and reminded Griff of it, and...duh...that George gets an x-ray to find the puzzle piece he ate. It's not every day that a 3 year old gets to live a Curious George story. Radiology was deserted except for my two guys who were thrilled to explore the waiting room. The radiology tech was wonderful with Griff, and Griff happily went down the hall with him, quietly cooperated with all the instructions, and stood patiently while his pictures were taken. Then we talked about the computers in the room, what the lead aprons are for (he got to wear a little lead loincloth), how the cameras send pictures to the computers, the way you can take an x-ray of any part of the body, etc etc.
Getting back into the car a few minutes after bedtime, Griff exclaimed, "THAT was FUN!!"
Yeah, but let's not have any repeats any time soon, ok?
Dan was on call last night. I had had the forethough to have Griff's results sent to him as well as to the pediatrician, so when he got called in to HDH last night and logged in to check his patient's info, he was surprised to find Griff's x-rays waiting there for him. He called up the radiologist and reviewed them right then. Nice to have some perks to late nights at the hospital! He said the films were really cute, this tiny little boy body. He apparently got all mushy about his little guy and the radiologist didn't quite get it. I thought it was sweet, though.
So...the results: no bacterial pneumonia. Hooray! There is "perivascular cuffing" which is apparently consistent with viral pneumonia, but no bacterial bugs in there so far, so that's good. The gunk in his ears (and mine, and Reese's) is probably a bacterial secondary infection. Once we find out what kind of bacteria it is, we can go from there.
Dan will be able to get a copy of the digital images for me and plans to get it after the report is dictated so we can have a copy of that, too. I'm psyched to share the pictures with Griff, who will be THRILLED to see his own bones.
Chatted with Gayle Smith today, she's also encouraged by the results (I didn't mention that I had them before she did). We're going to keep Griff on the Cefzil in the hopes that the bacterial yuck in his ears doesn't migrate south, and possibly change antibiotics on Thurs/Fri when the cultures come back.
I finished my Z-pack yesterday and my ear is throbbing today. Sudafed is helping but I wonder if I should start some Amoxicillin or Augmentin. Oy. Wonder what superbugs we're breeding?
Griff's out of school until further notice, in order to prevent him from contracting anything else. His classroom is a mess, lots of flu and strep and various coughing illnesses. Dr. Smith doesn't want his immune system to take another hit right now. I'm inclined to agree. That and I don't want to share what we've got.
Ok, so that was long and rambly, sorry, but it's what's going on. Exciting, although perhaps not the kind of excitement we'd prefer. The original plan for last night was to take the boys to see the lights at the botanical gardens. Cross your fingers for us that we're all healthy soon and can get back to having fun!
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