Rowen's past week...it's been wild!

Does anyone else feel like they need to walk around in a bubble right now??! There are a lot of sick people around...the flu, pneumonia, colds, etc...It got to Rowen and Brent but hasn't gotten to me. I'm thankful for that. I think I have a pretty strong immune system because I never ever get sick! It all started Jan 5...12 days ago. My parents kept Rowen that Friday night, the 4th. My mom called us and said she could here what sounded like a rattling in Rowen chest and that we might want to make an app with the drs office the next day just to make sure he didn't have pneumonia. Apparently it is attacking a lot of people so far this winter. So we picked him up early the next morning and headed to the drs office. Well, our dr wasn't in so we saw one of the other drs that day and after checking Rowen out, he said everything looked good and there was no rattling in his lungs...no pneumonia, no flu. He decided to check his ears to rule out an ear infection and BAM! Row had a double ear infection and a pretty bad one in the left ear. Poor thing! So we got him on amoxicillin. He had been on this once before and did fine. So that was Saturday. Tuesday he woke up from his morning nap coughing up a lung. It actually sounded like he was choking on something. So I burst into his room and grabbed him. His coloring was fine but he was still coughing and it sounded like he had a little something in his throat. I knew that was impossible though b/c he was in his crib and there was nothing else in there with him. So, I called the dr and after I told the nurse his symptoms she said " oh yes, it sounds like he has croup. Go ahead and bring him on in". So back we went! He indeed had croup.

For those of you that don't know, croup is the baby version of laryngitis. Well, well, well! Brent had laryngitis a few days before. He passed the virus on to Rowen. Poor little guy. The dr did say his ears were looking a lot better so that was good!!

BUT WAIT....the WORST part is coming!! 

There was nothing he could take for croup since it was a virus. We just had to let it run it's course. Last Saturday( 4 days after the on-set of croup and the last day on amoxicillin ), we noticed that he had broke out in tiny little bumps that evening. They looked like little bug bites. They were on his chest and legs. We called the nurse( story of our lives the past week and a half...haha! ). She said it sounded like a reaction to something but she wasn't sure what. She told us to keep watching it and make sure it didn't turn into hives or that he didn't become purple/blue on his feet or around his mouth....needless to say I was up every 2-3 hours that night making sure he was ok! Brent went to get him up on Sunday morning and the next thing I know is he is telling me in a panicky voice to "get up right now and throw some clothes on, we need to head to the children's ER". He told me the bumos had grown and they spread all over his body and he looked like a dalmatian. We went got to that ER in what felt like 5 minutes! It's about a 15 minute drive. I sat in the back with Rowen to watch him and I was comforted with the fact that he was breathing fine and his coloring was ok too. He seemed a little drousy but I think he was just tired still. They saw us pretty quickly. {side note: I had never stepped foot in an ER before. Had no clue what to expect. I thought there were going to be people screaming and people crying and carrying on...too much tv?? Yes, I think so!!} We were actually the only ones in the waiting room and it was quite and peaceful in there. After the dr came in and checked him out, she said this is an allergic reaction to the penicillin in the amoxicillin. So, he's allergic to penicillin moving forward. 

This is a pretty severe reaction FYI! Doesn't he just look pitiful? I just felt so bad for him. It wasn't painful though. They prescribed him a benadryl type medicine to help him not itch. Monday the spots kept growing...they weren't suppose to be! And some of them turned purple-y and also his legs and feet started to swell...so much that it looked like if you touched them they would pop! So, back we went to the drs office that night. We saw a different dr yet again. The one thing I will say about the practice we go to is that every single dr there is a great dr. They are all very kind and very very smart and know everything! haha. 

Monday evening.

Those aren't kiss marks on his face! That's the allergic reaction :( He wanted his stuffed animals up there to keep him company while he ate dinner!

The doctor prescribed him a steroid Monday evening b/c nothing else was working. I am so glad he did because it started working immediately. Oh yea, you know there ear infection that started this whole snowball of sickness?? It never cleared up. When his body rejected the penicillin and decided to become allergic to it, the ear infection was getting treated anymore so it had returned to how it was the very first day...terrible looking. So he prescribed a liquid for of a Z-pac. That did the trick!

This was Tuesday. Feeling so much better! He enjoyed watching the Winnie the Pooh movie...twice!

 Today he is on his last day of all meds and is 90% better!! Tomorrow he should be back to 100%! Thank you, Lord! You have definitely been here with us through this rough week and a half! 

Earlier today. Doesn't he look so much better! Almost totally clear of EVERYTHING!! Whew! That was a long re-cap! But I had to fill you in!! His sweet smile is back and I am so thankful to see it!