Sick little Avalee

A week ago last Sunday (the 23rd) we were at my parents house for my dad's birthday. Avalee seemed a little warm, but we all agreed that it was warm in the house, and chalked it up to that.
We came home, put the kids to bed and a couple hours later Avalee woke up and was burning up. A check of her temperature showed at almost 100. We were all getting over colds, and I thought maybe that was the cause of it. She wasn't really fussy and after some acetaminophen, her temp went back down. The next day, she had a fever on and off, but still low grade. Toward the end of the evening, she started getting kind of cranky, and while I hoped she was just getting tired my Mommy instincts told me otherwise. Tuesday morning, when I went to brush Avalee's teeth she started crying. I looked in her mouth and noticed a couple white bumps on her tongue. She still had a fever, so I gave her some more medicine, but she didn't seem like she was in pain or even uncomfortable. She did seem a little lethargic, and after I found the spots (that were obviously painful to touch) I realized she really hadn't been eating well the last couple days. She's always been kind of a grazer anyhow, but I remembered she was doing a lot more of picking at her food and 'sharing' with everyone.
I had already committed to taking my mother-in-law to her MRI appointment, and the kids had plans to spend the morning with Grandma and Grandpa. Since Avalee seemed to be okay, I sent her over with the promise of a Target Icee after I picked them up.
After the promised Icee (and popcorn too, of course) we headed back home. Another check of her temp showed it at 100.1.
I decided to call her pediatrician's office, and the nurse immediately had me check her hands and feet for a rash, thinking it might be Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. When I told her I didn't see anything, she scheduled an appointment for the next day.
That night poor Avalee was really not starting to feel well. She didn't sleep well all through the night, although the fever seemed to be mostly gone.
At her appointment the next day, her pediatrician checked her over, and took a quick look into her mouth. She was really not feeling well, and cried through the brief five minute exam. He said she had the Coxsackie Virus, and that it could either be the HF&M Disease or Herpes (aka; cold sores) which pretty much manifest in the same way (fever for a few days than the mouth sores). He said that it would probably clear up in about a week, and to make sure she was hydrated. Unfortunately there is no medicine to 'cure' it; just Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen for pain. Of course, I was happy that it wasn't anything really serious, but also upset that there really wasn't anything we could do to 'fix' it. I could tell poor A was already in pain, and
We went to the store to grab some Popsicles and juice (which is usually a no-go in our house, so the kids were pretty excited about that...haha).
Avalee fell asleep on the way home, but woke up as soon as we pulled into the garage. I tried getting her back to sleep, but she just wasn't having it. We decided to just pop a movie in and snuggle on the couch until Daddy got home. I already had plans with my mom's group to go play bingo that night, but was thinking about staying. I just felt so bad for my poor girl! Colin finally convinced me to get out, reasoning that I probably would probably have a rough week ahead. I decided he was right (rarely happens) and made him promise to call or text me if I was needed. He gently shoved me out the door, and poor A managed a sick little wave goodbye.
When I got home, I was surprised that she was asleep and in her own bed (Daddy can be kind of a pushover when Mommy isn't home). However, about an hour after I got back, she woke up and was clearly in pain. We tried giving her meds, which she kept spitting out then tried getting her to eat something. We could tell part of her problem was that she was hungry, but after trying to eat cheese, a pickle and raisins and she would dissolve into a fit of tears. We finally got her to eat a Popsicle, which settled her down (along with what medicine actually got down) enough to eventually get back to sleep.
The next couple days were just awful. She was just in so much pain and was miserable. She was fussy and cranky (which besides the obvious reason, are actually a symptom of the illness) from the moment she woke up to the moment she fell asleep. She was so hungry, but it was too painful to eat anything. At first, she would at least eat Popsicles, yogurt, applesauce but eventually that too became to painful. Every moment of the day became a battle of her begging for something to eat/drink, me presenting her with about 10 things and her rejecting everything. She was so desperate, upset and in pain, she would just scream and throw the food item she couldn't eat. And, in between that she wanted to be held and carried around all the time. She was so lethargic that she would just kind of melt into a little puddle when I tried to put her down.
At night, she would fall asleep but refused to go down in her crib. She slept fitfully in our bed, crying, moaning and signing 'hungry' all through the night. I think I was sleeping in about two to three hour increments, waking up periodically to offer her various food which she would reject.
All of this reminded me of what it was like to have a newborn again.
And, then there was poor Zavion who was definitely getting shortchanged in the attention department. But, instead of acting out, which would have been reasonable, he really shined. He doted on his sister, bringing her drinks, taking her temp (which his own doctor's kit), bringing her books, singing her songs and so much more. He really exemplified what a big brother can be and I know Avalee appreciated it.
The rest of the week just dragged by though, feeling like weeks instead of days. The weekend arrived, and Saturday morning Avalee actually ate! She had a little yogurt and applesauce and even seem to have some energy. We decided we had been cooped up inside for days, and it was a beautiful sunny day, so we headed to a new park in our area. I made some sandwiches and packed Z's lunchbox with some other soft foods I was hoping A would eat. Of course, Avalee wouldn't eat when we got there, but did drink some of the Koolaid I brought for her. She just sat on my lap for awhile, but once she saw her brother running around playing, she just couldn't resist. She decided to check out the slides, and once she got into it, there was no going back! She went down the slide over and over than spotted the swings and couldn't get to those fast enough. As soon as she got in the swing, she got a big grin and even started acting like her usual silly Avalee (taking her hands off the chains and saying, “Look! I not use my haaands!”). After about an hour, she started fading and ended up back on Daddy's lap looking ill again. But, she had about an hour of fun time and it was awesome to see her smile again!
Later that evening, Colin and I went to see my younger sister's high school play and the kids went to stay with Grandma and Grandpa. After the play was over, I called to check in and my mom told me that Avalee ate TWO containers of yogurt and was running around and playing with Z for most of the time. And, when she did get upset for a little bit, Z was right there to take care of her, once again.
On Sunday, one week after she started with a fever, she got out of the house for a little while again to play at the park across the street. She played ball with Grandma and of course, take a few turns down the slide.
And, yesterday after we took Grandma D to another MRI appointment, we went to Target to get some diapers. Z was hungry, so we stopped at the Target cafe to get some food. She asked for a chocolate milk and drank about half (plus licked some cheese off of my nacho chips). After a short nap when we got home, she said she was hungry, so I opened the fridge and asked her what she wanted. She asked for pepperoni, cheese and yogurt. She ended up eating about 15 pieces of pepperoni, almost a full container of yogurt and three cups of Koolaid! We even managed to fit in some crafty time, and the kids got to make Shrinky Dinks. They both had SO much fun and it was great to have things almost back to normal again. :)
Today, she ate half a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, some fries and a couple bites of Z's grilled cheese sandwich (that he shared) and chocolate mik. She is still a little whiny and quick to get upset, and her sleeping is still not back to normal (she wakes up a few hours after we put her down screaming until we get her) but I think she's definitely on the mend!
The order of this week is definitely getting back into our routine (because I would love to have that spot back in my bed!), including getting the house back in order (after a week of not doing much because caregiving, there's a lot of laundry to do, floors to vacuum and rooms to straighten) and trying to get Miss A to start eating regularly again.
I'm really, really hoping the next illness (or two...or five!) pass us by, because I could really use a break! ;o)