Tonsillitis

Grace woke up sick and out of sorts this morning, even fussier than she was yesterday.  There was also a slight yellow tint to her skin, a rash, and she didn’t want to eat breakfast.

Since she had no fever, I suspected that she was having side effects from the antibiotic.  Isn’t it strange how weird stuff always happens with kids at night and on the weekend?  So, instead of going to her regular pediatrician, we braved another trip to the urgent care clinic.

After waiting a few hours, we saw the doctor.  Grace’s throat was still very red (to my surprise) and the subsequent strep throat test was positive (again).  Apparently, the antibiotic has not cleared the infection since last Tuesday night.  She was diagnosed with tonsillitis caused by strep and given an antibiotic shot in the same dosage that would be given to a 200+ pound man.  The shot was so big that it was divided into two shots and given simultaneously by two male nurses that were holding her down while she was screaming “Help me, Mommy!”  I think it was as traumatic for me as it was for her.

Because of her yellowish color they also decided to do a liver function test via another traumatic blood draw.  I found out that when strep is untreated or not affected by antibiotic treatment, it can spread to internal organs.  We’ll find out those results tomorrow or Monday morning.  We must go back in 2-3 days for another strep test as well.

Even though she had no fever, they assured me that she was highly contagious.  I want to apologize now to my friends and family that we spent time with yesterday at the Founder’s Conference…if I had suspected she still had strep, I would not have taken her out of our home!  I’m praying that she didn’t pass it along to anyone else.

When I filled her new antibiotic prescription at the pharmacy, I couldn’t resist buying her a doll. 

To a 4-yr-old little girl, Tinkerbell makes everything better.