02 July, 2009

image by : reallynatural.com
So my girl has been sick for the past couple of days. Fever and headache seem to be our newest addition to the family! Her brother had it last week and monkey has the fever along with her this week. However, yesterday she kept coming to me and stating how she felt dizzy too. I told her her to go drink some water and go lie down for awhile. Then last night while we were watching "WIPE OUT" , she was leaning against me and I felt her hitting my arm in a consistent pattern. Ummm, that wasn't her arm... that was her heart beating out of her chest. That was freaking me out a little bit. We found out that a child's resting heart rate should NOT be above 90. Hers was about 115. I started to get worried and sent hubby on a fact finding journey on the Internet.... we couldn't' find out much.


The other issue I had was that I didn't know whether to give her the Tylenol (with all this garbage going on about it) or give her Motrin-- something that wouldn't elevate her heart rate more. I figured the fever was what was elevating it. So against my hubby's judgement, I called the doctor. ( Okay, ladies... are all men like this? I was really getting frustrated thinking he was more worried about the $$ it was going to cost WHEN they told us to go to the ER, which they more than likely will since they are "money makers" according to him! I was purely worried about my girl and wanted to know how to help her if she needed it. I like to err on the side of caution and would like to have piece of mind. Also I had another sick baby at home that if I could gain some insight, maybe I could cut her illness in half.)


Anyway, I called them... to ask them my Tylenol question. They weren't at all worried about the heart rate. That is normal with a fever. Okay... I can live with that. They then decided that they were worried about the headache, fever,and dizziness. They wanted to have her checked out at the ER to rule out any neuro issues or meningitis. So , now I am a little worried. I trust my Doctor. I have been going to her for 11 years. She knows my kids... I know my kids. I have called before and they have said... just watch her and bring her in the morning. My Doctor is VERY cautious. That is really why I like her. I hear her concerns, but then it does become my discretion whether to validate them or dismiss them based on my gutt and how well I know my kids' bodies! Sometimes it gets really old, but that one time it stops something serious in its tracks, I will be grateful.




Off we go to the ER. I am second guessing myself the whole way. I allowed myself to think that they better find something to justify this trip or Hubby is really going to be mad.... then I had to smack myself around a bit. Hey, at least when I get home, my girl and I both can sleep well knowing IF anything is going on. I am a mom, hear my roar... baby is sick. Sure it could probably wait, but they don't want anything to get out of control during the night. We got the the ER. It must have been a slow night, because we got right in. (in and out in 1 1/2 hrs.) The staff was great, the doctors were great! Princess watched Hannah Montanna ... who would have thought Disney channel runs those shows at midnight.... huh! They tested for strep, swine flu, and tested her urine for infection. Everything was clean. That means VIRAL. Nothing to do , but rest and eat! GREAT!


Now to go home and tell hubby... this ought to be good! I thought on the way home. Yes, I have piece of mind and now I have some insight on what is going on in our house. Yes, it could have been waited out, but what if it had been meningitis? I have to stop second guessing myself. My question still lingers.... are they cautious doctors or are they just trying to make money? I like to think mine is a cautious doctor. Now, there have been times where she wanted some extra tests done or us to go see a specialist "just to be safe". My gutt told me NO, and we didn't . That becomes our responsibility as parents to know what is best for our kids and take what the doctors suggests and decide what to do with it. This is also the same doctor who sent us to the ER about a couple years ago for suspected appendicitis. I thought she was crazy, but when we got there, it was the start of pneumonia. We caught it early because she was cautious. . In the age of preventivie medicine, we have to have that mindset to be cautious, have things checked out, be grateful for negative results, and rejoice when we catch it early enough to be treated!



I will continue to trust my doctor to be cautious. I will NOT second guess myself and how I chose to help my child. They could very well be money makers... (we will see when the bill comes :o) but those money makers just might save my child's life one day because they were cautious. Princess is doing fine. She still has the fever and headache, but we KNOW it is nothing but viral and will go from here!


(thanks grammy for keeping us company!)




7 Comments:

  1. Lori said...
    that is always such a hard decision. you don't want to assume that nothing is wrong and have it be something major, but at the same time you don't want to over react to what could be nothing.
    Largaespada Family said...
    Oh sweet girl! I hope she is feeling better today. Unfortunately, we have found ourselves in that same battle of trying to figure out "WHEN to go?" We definitely want the best for our kids. 9 times out of 10, we typically pour our money to the doctors for them to tell us it's a virus and will run it's course. BUT, you just have to make the best decision as a mommy that you can make. You gotta play it safe! Our kiddos are PRECIOUS!!!
    Leslie said...
    Rest up... Hope everyone starts feeling better soon!
    Angela @ Nine More Months said...
    Thanks for stopping by my blog! I know how you feel about being cautious. We were always quick to run to the doctor with our first, and so I tend to be hesitant now with our second. But if my gut says to go to the Dr or ER, then I go.

    Glad to hear that your Princess is okay!
    Mikki said...
    Wow. What a crazy time. SO So glad your little princess is doing better.

    It is hard to know what's really going with these doctors. I know they go into the field wanting to help people.. we just got to keep praying and trusting in the GREAT PHYSICIAN who is really in control!!

    Blessings!!
    Honey Mommy said...
    Better safe than sorry! I am always relieved when it turns out not to be a big deal, even if I have to spend money. Luckily my pediatrician has an after-hours clinic, so we usually can avoid the emergency room!
    Tonya said...
    I sometimes think they are looking to make money but not always. I am a lot like you in second guessing myself about sicknesses. My 2nd was complaining of sore throat and headache and was running a fever of 102. He slept through dinner and when he woke up both his eyes were very PINK. I have 3 other kids so I took him in to make sure it wasn't pink eye and to get something if it was. Well it was ALL viral. He did have pink eye but there was nothing to give him to help with it. I thought GREAT, I just spent money to be told nothing can be done for him. Though I did have peace of mind. Sorry so long.

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