Mama's Little Bandaid: Viral Spiral

Well, my little lovebug has a pretty nasty viral infection. This past twenty four hours has been yet another tremendous test on my heart. Hello!! Really? Do I need another one!! Sheesh!! Anyway, MJ was not acting like herself earlier this week. She was cranky and running a low grade fever. Her appetite was normal and so were the surprises in her diaper. Nothing out of the ordinary there, so I thought we were going to possibly see a tooth soon. WRONG!! Thursday afternoon rolled around and she had a fever of 102.2, so I made a doctor's appointment for Friday just to have the pediatrician take a look at her throat and ears before the weekend. After another rough night of sweats and no sleep we headed to the doctor with Gma. Ears looked good, breathing good, throat good, and no teeth cutting through in sight. Strange, so the doctor ordered a urine test to make sure she didn't have a bladder infection. Ok, this is where I start to get teary eyed! Two nurses come in to catheterize my child. This can't be good when TWO nurses come in to do this. I will spare all the details, not to mention I have to spare myself, because I don't think I can go through that again. The way she stared up at me in fear crying shook me to my core. Thank goodness my rock, my mother, was with us, because I could barely hold myself together. It literally took me the rest of the afternoon that day, as I relentlessly squeezed my little girl, to recover. Just when I thought we were going to get through this I decided to check MJ's temp and it didn't look good. 104.9!! Per doctor's orders we made a mad dash to the emergency room for blood work. Seriously? Needles!! As if a catheter wasn't enough today! I began to mentally prepare on the way to the hospital which is strategically a traffic light away from our condo. I have gotten pretty good with the "mentally prepare" thing. Deep breathes through the nose and out the mouth. "You need to be strong. You need to do this." Well after five and a half hours Miah Jane endured six nurses, one doctor, two rectal temp checks, complete physical exam, chest x-ray, a blood draw attempt in each arm, fluids through IV, and Mama squeezing her so hard she probably couldn't breathe. I sat on the hardest folding chair in America, Gma sat on the most uncomfortable stool in America with me, while Gpa and Uncle Jordie watched the Friday night side show in the hospital emergency waiting room (Auntie Tanya visiting a friend is Chicago trying not to have a nervous breakdown that she's not here). We all groggily went home with results that she has a viral infection. All we can do is keep her fever down by alternating Tylenol and Motrin. We also need to be sure to keep her hydrated with pedialyte or water. Otherwise the viral infection has to run it's course. Speaking of running a course that is sure what I feel like....the kick my ass obstacle course called "life". I'm doing it though. One breath and one day at a time.

MJ is doing great this morning. Jumping in her jumparoo like she never has before. Here are some pictures of my angel from when we went to the Botanical Gardens for Earth Day with our Schaps friends. I'm gonna go squeeze my baby some more.....