Operation Fat Jack

It's been a week since Jack has been on the mend. He still has a bit of a cough and his energy is fairly low. He has been going to school only a few hours a day. His teachers have reported he seems pretty out of it so he didn't go at all today. We don't do much.

Last Friday, he weighed 44 pounds. Three weeks ago, he weighed 50 pounds. It took a few days for his appetite to return so while he is home, he eats whatever he wants. There are a lot of hot dogs, french fries and mayonnaise in his life. He ate gnocchi for breakfast yesterday. I am fan of anything to which I can add additional fat.

I have never had fat kids but there are definitely advantages to that. Seeing your child waste away is a bad experience.  

Jack's 3rd ER visit*

I took Jack to our doctor yesterday. He and Sonia now weigh nearly the same. He had broken out in a rash all over his legs. His cough was worse. The doctor changed the antibiotic for his ear infection. She gave us an inhaler so the cough would hopefully calm down. She said he might have pneumonia but suggested we try these things then move on to a chest x-ray in a few days. She also said Jack should not lose any more weight.

When we returned home, I fed Jack tiny amounts of food hoping they would not be thrown up but they were almost immediately.  At this point, I felt despair. How can he heal when he cannot eat? I called our doctor and we agreed I would take Jack to the ER in the morning for a thorough examination.

I did that. He had a chest x-ray. He has pneumonia. He had blood taken and he may also have mono ( a virus with no treatment). The mono would explain the rash on his body as he had never had a reaction to antibiotics before. In any case, we received treatment for which I am so eternally grateful. Jack's mood was ok although as we walked into the emergency room, he asked me if he was going to die. He had been asking more frequently when he'd be able to eat again. Last night, after I spoke to the doctor, I told Jack she told me that he needs water and a hug. I gave him the water and he said "Don't forget about the hug."

This period of illness has been the worst I have experienced yet with my kids. It's been heartbreaking and unnerving.

Jack just ate a hamburger. He has held it down. It is the happiest day of my life.

Jack received 2 Incredible Hulk stickers for being so amazingly calm during the blood draw (which took about 10 minutes). He gave me one of them. I felt it was appropriate that I also received an award.


* I wrote this post on Thursday but didn't publish it until today

Charlie Bucket

Jack looks like he eats cabbage soup three meals a day. He is so incredibly skinny. He has been vomiting for 6 days. It seems tolerable to him but it is horrifying for me. I have also stopped eating but the results are less dramatic. When Jack is sick like this, it is very difficult for me to focus on anything else. How is my business, you ask? Who cares? Let me tell you how Jack is doing. Actually, scratch that. I don't want to talk about it.  I am waking up at night and using all of my will and skills to not think about it.

I took him to a doctor yesterday who said he had an ear infection. He said that would explain the lingering cough and fever. He threw up the antibiotics yesterday but kept them down this morning so hopefully after a couple of days of that he will be on the mend.

Until then, ugh.

105

We are in Arizona and Jack hasn't been feeling well since Monday. He said "his batteries were running low." I thought maybe he was dealing with allergies. He didn't seem to have a fever and he had developed a cough. Then yesterday he threw up. I finally took his temperature and it was 105. I took it 4 times.  Having a sick child when you aren't at home is the worst. Although you think I'd be used to it because it has happened so many times.

After a call to our doctor, I have him a load of ibuprofen. The fever went down. This morning, he can't keep the medicine down so the fever is on it's way back up. I am hoping to visit a local pediatrician this morning. More than anything, I want us to be able to get on our plane this afternoon and go home. Ugh.

Coming home

I've been home for two weeks although I happen to be in Arizona right now so by home, I mean with my kids.  Some people asked me if it was hard to transition to my old life but it wasn't. I was ready to be home. One can be a tourist only so long.

Sonia mentioned to me several times that she hoped I would not go away that long again without her. When I mentioned that her preschool teachers reported that she seemed happy while I was away, she replied, "Yes but they couldn't see my broken heart."