A Tale of Two Sickies

by Kate Hayes,

As a mom, there is nothing I dread more than realizing that one of my kids is sick. It is such a helpless feeling to know that your child is miserable for reasons that are out of my control. And when doctors can’t explain WHY your child is having the symptoms that they are having, that just makes the feeling ten times worse.

Our kids are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to “sick child behavior.” When two-year-old Kellen doesn’t feel well, he makes everyone else in the house miserable as well. For the duration of his illness, Kellen will offer nothing but cries and whines to anyone within earshot. He moans. He flails. He will not be consoled. He sleeps even worse than he usually does (which is not good to begin with). And…this is the worst part…he REFUSES to take even the most basic of medications. Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, amoxicillin…you name it. If you force it in, he vomits it up. The last time that Kellen had a fever, we finally had to resort to acetaminophen suppositories to get his fever down. We always feel sorry for the little guy, but end up feeling a little sorry for ourselves too. Kellen is just not an easy sick kid to live with.

Then, on the other hand, there is five-year-old Anna. It is hard to tell when Anna is sick because she probably won’t tell you she’s feeling bad. She will continue on with her normal cheerfulness as best as she can. Our telltale sign is that she will appear much more tired than usual, and we may even find her curled up on the rug or the couch. Or we will feel heat radiating from her body when she has a fever. This is what happened a little more than a week ago.

She had been to the doctor the day before for a sore throat, which was said to be a virus. Then, the fever appeared. (Of course, just days before I started my new job. Impeccable timing, right?) The biggest problem is that ten days and two more doctor’s visits later, Anna’s fever has never truly “disappeared.” Every time that we think that she has gone fever free for a day, we look up and her cheeks are flushed red with a 103 degree temperature again. The poor kid has downed dose after dose of Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen with little fuss. While she tries to act fine, she doesn’t look like herself at all. She is clearly exhausted. I am exhausted with worry. What on earth could be causing my little girl’s continued fever?

Now that we can self-diagnose illnesses on the Internet, I find myself looking up all of her symptoms and freaking myself out over the worst-case scenarios. I know that this is not helpful. Yet my desire for answers (and a cure) propels me to keep looking. Do you ever do this, or am I a crazy hypochondriac mom?

My husband will be taking Anna back to the doctor for blood work tomorrow. Hopefully, that will help yield some answers, whether it is by ruling things out, or making a definite diagnosis. Whatever is causing this fever, “Doctor Mommy” just prays that there is a magic pill that will make it go away fast! If you believe in prayer, please pray that my baby gets better soon!

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