Charting our course

This is the medicaine chart. On Wednesday Adam complained of a headache. On THursday Kathy brought him to my office at 3:30 so we could go directly to an appointment with the brace people, when he arrived he was shivering and burning up and complaining of a headache. The school nurse took his temperature and it was 101. We went to the appointment, and headed straight home afterwards with a pit stop for gas and Advil. His fever didn't decrease much and the headache persisted, so he stayed home form school Friday. Now this is all complicated by an extremely stuffy nose. Saturday is spent in much of a stupor, between sudafed, advil and nyquil. Sunday comes and he is feeling slightly better, enough to make a quick trip to Dodger stadium to pick up season seats. He doesn't last long and we end up sitting in the top level watching the Braves take batting practive for a while, just relaxing and enjoying the fresh air as opposed to his "sickroom". Back home again and back to the headache and fever. During all this time span Thursday through Sunday Adam ate esxactly 3 pieces of dry toast and a snack size bag of microwave popcorn. He has been good about drinking and has drank more than a gallon of Apple Juice and some Gatorade. About 7pm the headache has gotten so bad Adam is reduced to tears and I decide to call the dr. His advice is to go to the er so that is what we do.
Kat drives and we head off. They determine he is severely dehydrated an hook him up to an iv with saline and antibiotics. Afater 4 hours we leave with a kid feeling better a diagnosis of pharyngitis and a scrp fo amoxicyllin. (Side note, before we laft I remembered to take the spaghetti noodles off the stove and drain them but not the sauce that was simmering on low) We get home around midnight and Ris has turned off the sauce and Mel and I head off to a 24hour pharmacy. Back home stick a pill in his mouth and go to bed.
He doesnt wake me all night but at what my alarm clock says is 6:13, Adam knocks on our common door and announces it is after 7! The only clock not to get changed this weekend is my damn alarm clock! I rush and run and get ready for work (supposed to be there by 7:30), give him the amox and a benedryl for the decongstion and leave for work. At 8:15 I get a call that he has thrown up, his fever is back and his head hurts. DR office opens at 8:30 I maje a same day appt for 10:15. When we gat there, they have no record of his appt and decide to send us back to the er based on his symptoms. Off we go....When they triage him at er his temp is now 102.2 and they ask what meds I gave him, when I tell them they say what about the fever? No tylenol? No, I thought the amox was supposed to work on that, oh no they say he should be taking the amox, motrin AND tylenol to combat all of the symptoms. The triage nurse administers a quick 600mg of Motrin and sends us into the back rooms, we are actually only 2 beds over from where we were less than 12 hours before. The nice dr comes in with her student in tow and explains everything that Adam should have taken and tells him to rest and let the Motrin take effect. While he is resting there is a couple in the bed across the way getting very cozy with each other. It really is quite embarassing. After Adam takes a nice nap his fever goes back down to normal and we are getting ready to go home. We are given another perscription for a nasal spray FLonase, and am advised to give him Motrin every 6 hours, Tylenol every 4 hours, Sudafed in the morning and again at 3 but not later than that because then he won't sleep, he can have the Benedryl at night to help him sleep and the Amox every 8 hours. Hence the medicine chart on the fridge. There is no way I could remember all of that and expect others to be able to help me, if I didn't try to organize it.
As I was handing the receptionist my $100 co-pay I was very thankful that Medical insurance is not like car or homeowner insurance where the more you use it the more it costs, I would be completely broke by now with everything we have been through this past year. Thank goodness for insurance!