This last Wednesday evening was my last summer softball game (not including the playoffs) and since it was the earliest time slot at 6:15, I decided to take Ben along to watch the game from the dugout. Ben was pretty quiet while my teammates and I came in and out of the dugout between innings. I took it for him being in a new situation and didn't think much of it. When I came in after an inning in left-center field I found Ben with a snotty nose caused by crying. Apparently a fly had not only buzzed near him but had actually landed on him. Obviously he had memories of his recent bee sting in Dayton and was shaken up a bit. I held him and helped to calm him down and noticed he was a little warm. I assumed that the rise in his body temperature had to do with the adrenaline rushing through his system with his fear. From then on he would ask each time I returned to the dugout if it was time to go home yet.
After winning by a few runs, I said goodbye to my team and started toward the car with Ben. He was still not quite himself but I knew he was tired. When we got home he was a mess....fussy, whiny, and clingy. I started to get him into his pj's when I noticed he was still warm - no, hot! I took his temperature and found him to be bordering on 103 degrees! I gave him a dose of Motrin and put him to bed. When I checked on him less than two hours later he was nice and cool. Situation averted? Not quite....
The next morning, Ben's temperature was back up to about 100 degrees so we opted to stay in for the day. More doses of medicine didn't seem to change his temperature much so we kept things low-key throughout the day. By that evening, Ben appeared to be fine, still a little warm but not uncomfortable in any way. As a precaution I gave him one last dose of Tylenol before bed and again found him nice and cool when I went to bed.
By Friday morning it appeared that we were out of the woods. Ben had no fever and was a happy boy. I told him that he no longer had a fever and his response was, "Good! Now my throat won't hurt when I drink my ice water."
"Did your throat hurt before, Ben?" I asked.
"Yeah, a little, but not now," he replied.
We headed out to Carson City before 7:00 A.M. to get the car to the shop for an oil-change and to have a leak investigated. All turned out well and the boys and I took the opportunity of being out of town to get new sneakers for Ben since he had outgrown the pair he started wearing in the spring. As usual, Sam fell asleep in the car on the way home ruining any chances of a decent nap at home. I knew it would be a long afternoon but didn't expect to have two feverish kids by the evening! Nor did I expect to read my sister-in-law's blog and find that her entire family was suffering from strep throat! Brian and I both looked into Ben's throat before bedtime and found his tonsils to be very red with a few white speckles....clearly not normal.
After a fitful night from both boys I was not surprised when they were both awake this morning at 5:30 with low grade fevers and Sam with a snotty nose. I opted not to medicate them and take them to our local urgent care clinic when it opened at 9:00. Brian headed in to work and the boys and I went to get a diagnosis. The nurse took their temperatures and both were fever-free! I filled the doctor in on our strep throat exposure and he decided to do throat cultures on both boys. Let's just say that didn't go over well until the doctor promptly produced a lollipop for each boy. Ben's culture came back clear and his ears looked fine too. Sam's culture also came back clear but both of his ears were infected! Poor little monkey! The doctor prescribed a five day dosage of antibiotics for each boy to clear up any chance of strep and take care of Sam's ears.
After waiting at the pharmacy for the prescription we returned home with a VERY fussy Sam. I got the medicine into the boys with their lunch (along with a dose of Motrin for Sam) and they played happily until it was time for their rests. They are both now sleeping peacefully.
The good news is that Ben will not have to miss his first day of preschool on Monday. Nor will Sam have to miss his first day solo (with Mommy) at TCF's bilingual program.
After winning by a few runs, I said goodbye to my team and started toward the car with Ben. He was still not quite himself but I knew he was tired. When we got home he was a mess....fussy, whiny, and clingy. I started to get him into his pj's when I noticed he was still warm - no, hot! I took his temperature and found him to be bordering on 103 degrees! I gave him a dose of Motrin and put him to bed. When I checked on him less than two hours later he was nice and cool. Situation averted? Not quite....
The next morning, Ben's temperature was back up to about 100 degrees so we opted to stay in for the day. More doses of medicine didn't seem to change his temperature much so we kept things low-key throughout the day. By that evening, Ben appeared to be fine, still a little warm but not uncomfortable in any way. As a precaution I gave him one last dose of Tylenol before bed and again found him nice and cool when I went to bed.
By Friday morning it appeared that we were out of the woods. Ben had no fever and was a happy boy. I told him that he no longer had a fever and his response was, "Good! Now my throat won't hurt when I drink my ice water."
"Did your throat hurt before, Ben?" I asked.
"Yeah, a little, but not now," he replied.
We headed out to Carson City before 7:00 A.M. to get the car to the shop for an oil-change and to have a leak investigated. All turned out well and the boys and I took the opportunity of being out of town to get new sneakers for Ben since he had outgrown the pair he started wearing in the spring. As usual, Sam fell asleep in the car on the way home ruining any chances of a decent nap at home. I knew it would be a long afternoon but didn't expect to have two feverish kids by the evening! Nor did I expect to read my sister-in-law's blog and find that her entire family was suffering from strep throat! Brian and I both looked into Ben's throat before bedtime and found his tonsils to be very red with a few white speckles....clearly not normal.
After a fitful night from both boys I was not surprised when they were both awake this morning at 5:30 with low grade fevers and Sam with a snotty nose. I opted not to medicate them and take them to our local urgent care clinic when it opened at 9:00. Brian headed in to work and the boys and I went to get a diagnosis. The nurse took their temperatures and both were fever-free! I filled the doctor in on our strep throat exposure and he decided to do throat cultures on both boys. Let's just say that didn't go over well until the doctor promptly produced a lollipop for each boy. Ben's culture came back clear and his ears looked fine too. Sam's culture also came back clear but both of his ears were infected! Poor little monkey! The doctor prescribed a five day dosage of antibiotics for each boy to clear up any chance of strep and take care of Sam's ears.
After waiting at the pharmacy for the prescription we returned home with a VERY fussy Sam. I got the medicine into the boys with their lunch (along with a dose of Motrin for Sam) and they played happily until it was time for their rests. They are both now sleeping peacefully.
The good news is that Ben will not have to miss his first day of preschool on Monday. Nor will Sam have to miss his first day solo (with Mommy) at TCF's bilingual program.
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