In two and a half years, Koko Bean has had two, what I call "major," illnesses. She had RSV (http://www.cdc.gov/rsv/) when she was thirteen months old. She had been coughing and had a lot of mucus behind it. We got to the point we took her to Children's Mercy where the doctor made me feel like a completely inadequate parent. First of all, I have always administered Silver Biotics since she started daycare at eight weeks old. Purified silver is a great way to boost the immune system and/or naturally help the body recover quicker from infection. When I had told the doctor about this, he made a HUGE deal about how it wasn't approved by the FDA and how I was basically poisoning my daughter. He then taught us how to hold our daughter down, squirt drops of saline in her nose, then suck it out with an aspirator. Boy, that was fun. Let me tell you. I was later reminded by my boss, who is a chemical engineer, that you can also put the silver in her nose. It burns less and is antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial. We were told by the doctor that RSV can last up to five weeks due to the fact that the debris in her lungs will eventually break up causing a cycle of more coughing and mucus. Needless to say, I continued the silver remedy and the RSV lasted three whole days.
The second virus happened this last week. Thursday night, Koko Bean woke up around midnight and continued to wake up every hour, needing a drink. She was also very hot to the touch. I thought maybe she had a fever and continued to give her fluids at her request. I'm not one to just shove Tylenol or other over-the-counter meds down her throat as fevers are the body's way of fighting off the infection. The more Tylenol given, the less likely the body is to respond to it. I finally decided she was uncomfortable enough, she needed it. Unfortunately, the Tylenol didn't work, so the next night we were off to Children's Mercy due to the fever not subsiding.
At Children's Mercy, everyone was very nice. Korbin was given some Ibuprofen to lower her 102-degree temperature, was diagnosed with Hand, Foot, and Mouth virus, and we were sent home with some narcotic pain med. Let me tell you. The last two bits of this statement were two big shockers. One, what the you-know-what did my child get into to contract such an awful sounding virus and two, what? Narcotic pain meds!!??? This was the same hospital who told me giving my daughter 10ppm of purified silver was poisonous??? Ha!
The next day, I was home with Korbin and all seemed better. Her fever hadn't come back and I did not have to give her the narcotic. I was afraid to honestly. However, the ulcers in her throat from the virus still hadn't gone away, so all she wanted to do was drink. As long as she was drinking and peeing, I was okay with it. She played and played and it seemed like she was well on her way to recovery.
Saturday, three days after her first fever, the pain was back in full force. We had read the third day was going to be worse but we had no idea how bad it would be. Not only would Koko Bean not eat, but she wasn't drinking. Therefore, she wasn't peeing.
That night, we decided to give her the narcotic. Little did we know what a fight it would be. Both of us tried to coax, bribe,and force the medicine down her, but she was more stubborn that a mule. Like her momma, Korbin is anti-medicine. She hates the taste of any liquid medicine and often gags and spits it out just as soon as it hits her mouth. Now I know what my mom went through with me. After fighting with her for about an hour, we decided to make the two-minute trip back up to Children's Mercy.
This trip for me, was more frightening than the last. I was really worried they would have to hook Koko Bean up to an IV because I was afraid she was already dehydrated. She was lethargic and her skin was puffy. The worst case scenario for me was the IV. The worst case scenario for Koko Bean was yet to come.
In order for the pain in her throat to go away, the medicine had to be taken. As Daddy held her in his lap, and one nurse held her cheeks and her arms above her head, another nurse slowly but surely squeezed the medicine into the side of her little puffy cheeks. I sat to the side, looking away, and weeping as my baby girl screamed with all her might trying not to swallow the liquid being squirted into her mouth. Usually, I'm okay with shots, and even small "boo boos," but this was too much for me. As tears ran down my face, I looked at the nurse. She looked at me and said, "Mom, you okay?" I nodded and she sent me a sympathetic, "I know honey" look. The truth was I wanted my mommy.
After about thirty minutes the narcotic had been absorbed in little Koko Bean's body. All of a sudden this little girl, who had been quiet and sickly, turned into a chatter-box-itchy-face toddler. As she asked us question after question,( "Mom is this black? Dad, is that your shoe? Mom, is this my drink,?") she scratched and tugged at her face and pajamas. Although it wasn't a funny situation, she made us laugh hysterically with each question and each erratic rub of her face.
Koko bean enjoyed an orange Popsicle, some red drink, and Dad's sprite before we were finally sent home. She fell asleep on the ride home, and we finally got some rest. To be safe, I stayed with her again that Sunday and Monday, so no other kids at daycare would be exposed to this horrible virus. I will give it to Koko Bean though. She is a tough, resilient little girl. She has bounced back 100% and you would never know that she was diagnosed with Hand, Foot and Mouth virus... and let's hope that's the last time we see its ugly face.
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