Mystery Diagnosis

It hasn't been a good week at all around our house. The trouble all started on Monday. When I got home from work around 2, John met me at the door with Julia, "Uh, Mommy, I think she's sick." Yeah, John doesn't ever hang out by the door in eager anticipation of my arrival, nor does he refer to me as "Mommy" unless there's something mommyish I'm supposed to take care of so he doesn't have to. (ie "Mommy, I think Julia's hungry" or "Mommy, I smell poop") In this case, caring for a sick baby was the Mommy-duty. Naturally, he hadn't taken her temperature (rectally, I don't think so!), and she did have a fever. It was nap time though, so I put her down, hoping she'd feel better when she woke up. She is cutting a molar, and that can be treacherous. There was also one other time when she had a fever for just one day, slept it off, it was normal the next morning. It was still there when she woke up so I decided that I would give it until morning and go to the doctor if it wasn't normal.

She slept late Tuesday morning and I had to wake her at 10:00 to make sure she was still alive. Her temperature was normal again and she was smiley and happy. I had plans to go to lunch with my mom and grandma for my grandma's birthday, so mom picked us up at 10:30. It was pretty much all downhill from there. Little by little she got crabbier and crabbier, and then just downright lethargic. I spent most of lunchtime walking around the gift shop of the Merrillville Tea Room, holding a hot baby that was all but asleep. Then there was a fair bit of screaming on the way home and I took her temperature the minute we got there - about 1:30. It was 103.9 degrees. How scary is that? I gave her Tylenol bacause that was all we had (from getting shots). I waited about half an hour and the Tylenol did nothing. John was working midnights so he was just getting up at this time. I called the doctor and they said to bring her in right away. So we headed out, with the snow just beginning to get heavy, all the way out to the doctor.

They gave her Motrin when we got there, her fever was 102.8. The doctor did the exam and there was nothing wrong. She had no other symptoms either. She said we'd have to wait around to see if the Motrin could bring it down and if not, they'd have to do "tests". At this point, Mommy started to panic on the inside but kept her cool. I paced with the baby who wouldn't go to John or let me put her down, for 20 minutes, thanking God that John was there with me. Then the nurse came back. 102.8 No change. Mommy's heart is beating as fast as the feverish baby's now. (Have you ever felt the heartbeat of a child with a high fever? It is terrifying.) Doctor returns. Nurse takes temp one more time for good measure. 102.8 Still no change. Mommy listens (as though underwater) as the doctor explains that they'll have to take a urine sample to check for infection and then we'll take it over to the lab and have blood work done there. Okay, remember that cool Mom was keeping before? No longer. Thank goodness the nurse was there to hold her legs while they catheterized her because I couldn't have done it. And when they were gone, I most certainly cried with my baby. John was there to take instructions while the baby and I comforted each other.

Then it was off to the hospital for blood work. This time, I was prepared. I sat with her on my lap, holding her free hand down, while they took her blood, the nicest nurses I've ever met. Somewhere through the baby screaming I heard one of them say, "Good job, Mom", and it truly gave me strength. They were angels, I'm certain. My husband, God bless him, was as far away as he could get on the other side of the room probably trying not to pass out. I couldn't have made it through any of it without him, though.

Her fever did come down, though, only with the help of Motrin and then it would creep back up as the Motrin wore off. I spent Wed and Thurs doing these Motrin cycles, keeping it down. My baby was not herself for those two days either. She was tired, slept a lot, and didn't want to get down and play. If you know my little girl, you know she doesn't like to be cuddled, but this week, I couldn't put her down. We mostly sat on the couch reading books and such, she couldn't get enough of her books. No appetite to speak of either. The test results didn't show anything. By Thurs evening, her fever is gone, and I couldn't be more relieved that the mystery disease is subsiding.

And then I noticed the rash. All over her back and a little on her belly. I called John right away in a panic, and of course he passes it off as dry skin, which I kindly explain to him is insanity.

Then I called my Mom. She says it sounds just like roseola. Roseola. Okay. Ask.com, "What is roseola?" The answer I got? An exact description of everything that has been wrong with my child for 4 days. Roseola starts with a high fever, no other symptoms, doctor may run tests to rule out infection, just as fever breaks a rash appears, first on torso then spreading to legs and arms, etc. Roseola is not treatable except to treat the fever and keep it down. It's also nearly impossible to prevent the spread of it because you're only contagious before you even get the fever.

Sigh. What a week. And it sounds so pretty, doesn't it? Roseola. Like the name of a flower. Leave it to me to conclude with such a random thought as that. (Can you tell I'm worn out?) How about this instead...the moral of the story...call your mother first, she knows everything. :)