The Word of the Day? "AMAZING"!

WHAT A MONTH! Just when I think things are settling down and all is getting back to normal, ANOTHER wave of sickness hits! I'm NOT looking forward to this winter! Vitamins....everyone in this house will be taking MASSIVE vitamins!!!!

It all started last Thursday. Toblerone woke up from his nap with a 101 degree temperature. I thought, "Hmm...more teeth?" Then I remember, "No....he HAS all of his molars (unless he's developed a second set...which WOULDN'T surprise me. LOL!)." The next day, the same thing...except it's around 102-103 degrees. I alternate Tylenol and Ibuprofen to keep the fever at bay. Toblerone is acting weird but won't tell me if he has any ouchies. He doesn't go to sleep until 2:30am Saturday morning. THEN, 7:00am rolls around (Saturday morning) and he wakes up CRYING. I attempt to give him juice, which he refuses. Then, I give him milk. He drinks about 3/4 of it but very slowly and is looking like he is having trouble swallowing. Oh...AND HE'S DROOLING UNCONTROLLABLY! I call the triage line and was told to take him to urgent care. Because I used to work for CIGNA, I KNOW the urgent care department is PACKED on the weekend, but I take him anyway. HERE is where the FUN begins.

We get there at 10:20am. As SOON as we walk through those doors, Toblerone begins to cry. He kept saying, "Mama...dur (door)....bye-bye." He KNEW something was up. I sign in and notice the sign that says, "There is a current wait of 90 minutes". I'm thinking, "OH GREAT...HOW AM I GOING TO KEEP HIM HERE FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF???" The longer we are there, the more upset he is getting! Before we left the house, I grabbed his "Mauw" for security purposes. I'm SOOO glad I did! It seemed to make him feel better. People were looking at me as if to say, "CONTROL YOUR KID!" I wasn't happy with that, but I knew THEY weren't feeling good either. FINALLY they call us back around 12:00pm. As we are directed to a room, Toblerone begins to WAIL and FLAIL!!! Then, he does the "rag doll" and about drags me to the floor WITH him. I manage to get him into the room, where the cranky nurse says, "The doctor has ONE more patient to see before you. He will be in soon." I'm thinking, "Uhhh....yeah. Sure." Thank GOD there was a rocking chair in there. As I'm rocking the 45 pound beast, I'm trying to explain why we are there. I say, "Toblerone, we aren't here for you to get hurt. We are here so that we can find out what's wrong so we can make you better!". Toblerone, only understanding about HALF of what I say, says, "Mama...bye-bye....mama...bye-bye!!!" As we are waiting (for another 30 minutes) he passes out from exhaustion. Good thing, too. My arms were SOOO sore!!! Then, the situation takes a rather funny turn.

Doctor: (Walks in the room NOT looking up from the chart), "SO...WHAT'S GOING..(looks up from his chart and sees Toblerone asleep) *whispers*...Sorry! What's going on with Toblerone?"

Mum: "He hasn't been sleeping too well, he's been running a temperature between 101-103 since Thursday and, this morning, he won't drink much of anything and is having trouble swallowing. I think his throat hurts. I've asked him where his ouchie is, but he won't tell me."

Doctor: (Looking at Toblerone's chart and then at Toblerone. A bewildered look comes over his face) "How old is Toblerone?"

Mum: "2 years and almost 4 months."

Doctor: "Seriously?"

Mum: (In a rather sarcastic tone) "Yes."

Doctor: "When was he born?"

Mum: (Thinking to myself, "You've GOT to be kidding me. Does he think I'm LYING????") "June 2006."

Doctor: "Man...he's a big boy!"

Mum: "I know."

Doctor: "How much does he weigh?"

Mum: (Thinking to myself, "LOOK AT THE CHART, FOOL!!!!") "According to your scale up front, he weighs 45.4 lbs."

Doctor: "Oh...I'm sorry. I missed that."

Doctor: "HOW tall is he????"

Mum: "At last check, almost 3'4"

Doctor: "Amazing."

Mum: (Laughing) "I know. My husbands side of the family consists of VERY large men...anywhere from 6'2 to 7'0 tall."

Doctor: "I have a 5 year old...and he's not EVEN as big as Toblerone! Amazing...."

Doctor: "We will try and get as much done as we can while he's asleep. Let me take a listen to his breathing and his heart..."

As the doctor is listening intently with his stethoscope, I hear, "Good....good....good....good....A-N-D GOOD!"

Doctor: "He sounds SOOO incredibly healthy! Is he currently on any medications?"

Mum: "Tylenol and Ibuprofen have been given...alternately for about 48 hours. I will give him the occasional Benadryl for allergies, but other than that, no. He's never been on any prescription medication."

Doctor: "Really? Do you know how incredibly LUCKY you are???"

Mum: "Yes...I know. I was blessed with VERY healthy children."

Doctor: "Have you noticed any kind of rash?"

Mum: "Yeah. I noticed this (holding up Toblerone's hand) this morning."

Doctor: "Hmm....I wonder...(proceeds to take off Toblerone's shoe)..."

Doctor: "Yup. OK. Can you roll him over so I can look in his mouth?"

Mum: "Sure."

I roll Toblerone over and low and behold....a RASH on his mouth. That was NOT there before we came to urgent care.

Mum: "What's THAT????"

Doctor: "I have a suspicion..."

Mum: "AND???"

Doctor: "Well, I need to swab his throat to be sure it's NOT strep."

Mum: "Do we HAVE to????"

Doctor: "Yes...I'm sorry. I will be as gentle and quick as possible. He is NOT going to like it!"

The doctor proceeds to instruct me on how to hold him. I KNEW this was going to be difficult. The doctor shoves his giant Popsicle stick between Toblerone's teeth and tries to pry his mouth open. Toblerone's eyes FLY open and he begins to FIGHT! He wouldn't scream (that would mean he would have to open his mouth and cooperate) and made the whole experience WAY harder than it needed to be. FINALLY, the doctor swabbed his throat....

Doctor: "See the blood on the swab?"

Mum: "HOLY CRAP!!! WHY IS HE BLEEDING????"

Doctor: "I think what we are looking at his Hand/Foot/Mouth Disease."

THIS is what it looks like:

Mum: "How did he get THAT? I keep my house clean and my kids clean...(I get interrupted)"

Doctor: (Laughing), "No, no, no. Hand/Foot/Mouth disease is a specific viral strain of a cold. For some reason in toddlers 2-4 it will present itself as a cold AND as a rash on the hands, feet and in/around the mouth. Depending on the severity, the rash and blisters can be very painful."

Mum: "Yeah...I gathered that. Toblerone is a tough little kid. Something has to hurt pretty bad in order for him to cry about it. I have NEVER seen him so miserable."

Doctor: "I can see that. I don't normally give any medication. I normally advise to use Tylenol for discomfort, but seeing that your LITTLE (chuckles) little (chuckles again) man is in so much pain, I'm going to give him Tylenol #3."

Mum: "Is there anything else I can do to make him comfortable?"

Doctor: (Handing me paperwork) "Everything you need to know is right here. Just be sure that you do a LOT of hand washing. You, your husband and your 7 year old can get it, but it will only be a typical cold to you. You won't get a rash or blisters."

The conversation after the swabbing of the throat was conducted over Toblerone's screaming!

Doctor: "OK dude. I'm done touching you...I promise! You wanna go bye bye?"

Toblerone: "Yeah....BYE BYE!"

Toblerone stands up (for the first time) in front of the doctor. Apparently, Toblerone had been studying the door and figured out, in his mind, how to open it. He goes over, opens the door (like he had done it before) and swings it open. The door was HEAVY, too.

Doctor: "WOW! I can't believe he just....(this time I interrupt HIM)"

Mum: "I know. At times, we call him "The Hulk." TOBLERONE SMASH!"

Doctor: (Laughing) "That's a GREAT nickname for him. He really knocked you around while I was swabbing his throat!"

Mum: "You wonder why I look so tired? People I know often wonder that. All I have to say is "Toblerone" and they understand COMPLETELY!"

Doctor: "You are going to have your hands full. I hope his brother isn't as big!"

Mum: "No. Brother is a little taller than normal, but nothing extraordinary. He's 7 years old, 52 pounds and 4'2."

Doctor: "Man....JUST AMAZING!!!!"

Doctor: (Talking to Toblerone), "Follow me! I know a short cut!"

He takes us through the back and out a different entrance so we didn't have to go through the waiting room again.

Doctor: "OK Dude. You're free to go! I hope I don't see you again!"

Mum: "Say thank you, Toblerone!"

Toblerone: "NO!"

Mum: "TOBLERONE! BE NICE! Say Bye Bye!"

Toblerone: (Shoots the doctor an evil look) "BYE! (with ONE courtesy wave)"

Doctor: (Laughing) "He's MAD isn't he?"

Mum: "Yes. He'll be fine once he's outside."

Toblerone: (Dragging me OUT the door) "MAMA...DUR (door)...BYE-BYE....NOW!"

Toblerone is doing MUCH better. He's finally eating other food besides Otter Pops, so I know he's on the mend!!!