Do you ever have a day that by the end of it you find yourself thinking, "Wow, I did NOT see that one coming. Today is one of those days for me.
The story really starts nearly a week ago; Mollie got sick the day after we got home from our trip to Chicago, I got sick the following day, and Baylor was a day or two behind me. Mollie and I were mostly feeling the typical cold symptoms - runny/stuffy nose, fatigue, slight cough ... not much to write home about. Baylor, on the other hand, started off with drainage from his sinuses causing him to throw up a couple times and a bad fever that didn't let up for over three days. While Mollie has bounced back amazingly well, and I have slowly made my way back toward health, Baylor has been mired in this cold for nearly a week now. We thought he was finally free of his fever yesterday only to have it come back around dinner time. So this morning I decided it was probably best to get him in to see a doctor, and I called the office as soon as I could. When they called me back, they agreed that he needed to see someone and suggested we come in during the open office hours this morning as they were quite well booked for the rest of the day.
After getting the kids to eat as much as they could for breakfast, I told them to go hop in the car, pajamas and Princess dress and all. Baylor, though, said he couldn't walk and that he needed me to carry him. Now he'd said the same thing last night as I took him to the potty, but I had figured his legs had fallen asleep because he couldn't stand and said they hurt to be touched. I'll be honest; at first I thought my little guy was maligning to get a free ride from mommy. But we were in a hurry and I didn't want to quibble about it, so I scooped him up and got him in his seat. At the doctor's office, though, he said he couldn't get out of the car or walk to the door, and when it was time to get weighed he said he couldn't stand on the scale. And THAT is when I knew something was up; Baylor just loves standing on scales. The nurse noticed it too and actually assumed that's why we were there. I told her it wasn't but gave her the whole story anyway.
She soon left and the physician's assistant came in. After relaying the story to her as well, she examined Baylor. First she asked him to stand up on the ground; instead of putting both feet flat on the ground he stood on his tip toes, legs wiggling about like a newborn foal, and soon asked to stop. She plopped him back up on the examination table and started moving his joints around and pressing on his legs. Each time she poked or prodded he'd take a sharp inward breath, a sure sign he's in pain. Once she'd seen enough, she took up her computer and quickly looked up what she thought was wrong: post viral myositis. (Also, here.) Essentially, his leg muscles, particularly his those in his calves, have become inflamed as a result of his illness, leaving him with pain and weakness in his legs. Luckily, it is an acute affliction and should be gone within a week. Some complications can happen, however, so to keep tabs on how he's doing, they ordered a urine test and a blood test. The former we could do right there in the office, but the blood draw had to be done elsewhere.
Already covered in glitter because Mollie decided to wear her Snow White costume to the doctor's office,
The story really starts nearly a week ago; Mollie got sick the day after we got home from our trip to Chicago, I got sick the following day, and Baylor was a day or two behind me. Mollie and I were mostly feeling the typical cold symptoms - runny/stuffy nose, fatigue, slight cough ... not much to write home about. Baylor, on the other hand, started off with drainage from his sinuses causing him to throw up a couple times and a bad fever that didn't let up for over three days. While Mollie has bounced back amazingly well, and I have slowly made my way back toward health, Baylor has been mired in this cold for nearly a week now. We thought he was finally free of his fever yesterday only to have it come back around dinner time. So this morning I decided it was probably best to get him in to see a doctor, and I called the office as soon as I could. When they called me back, they agreed that he needed to see someone and suggested we come in during the open office hours this morning as they were quite well booked for the rest of the day.
After getting the kids to eat as much as they could for breakfast, I told them to go hop in the car, pajamas and Princess dress and all. Baylor, though, said he couldn't walk and that he needed me to carry him. Now he'd said the same thing last night as I took him to the potty, but I had figured his legs had fallen asleep because he couldn't stand and said they hurt to be touched. I'll be honest; at first I thought my little guy was maligning to get a free ride from mommy. But we were in a hurry and I didn't want to quibble about it, so I scooped him up and got him in his seat. At the doctor's office, though, he said he couldn't get out of the car or walk to the door, and when it was time to get weighed he said he couldn't stand on the scale. And THAT is when I knew something was up; Baylor just loves standing on scales. The nurse noticed it too and actually assumed that's why we were there. I told her it wasn't but gave her the whole story anyway.
She soon left and the physician's assistant came in. After relaying the story to her as well, she examined Baylor. First she asked him to stand up on the ground; instead of putting both feet flat on the ground he stood on his tip toes, legs wiggling about like a newborn foal, and soon asked to stop. She plopped him back up on the examination table and started moving his joints around and pressing on his legs. Each time she poked or prodded he'd take a sharp inward breath, a sure sign he's in pain. Once she'd seen enough, she took up her computer and quickly looked up what she thought was wrong: post viral myositis. (Also, here.) Essentially, his leg muscles, particularly his those in his calves, have become inflamed as a result of his illness, leaving him with pain and weakness in his legs. Luckily, it is an acute affliction and should be gone within a week. Some complications can happen, however, so to keep tabs on how he's doing, they ordered a urine test and a blood test. The former we could do right there in the office, but the blood draw had to be done elsewhere.
Already covered in glitter because Mollie decided to wear her Snow White costume to the doctor's office,
I scooped up my little buddy and made our way to the bathroom.
Of course, never having had to get a urine sample from a little boy before, I ended up having him pee a bunch on my leg and on the floor. Lucky for us, he had a pretty full bladder so there was actually some to spare. Once we knew his pee was okay, they put a bunch of topical analgesic in the crook of his arm to help numb the area he was going to have blood drawn from and we left for Oma's as I knew I was likely to need a little assistance since Baylor HAD to be carried.
Unfortunately for us, there was a long wait at the lab we go to, and I think all that extra time to mull over what was about to happen really got Baylor nervous about the whole thing. So I really shouldn't have been surprised when he instantly started crying when they poked him; I mean, he was watching them put the needle in, for crying out loud, I'd have freaked out, too. But, freaked out as he was, he still sat there and let them get all the blood they needed for the tests ordered. On our way to the parking lot, he got really upset that he hadn't been brave about the whole thing, and my heart broke for my little boy who had indeed been brave. (Don't worry, I told him time and time again that you can still be brave even if you cry; I really hope he took it to heart.)
And that's what happened. I honestly didn't even know this kind of affliction existed, but I'm certainly glad we went to the doctor, today of all days. The PA warned us that it will likely get worse before it gets better, but hopefully Baylor's on the road back to good health, bumpy though it may be. And Mollie, bless her little heart, has been a good helper since her brother's gotten sick. I really do have two amazing children.
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