Life with Sweet Peaches

This song is one of Molly’s new favorite requests; it’s like she knows how much I, ummm, love it.

I had to make several phone calls and a visit to the doctor last week, and they might as well have told me to stop jumping on the bed. I thought it was going to take an act of Congress to get someone to see me, even though I couldn’t even make it through a phone call with a nurse without hacking up a lung.

It all started last Tuesday…I was kind of tired most of the day, but it had been SO hot and Molly is three and I’m pregnant and I was still reeling from the saddest news. I tutored in the morning while Molly played with her friend Graham, then we headed home for lunch and quiet time; I had been coughing for a few days, but that was expected seeing as how Molly had just gotten over bronchitis. Molly was bouncing off the walls during quiet time and I had invitations to deliver, so I told her to put on her shoes and head to the car. She wasn’t happy about leaving the house because she wanted to watch a show, but I let her wear her nightgown and bribed her with a milkshake, so off we went. While in the drive-thru at Chic-fil-a, I decided I needed a few last minute things for our 4th of July party, so we pulled into Michael’s {where yes, my child went in with her milkshake, wearing a nightgown and silver sandals. I’m not proud, just desperate sometimes.} where I found what I “needed” and off we went to drop off the invitations.

When we got home, I was going through my Michael’s loot, finishing my milkshake, when all of a sudden I needed to throw up. Needless to say, I’m off chocolate milkshakes for a while…I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, wondering if I had gotten a bad milkshake or what. Other than some graham crackers, it was all I had eaten all day. Within an hour, I had a fever of almost 102 and couldn’t get off the couch. That whole evening, I battled nausea, chills and coughing and I said to Jim, “What are the odds I’ll feel 100% better so we can have our 4th of July party tomorrow?” He just looked at me, so I sent out an email. Wednesday and Thursday, I only got out of the bed to move to the couch. Jim has probably only seen me this sick once or twice – when I had meningitis before we were married and maybe when I had mastitis a few weeks after Molly was born.

Thursday morning, I called my primary care. When I explained my symptoms to the receptionist in order to make the appointment, she immediately transferred me to the triage line, where a nurse instructed me to call my OB. I tried to explain that my daughter had had bronchitis and I really didn’t think this was OB related, but she basically cut me off. So, I waited for my OB office to open and called them. I had to leave a message for the nurse, who called back and was SO kind and helpful, but said it didn’t sound like this was OB related.

So, I called my PCP back, and by this time it was lunch time. There were no more sick appointments for the day. I contemplated driving to the ER, but luckily Molly fell asleep, so I did too. When we woke up, I texted Jim and told him he had to come home. I got right in the bed when he got home and he called my doctor’s office back, getting me the first appointment of the following day with a PA.

Sparing you the exciting details of the appointment (of which there are NO exciting details, fortunately), she diagnosed me with pneumonia, “but not conclusively, since I can’t give you a chest x-ray.” I’m pretty sure every textbook symptom warrants a fairly conclusive diagnosis, but hey, I’m not a PA so what do I know?

And do you know what they can give a pregnant woman with pneumonia? Nothing. Ok, amoxicillin and an over-the-counter cough syrup like Delsym. So basically nothing. After THREE more days in bed, I finally felt better on Monday and today was even better. I expect it will take a while for my lungs to feel normal and for me to stop coughing, but just being out of the bed is progress enough.

I was about to lose my mind on Saturday, so I made Beverly, Ben and Addison come meet us for dinner. About an hour into the evening, I realized that might have been a mistake physically, but I was so excited to be out of the house and listening to other people interact with each other.

I could keep writing about how I entertained Molly, what a huge help Jim was, and how the world didn’t stop while I was sick, but I’ll save that for another post; this one has gotten long!