Abigail

Abigail has been VERY sick for the last week.

Here are the facts:

1. Abigail had a cold that turned into bronchitis. She was no longer contagious and rather cranky at being stuck inside, so we took her out.

2. Having bronchitis made her more susceptible to other illnesses.

3. Herpes Simplex is a non-sexually transmitted disease that children get regularly. In very young children it presents as a NASTY, NASTY mouth infection.

4. This mouth infection involves a rather high temperature.

5. This mouth infection involves red, swollen and tender gums, open sores inside the mouth on the tongue and mouth surfaces, and open sores on the lips and around the mouth. All of these sores are very painful.

6. These sores make it very painful to eat, which can cause a 21 month old baby to scream hysterically if they are hungry. These sores make it very difficult to sleep, which can cause a 21 month old baby to scream hysterically if they are tired. These sores make it very difficult to be alive, which can cause a 21 month old baby to scream hysterically 24 hours a day...

7. Rebecca has come to hate rather passionately the parent that allowed their child to go anyplace with Herpes therefore allowing Abigail to come in contact with it.
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Okay, so all facts aside- I didn't know anything about Herpes Simplex, so when I called our pediatrician on Saturday night and she told us that's probably what our baby had, I flipped out. Herpes had a rather nasty connotation in my mind, and now I know better. Now I know more about Herpes Simplex than I EVER wanted to know.

When her temperature went up on Thursday we called our pediatrician and everybody honestly thought that her bronchitis hadn't gone away. She's had repeated bouts with bronchitis and that always involves a fever... Then she got this funny sore by her mouth and we started thinking chicken pox until I noticed the nasty sores inside her mouth.... Weird. Really weird. That was so weird that I immediately called our pediatrician late Saturday night...

I admit it is entirely possible that the parent of the child with Herpes didn't even know they had it... Abigail had a fever for two days before any sores showed up, and if that length of time is typical, that's a long time for someone else to bring their child somewhere for Abigail to came in contact with them. So, I really don't HATE them. I just think they're kind of stupid. Although, we passed pinkeye onto some friends 'cuz we didn't know enough to recognize it, so I guess that makes us 'stupid'...

Anyway, it's been a rough couple of days or so... Since Abigail hasn't slept, I haven't really slept... And we've been fighting trying to find anything she'd eat or drink, 'cuz EVERYTHING made her mouth hurt. And you can't really be logical with a baby- "if you'll just go ahead and eat this it won't hurt for long and you have to drink something..." Doesn't really work for a baby.

The big fear with Herpes in babies is that they'll refuse to drink anything and end up on an IV in the hospital... We came pretty close to that... The only thing she'd eat or drink on Sunday was vanilla ice cream. After the doctor said that was okay, I let her have as much as she wanted, but at first I wasn't too sure that it was okay...

So, the moral of the story is: I will not be taking Abigail anywhere ever again. No church, no grocery, no store, no school... Okay, that doesn't really work, does it...

So, the moral of the story is: When Abigail has a fever I won't take her anywhere. Okay, that doesn't really work, 'cuz she didn't have a fever when she got Herpes...

So, the moral of the story is: I will read up on all of the potential diseases a child can get and watch hysterically for the slightest indication that Abigail or Deborah have one and immediately rush them to the hospital... Okay, that would make me one paranoid freaky parent. I knew one of those when I was in high school and determined I would never keep my children from life, church, friends like she did... Also, when I was pregnant and reading the couple of pregnancy books my OB recommended, I started flipping out when I read through the chapter on birth complications. I had to just start reading the section titles and the first paragraph of the section instead of all the gory details or else I was gonna turn into this flipped out, bug-eyed, freaky pregnant chick... So, that doesn't work.

So, the moral of the story is: Please, please, pay attention to your child. If you think your child is behaving oddly or unusually get them to a doctor. I will try to do the same... May God bless us in this endeavor and give us the right instincts and the right knowledge at the right time.

This parenting thing is hard! It's probably the most incredibly rewarding thing I've ever done in my entire life. But it's also the HARDEST & SCARIEST thing I've ever done in my entire life- including, but not limited to: being a wife, a minister, a driver, an actor, a writer, a director, a musician, a teacher of both secular and Christian topics...

Dear Father, Thank you for the incredibly precious gift of my children. Please help me be the best Mommy I can be. Please help me notice when something is wrong and get them to the right person in time.