A Little More About My Monday

So we just got home from the doctor's office.

I took the girls who both had fevers and throat pain.  The nurse didn't even want to test J because she said she didn't really seem to have the same symptoms as S.  But I insisted (even against J's protests) because I wanted to be sure.  So she did it reluctantly.

Good thing since both girls tested positive for Strep.

Well, apparently modern technology and medicine has created a "shot" that can be taken in lieu of ten days of antibiotic twice a day.  S opted for the pills.  J, who absolutely hates taking medicine at all, opted for the shot.  Brave 8-year-old.

So they gave her the shot in her leg.  She was a normal amount of upset afterwards and said how it hurt.  She cried a little.  She came to sit on my lap while we waited the typical 10-15 minutes following a shot to see if she has any bad reaction to it.

She was complaining that her leg kept hurting and she didn't think she could walk on it.  S and I were helping her calm down and I gave her a lollipop from my purse to distract her.  J asked us to pray about her leg pain.

Oh, keep in mind that she'd already had three nosebleeds today.  She has gotten them since infancy and so we're all pretty used to it.  Dry air and sickness usually increase their regularity, but we're beyond feeling shocked at the sight of blood dripping from her nose any more.  She usually handles it in stride.  (But oh, how freaked out was I when this first happened at six months old and I went to get her up from nap and it looked like someone had slaughtered her in her sleep!  There was blood everywhere in her crib.)  But after more than one in a day, J starts losing her energy and a little bit of her natural joy.

Anyway, so I was cuddling with our girl and S was trying to reassure her and so I started to pray out loud.  Suddenly, J interrupted the prayer and said, "Mama, I'm feeling sick."

S instinctively tried to shush her for interrupting the prayer, but J said again, "Mama, I'm feeling sick."

Worried I might need to get her to the sink quickly since she vomits pretty easily, I looked at her face and said, "Are you going to throw up?"

And in that moment, her body collapsed in my arms, lollipop fell to the floor and she was floppy like a rag doll.  I sent S to get the nurse quickly.

J's eyes were open, but she was stiff, yet had no muscle control.  She just stared into blankness.  I was so freaked out!

But just as the nurse came in, J took this big gasp of air and started crying, "What just happened?!"

We managed to get her up on the table and worked to calm her down.  The doctor and three other nurses came in the room to check on her.  They all concurred, it was vasovagal.

I said, "Is that a real term?" because honestly, it sounded made up.  It actually sounded like "basil bagel," which sounds pretty tasty, right? 

Dr. M said, "No, it's real."  He tried to give me a brief explanation, which I didn't listen to and just made myself say the term over and over again till I could get home and look it up.

So they had us stay there another 15 minutes or so till J was back to herself and was able to walk out of there.  On the way out, Dr. M stopped her in the hallway and gave J a big hug. 

We have a very nice pediatrician and I really have been so grateful for him.  But that was the first time he's actually hugged one of our kids.  So I think it's possible it may have freaked him out a little bit, too.  Even though he knew what it was and that it was fairly common, it was still scary to see a brave little girl opt for a shot over medication and then see her faint on his watch because of the stress she felt from the shot.

And it was scary for those 45 seconds it took for me to realize what was happening.  It felt like an hour.  But I've suffered from vasovagal over the years, too.  Extreme pain causes it in me and I've freaked out my own mama enough times over the years.  I just never realized what it was called.

We're home now (obviously) and J is feeling fine.  She seems bewildered by what happened to her, but she's moving on.  She had a great story to tell her brothers at home, too, and of course, none of them believed her!  So they all had to come to me to confirm the story.

Lord, please protect the rest of the family from Strep and other illnesses going on this winter.  If not, give us the strength to continue on through the hard stuff.