We struggled with whether or not to make the trip since we discovered that Turner had a pretty high fever on Friday evening just as we were loading the final bags into the car. We gave her Motrin and waited a while, but based on our past experiences we have learned that whatever we decide will be the wrong choice...if we went she'd get worse, if we stayed she'd end up being perfectly fine. Cynical I know. So, we determined we'd try to continue with our plans and hope for the best.
Waiting in line to see Sid
This is about as close as she wanted to get - still not really comfortable with costumed friends.
Finally, after some coaxing she did move a little closer.
She got to pick out a Sid book and work on some fun investigations before we left to explore more of the McWane Center.
This is Turner's favorite activity at McWane, and though it drives her CRAZY to feel it when she presses her face into this, she was happy to do it and I loved the result!
Check out the giant turtle fossil - Turner is still talking about it! And you'll notice that Tootsie was kind enough to make the drive up for the day to join us at McWane!
That would be a tarantula...
BB enjoyed the tornado simulator - Turner wanted NO part of that since she's completely freaked out by tornadoes.
And Turner would NOT get on the bed of nails, but BB was happy to be the guinea pig and even let Turner run the controls that lifted the nails up and down. BB is as bad as a grandparent about letting Turner do whatever she wants!
Throughout our visit, I had continued to monitor Turner's temperature and even brought the thermometer and the Motrin in my purse. I continued to grab her hand periodically and I noticed it was quite cold on several occasions. About the time we were leaving the underwater exploration area of the McWane Center, I noticed she seemed lethargic and decided to check her temp before we left to get lunch. It was 103.1 - the highest her fever has EVER been. We gave her Motrin and headed out to find a local urgent care clinic - knowing we weren't looking forward to experiencing a doctor visit in an unfamiliar location, with unfamiliar non-pediatric oriented doctors.
I'll spare the details, but let's just say that even in a normal visit to the doctor here in Auburn, Turner gets slightly hysterical when they check her ears. An ear check, a throat swab to test for strep, and a flu test with a 10 inch q-tip up the nose later...let's just say I was sweating from restraining Turner so the nurses could get what they needed. Then they drop the bomb on me that they need to take her blood to rule out a respiratory infection that's going around. Let me just tell you, that was NOT cool at all. Not a finger prick, not a little stick, like a full out adult type blood drawing. NOT cool.
She tested positive for the flu and negative for all else. At least we had answer, and thankfully a prescription for Tamiflu which Turner tolerated beautifully and in my opinion is a miracle drug! She was honestly almost back to normal within 24 hours and we were grateful! Mark and I felt like the parents of the year, confirming our original cynicism that whatever choice we made would be the wrong one!
I am extraordinarily grateful for a generally healthy child. As we endured this experience, all I could think of was the parents who have to watch their children go through treatments for cancer or other diseases on a regular basis - the needles, the sickness, the doctors. It's heartbreaking to feel that helpless, and only increased my gratitude for what I would term "occasional/normal" childhood sickness for my sweet girl.
I am extraordinarily grateful for a generally healthy child. As we endured this experience, all I could think of was the parents who have to watch their children go through treatments for cancer or other diseases on a regular basis - the needles, the sickness, the doctors. It's heartbreaking to feel that helpless, and only increased my gratitude for what I would term "occasional/normal" childhood sickness for my sweet girl.
No comments:
Post a Comment