Spiders Suck

So to give you just a little bit of an idea of how our day went, I am finally eating lunch at 9:30 PM. No, it isn't as bad as it sounds, but I just realized how incredibly hungry I am and remembered that I didn't have lunch.

So this morning I tried really hard to convince myself (and others) that his eye looked better, but it just didn't. We had planned for his friend, Frederik, to spend the day with us earlier this week and he arrived at 8:30 this morning. I could tell that Frederik's mom was very concerned about Nathan's eye, but since she hadn't seen him before I thought that was why. Nathan was pretty normal for most of the morning playing with his friend. At lunch time things changed abruptly. He didn't want to eat at all. He was grumpy with all of us which is so out of his character. He was suddenly freezing and wanted to lie down under a blanket and then started crying about the pain in his eye. He was warm to the touch and his eye looked red, even more swollen and I was honestly scared. I called the doctor and explained that he was uncomfortable and that I didn't feel like it was getting better with the antibiotics. I asked about pain medication and he said acetaminophen was fine. After we hung up, I just didn't feel right about it and I called him right back trying to explain that I really didn't just want to know if Tylenol was a okay. I told him that the change in behavior was so abrupt that I was very concerned. He said a trip to the ER would be the next step and I felt very relieved.

So I called Frederik's parents and they had to come and pick him up. That caused our boy to completely lose it. He was inconsolable and screaming that he was NOT GOING! I stopped by our neighbor's on the way out (she has 4 girls, the younger 3 are the same ages as our 3) and asked if she would mind taking Hannah for me. She already has her hands full and I just didn't think leaving my cranky toddler (who needed a nap) on top of her toddler, two 3 year olds, 5 year old and 7 year old was a good idea. So the 3 of us went to the hospital.

Sarah did fall asleep for a bit. I don't know how with her crazed brother screaming in the car all the way there, but she did. Nathan calmed down and we read from our bag of books until it was time to see the first doctor. The screaming commenced when it was time for the blood draw. That part was hard. I have been on the other side so many times, but it is so, so hard to be the one the child is talking to when he says, "No Mommy, please don't let them hurt me! Please! Please!" I think the nurses and doctors probably thought I was insane, but I know how hard it is (for the staff) when a parent is trying to rationalize with an irrational child postponing the inevitable. The nurse was trying to tell Nathan he didn't have to be restrained if he promised not to move (this took a painfully long time as she was having to have the doctor translate for her). I emphatically disagreed. There is no way. So I held his little hand while the doctor and nurse held him down and the other nurse stuck. He watched the whole thing and kept asking how much longer. His biggest argument had been that he wanted it to take 1 minute and not 5 or 2 like the nurse had said in the beginning. "ONE MINUTE! ONE MINUTE!" He was completely irrational, but in his mind he was so completely rational. So during the blood draw they asked him to count to 5 and he did. Then they said 10, so he did. He kept counting and then said, "You said 10. I am getting concerned." He was so serious, but we all had to giggle a little bit.

After that was over, he begged us to tell him he wouldn't have to do that again, but no one was willing to say that because at that point, the doctor was ruling out a bacterial infection and thought IV antibiotics might be necessary. After the second doctor saw him, I felt more confident that the IV and overnight stay were not going to happen, but we still had to see one more doctor.

Three hours and many tests later, the doctors decided it was an allergic reaction to some sort of bite or plant and that an antihistamine is what he needs. All of that for something we have at home already. The relief outweighs everything else, but I feel so bad that my little guy had to go through so much trauma over this stupid spider. He is himself again. Both of them were so good considering how long we were there. Nathan helped me text Daddy with updates. We read books, sang songs to Sarah and talked about what I did at the hospital when I worked. We also talked about how his blood was going to a special lab like where Yehyeh works. He liked talking about every one's job in the hospital and trying to figure out who they were helping and how.

Hannah was also very good for our neighbor. She helped them make Cat in the Hat Macaroni and Cheese which they kindly shared with us for dinner. She told me when I picked her up that she was "confused" about Nathan getting a shot. It took me a minute, but I realized that she meant "concerned". I guess I have used that word a lot in the last few days. If Sarah busts out with it, I will know for sure.

They are all sleeping soundly and I am so thankful for the much ado about nothing. I pray that this time we wake up to less swelling. Seriously though, spiders suck.