Perfect!
Not quite......Madison started sneezing a lot on the 4th of July. She wasn't just sneezing, she was shooting the biggest snot rockets out of her nose that I have ever seen. Sorry. That's gross but I was really impressed amazed that that long line of snot could be produced in such a tiny body. Didn't think much of it though. It was clear and I don't get worried till we have some level of green snot with a junky cough. By that Saturday we noticed a bit of a bark with her cough and her voice was strained. Still didn't think much of it because this kid was going non-stop. A quick breathing treatment and the bark was gone. No worries but we decided to pack the nebulizer just in case. Thank goodness we did!
We flew out Sunday morning at 6:30. Madison did great going through security. Dan and I were very impressed with the security personnel. They were so sweet to Madison and very helpful getting in the right line and maneuvering our stuff through. The flights to Tampa were great and on time. It was Madison's first time to fly and she loved it. However, by the time we got in Tampa and to the rental car area, Madison was going downhill. She only wanted to be held and was very, very whiny. She immediately went to sleep in her car seat when Dan got it installed. We planned on briefly stopping at Tommy's house (Dan's brother) to pick up a few things for the beach. That changed to going in and giving Madison another breathing treatment. Still didn't think much of her behavior. I just noticed that she didn't have much of an appetite and was a little cranky at times. We finally got the the hotel and headed to the beach.
Dan found a great place to stay in Siesta Key. It's a small area on the Gulf in Sarasota. Perfect white sand and clear, blue water. The water was warm, and we had fun playing around while a typical afternoon shower came through. Madison loved playing in the waves. It was just what we wanted. Out of nowhere, Madison told me she was cold. I picked her up and she was shivering. I knew something was up. It was too warm outside for her to be cold. We got out and dried off. I was hoping she'd get better after a dose of Tylenol but as the night went on, she got worse. Several breathing treatments and three rounds of throwing up during the night encouraged us to reevaluate the situation. Dan was off to Walgreen's first thing that morning to get more Tylenol and a thermometer. We needed to know what kind of temp she had and that would help us decide the next steps.
We took her to a walk in clinic. She had a 103.5 temp. At home I wouldn't worry and would just monitor her for another day before calling the doctor. Away from home was different. We decided the faster we could get treatment the better chance we had at enjoying some of the vacation. Thank goodness we did. Two hours and two chest x-rays later, we were headed back to the hotel. She had bronchitis. The doctor was concerned it was pneumonia and that's why we did the x-rays. He kept asking about a sore throat but she really never complained of one. I honestly thought he was heading for a strep diagnosis but didn't think much of it. We'd realize a few days later that the sore throat thing was bigger than anyone expected.
Thankfully children bounce back from illness much faster than adults. She really bounced back and we only lost one full day to the illness. She had waves of feeling yucky but they were short lived. We cut our full day at Disney down to a half day, but still managed to do most of what we planned. By Saturday she was 100% herself. Granted we were home by then but it was great to see her bouncing around like her old self.
I'll do another post on details of the vacation, but the illness thing turned into such a issue for our family. I couldn't ignore it. To wrap this post up, we flew home on Friday, July 11th. Our connection was in Dallas and by the time we landed there, Dan had a fever. He was miserable by the time we landed in OKC. One walk in clinic and another doctor visit later, he was diagnosed with bacterial laryngitis. Remember the sore throat thing from the Florida doctor? Dan had white spots on his throat and the pain was incredible. I've know Dan for 17 years and I've never seen him so sick. 5 days after he started running a fever, my throat started hurting. Yep. I had it as well. Let me tell you, I've had the flu two years in a row and this kicks the flu's butt. By a mile! This sucked. It takes a full week to get over it and most of the time you want to be laying down in bed.
I think we need a bonus vacation.
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| Had to include one picture. This was taken while Dan was sick. Madison was ready for bed but wanted to cuddle with Daddy first. So sweet. |
-LeAnn
