Get Me Out of Here!

This is my fifth day of house arrest. The first three days were cozy snow days with Daddy home to help entertain the munchkins. The last two days have been forced upon me not by snow but by one sick little boy. The differences between snow days and sick days are plentiful.

Snow days are filled with excitement as I wonder how much snow we'll get, if the power will go out, if the mother of all snow plows will plow in the end of our driveway. Sick days are colored by the monitoring of fevers, weighing the necessity of calling doctors, the administration of endless fluids in the name of dehydration prevention, and my overwhelming terror that what's probably just a cold is really something deadly like meningitis. Snow days are all about napping, and sick days are all about sleep deprivation--especially when you throw in an overnight trip to the emergency room.

About five minutes after I posted the pictures of our snowmen on Saturday Kyle started complaining of neck pain, but he still willingly went to his best friend's birthday party that afternoon. Sunday morning he woke up complaining that he had a headache and he couldn't move his neck because it hurt too much. He was also feverish, complaining of a sore throat and earache, and I could feel the lymph nodes in his neck were swollen.

I administered some Tylenol, and I began my internal debate over how serious Kyle's complaints were. Was he faking? Was the sore throat making him think his neck hurt? Were his swollen glands making him think his throat was sore? Did he have an ear infection making him think both his neck and throat were sore? Had he twisted his neck playing in the snow? Was all of this caused by a cold virus versus a bacterial infection, therefore rendering a trip to the doctor pointless since no antibiotics would be forthcoming? Not that it mattered since it wasn't like I could get Kyle in to see a doctor before Tuesday (don't get me started on the healthcare system here--that's a post for a different day). All this debate ended where it normally does--I was going to wait and see how the situation developed.

Fast forward to 1:30 AM Monday when Kyle was still crying, having gone to bed several hours earlier but not having slept at all. He couldn't move his neck at all, and he was complaining of a serious headache. I sat with him for another hour trying to make him comfortable but not succeeding at all. A rather uneventful trip to the ER ensued, where it was determined that Kyle has torticollis that was most likely triggered by some kind of upper respiratory infection. Bring on the antibiotics.

What's torticollis, you ask? Apparently, it's a condition involving a muscle spasm in the neck causing moderate pain and rendering the victim unable or unwilling to move their head from side to side due to the severity of the pain. It generally lasts 2 or 3 days before improving, and it's common for children to temporarily acquire this condition in the wake of a cold of some sort. Go figure. I've never heard of it happening, but trust Kyle to get it.

Yesterday was a very long day once I factored in very little sleep (for both Kyle and myself), Kyle's incredible discomfort and refusal to eat, Brandon's 22-month-old energy, and my immeasurable worry that Kyle's condition wasn't really improving. I cannot describe the relief Shaun and I both felt when we checked on Kyle around 11 last night, and not only was he not feverish, but he was sleeping deeply and comfortably for the first time in almost 48 hours. There was even snoring.

I'm relieved to report that today is even better. Everyone got a full night's sleep last night. Kyle's neck is improving, and his spirits are much better. He even played with some Lego right before lunch, and he got into an argument with his sister. Now I know he's feeling better--he hadn't engaged in any kind of battle with Natalie in two days. Insert sigh of relief. You know I was worried when I start welcoming the battle of the siblings.

I'm crossing my fingers and hoping I can send Kyle to school tomorrow. I'm ready to get out of this prison! Oh, and did I mention we're leaving for Florida on Friday? Yeah.