Not only can Sam ride his bike without training wheels at 3 years old, but he can also pop-a-wheelie (a tiny one) and slam on his breaks to leave a patch on the cement - which is great for his tires.
Yesterday, however, he started to show more of his daring side than I would like to see. I was talking with my sister and my sister-in-law at the park while the kids were playing when one of them said, "What is Sam doing with his bike?"
I looked over and he was trying to carry his bike up the steps leading to the highest slide on the playground. I ran over and asked him what he was doing, and he replied, "I'm going to ride my bike down the slide." When I told him that that was absolutely not allowed, he came back with, "Well, can I ride it down the steps, then?"
It's going to be a long time before I'm comfortable letting this boy out of my sight for more than a few seconds.....
Friday, August 24, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Back to the ER
We have been fortunate that our ER visits have been short-lived and have not resulted in any long-term health problems for any of our family. Still, I hope we're done with the ER for awhile or, better yet, forever.
We had a very scary morning yesterday. Elena had her shots on Thursday afternoon and she had a fever of about 102 degrees when she went to bed that night. She hates taking medicine and I was only able to get her to take a little bit of Tylenol and Motrin. I've learned that if I force it down, she will immediately vomit it back up.
She was sleeping in our room and she asked for milk around 6:00. After drinking her milk, we noticed her breathing was kind of irregular. Then we heard her throw up. I brought a bucket over to her and tried to get her to sit up, but she couldn't sit up and wasn't responding. Seth turned on the lights and we saw that her lips were blue and she wasn't breathing - it appears that she was choking on her vomit. I immediately ran downstairs and called 911 while Seth did the Heimlich maneuver.
It took him a few tries until she started breathing, but even after she started breathing she wouldn't respond. She wouldn't talk at all and kept slipping in and out of consciousness. By the time the ambulance got there, she was unconscious. They took one look at her and brought her straight into the ambulance. I went along in my pajamas with nothing but my phone.
Seth's sister lives next door and had seen the ambulance at our place so she ran over and was able to take Sam so Seth could drive to the hospital right away. In the ambulance Elena opened her eyes a bit after getting oxygen. When they tried to give her an IV, she woke up quite a bit more (she hates needles more than she hates medicine) - enough that they were able to skip the IV for the time being.
At the ER her temperature read 105. She chose to take her tylenol rectally rather than orally - yes, she is that stubborn. Her temp dropped steadily, and after several tests and a couple of x-rays we were able to take her home in time for lunch. She was lethargic the whole time and she wouldn't talk. Seth was very anxious to hear her talk again - it was so unlike her. She doesn't remember anything from the early morning and very little of the ER visit. What she does remember she says it seems like it was a dream.
Her fever continued for the rest of the day, but she felt much better. We were finally able to get her to take her medicine by getting the chewables, crushing them and mixing them with a little juice. Thank you, Bill Cosby for the idea.
The doctors claim that the incident was purely coincidental and not related to her vaccines, but I'm having a hard time believing them. Especially since the Centers for Disease Control specifically lists a fever for 105 or higher occuring 1-3 days after the vaccine as a possible side effect of the DtaP.
Anyway, life is back to normal, seeming a little more precious. I am so thankful that Seth and I were both home so I could call 911 while he did the Heimlich. I am slightly terrified of trying to rescue a choking person - I know what to do if I'm the most capable person on hand and I have dealt with minor episodes when my kids were little, but I was very relieved to have Seth there - he did a great job.
I have also never been more thankful that we let our kids sleep in our room if they are sick or having trouble sleeping. I shudder to think what we would have found in the morning if Elena had been in her room where we couldn't hear her.
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. I'm happy to report that Elena's fever is gone and she is back to normal.
We had a very scary morning yesterday. Elena had her shots on Thursday afternoon and she had a fever of about 102 degrees when she went to bed that night. She hates taking medicine and I was only able to get her to take a little bit of Tylenol and Motrin. I've learned that if I force it down, she will immediately vomit it back up.
She was sleeping in our room and she asked for milk around 6:00. After drinking her milk, we noticed her breathing was kind of irregular. Then we heard her throw up. I brought a bucket over to her and tried to get her to sit up, but she couldn't sit up and wasn't responding. Seth turned on the lights and we saw that her lips were blue and she wasn't breathing - it appears that she was choking on her vomit. I immediately ran downstairs and called 911 while Seth did the Heimlich maneuver.
It took him a few tries until she started breathing, but even after she started breathing she wouldn't respond. She wouldn't talk at all and kept slipping in and out of consciousness. By the time the ambulance got there, she was unconscious. They took one look at her and brought her straight into the ambulance. I went along in my pajamas with nothing but my phone.
Seth's sister lives next door and had seen the ambulance at our place so she ran over and was able to take Sam so Seth could drive to the hospital right away. In the ambulance Elena opened her eyes a bit after getting oxygen. When they tried to give her an IV, she woke up quite a bit more (she hates needles more than she hates medicine) - enough that they were able to skip the IV for the time being.
At the ER her temperature read 105. She chose to take her tylenol rectally rather than orally - yes, she is that stubborn. Her temp dropped steadily, and after several tests and a couple of x-rays we were able to take her home in time for lunch. She was lethargic the whole time and she wouldn't talk. Seth was very anxious to hear her talk again - it was so unlike her. She doesn't remember anything from the early morning and very little of the ER visit. What she does remember she says it seems like it was a dream.
Her fever continued for the rest of the day, but she felt much better. We were finally able to get her to take her medicine by getting the chewables, crushing them and mixing them with a little juice. Thank you, Bill Cosby for the idea.
The doctors claim that the incident was purely coincidental and not related to her vaccines, but I'm having a hard time believing them. Especially since the Centers for Disease Control specifically lists a fever for 105 or higher occuring 1-3 days after the vaccine as a possible side effect of the DtaP.
Anyway, life is back to normal, seeming a little more precious. I am so thankful that Seth and I were both home so I could call 911 while he did the Heimlich. I am slightly terrified of trying to rescue a choking person - I know what to do if I'm the most capable person on hand and I have dealt with minor episodes when my kids were little, but I was very relieved to have Seth there - he did a great job.
I have also never been more thankful that we let our kids sleep in our room if they are sick or having trouble sleeping. I shudder to think what we would have found in the morning if Elena had been in her room where we couldn't hear her.
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. I'm happy to report that Elena's fever is gone and she is back to normal.
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