Beyond Bad Luck

I didn't mention it in my earlier post about our trip to the emergency room, but that trip was just one of the many terrible things {albeit the worst} that happened two weeks ago, we thought we were on the mend, when things continued to be just as difficult. It seems we couldn't catch a break. I feel cursed.

Before the ER

Our car broke down.

Our laptop charging cable died.

Our W2s were sent to a wrong address and it took forever to to get them.

Maisie's croup.

I caught a cold.

Ok let me fill you in on what happened after the ER...

 So last week probably around Tuesday, Maisie was really improving from her Croup. The croupy cough faded into a normal cough and she started sleeping again. Her energy and appetite were coming back and she actually started to play around, not much, but it was a vast improvement than the week before. As she was starting to improve, Austin's right ear started to have issues. {Background: he has t-tubes in his ears and will for the rest of his life because his Eustachian tubes are permanently collapsed. So imagine this: you know when you are on an airplane or underwater fairly deep and your ears are trying to pressurize and you have that plugged-and-need-to-be-popped- feeling that can be painful if the pressure continues to build and you are unable to pop them? Well without tubes, that how Austin's ear would feel permanently.} So he was having painful pressure and he thinks it's because we were running Maisie's humidifier non-stop that the moisture plugged the tube. Off to the doctor we go, our Dr refers us to a ENT and he was fantastic and able to get us in that day, he cleaned the tube and Austin felt some relief, but something was still off. The Dr noticed Austin's tube was on the verge of falling out, so he ended up replacing the whole thing right then and there. The second time in our marriage where I have been able to look through his eardrum. Weird huh?

So Maisie was continuing to get better until Friday. That morning she woke up with a really mucousy cough. It wasn't too frequent, but it was odd because it was so different from the other coughs she had in the last week. We kept an eye on her, but that night she woke up with a 103 fever. It was so scary how hot she was. I gave her a dose of Tylenol and tried to get her comfortable enough to fall back to sleep. I became really worried because she never had a fever with the croup, so I was convinced it was either an infection some where {most likely her lungs because how bad her cough sounded} or it was just an entirely new illness. The next day she was throwing up because she was coughing so hard, she was lethargic and her fever was getting worse. She didn't want to eat or drink anything. She was seriously so sick. This was worse than the Croup, way worse. The Dr was completely backed up and was unable to get us in that day (Saturday), but she said she would come in on Sunday to see Maisie. That night her fever got up to 103 again and stayed there all night and into the next day, even when we gave her Tylenol. She would only sleep in bed with me holding her close while rubbing her back and playing with her hair and even then she was completely miserable. Her little body was on fire and she couldn't stop coughing. The next morning we headed to Maisie's appointment and while waiting in the lobby Maisie full on passed out in my arms, which that right there is a huge indicator she is not felling well at all. She NEVER falls asleep on us any more {and hasn't since she has been 10 months} and especially in a loud public place where there are lots of other kids, toys and books. Maisie stayed asleep the whole time they took her temperature, vitals and even weight. I set her down on the scale and she was limp. I told them that she would never ever do this if she were well. We went through the appointment and her lungs and ears were clear, but Maisie was showing signs of Influenza {constant high fever, terrible cough}. The doctor said that we're not quite into flu season yet, but early cases have started to trickle in. She said we could do a flu test which would be sticking a huge q-tip up Maisie's nose, but she said it's very uncomfortable {which I know because I have had it done before} that regardless if she had it or not, treatment would be the very same. Rest, fluids, fever reducer and keeping her happy {with lots of tv if need be}. I just couldn't believe Maisie caught an entirely different, unrelated illness within a couple days from each other. We don't even do anything to warrant her being exposed to too many germs. Since we had gone to the Doctors 5 times, I assume she was exposed to it there. Two huge jugs of Pedialyte and many sleepless nights I am happy to report she is much better she still has a cough, but the fever broke and she's eating and sleeping better.

My cold wasn't a big deal, but the sleep deprivation and stress took a toll on me and I went down hill fast. Like always, my dang sinuses couldn't handle the pressure {literally} and I got an infection. I was miserable. I started taking Amoxicillin because I had a refill that I hadn't touched since my last sinus infection {only a month and a half ago} I was on it for 6 days when I thought I was getting better, but it came back full force, even while still religiously taking the Amoxicillin 3 times a day. So I call our Dr and she does an over the phone appointment and thank heaven because I was going to scream if I had to step foot into another Dr's office anytime soon. She gave me a three day z-pack, Sudafed and flonase to use to help my sinuses on a daily basis. I hadn't been on an antibiotic other than Amoxicillan for so long {since pre-pregnancy} and let me tell you, it was so nice to get the good stuff. Just an hour after taking it I could already feel a difference, when Amoxicillin takes me at least 3 days to notice a very slight difference. I am pretty sure I became immune to that stuff by age five. So I started to feel much better. Everyone seemed to be getting better until we got hit again...

Austin came down with a terrible sore throat and congestion. He started taking the rest of my Amoxicillin and increasing his fluids and after a couple days he started feeling better. Then last night out of no where I got a very short lived stomach flu. I was so sick for a few hours. I was covered in sweat and trembling and trying to get comfortable in the bath. I seriously felt like I was in early labor again, my whole stomach was in knots. Bleh. I am doing much better today. I have been trying to eat really light, bland food and very often to keep something in my stomach.


All of the medicine we have gone through the past 2 weeks. Maisie's humidifier is in the back.

I just can't believe how sick we all have been. Then on top of all the sickness, everything we touch is breaking. I truly feel cursed. It's just ridiculous how bad things have been lately.

Lets review.
The curse of 2012 in a nutshell:

Car breaks down.

Maisie gets Croup {3 Dr's appointments}.

I get a cold.

Maisie's blood clot fiasco.

ER. {That counts as a Dr appointment}

Austin's tube in his ear is falling out.

Austin gets tube replaced. {2 Dr's appointments}

My cold turns into a sinus infection. {2nd round of antibiotics 1 Dr appointment}

Our Mac book pro charger breaks.

W2s get sent to the wrong address.

Maisie catches the Influenza virus and has a 103 degree fever for 3 days and is coughing so hard she is throwing up. {Another Dr appointment}

Austin catches a cold.

I catch a stomach flu.

So in the past 2 1/2 weeks we have been to the Doctor 8 times ( that's about $200 in co-pays alone and that's not including the ER bill we haven't got yet or all the prescriptions we have filled) 8 times! Then all the other stupid stuff like the car and computer breaking and W2s, it is beyond frustrating.

Austin and I have been trying to stay on the same page through all of the discomfort and sleepless nights trying to spend time together talking, playing a game or just by cuddling on the couch. It's nice to know when everything else seems to be falling apart {literally} you still have the person you love and that you can just be happy in the fact that you have each other. Sometimes that thought alone is the only thing that gets you through the day. It's situations like the one we are in right now that makes it so easy to get into a fight and hurt feelings or just not wanting to be close with one another, but I am glad Austin and I push through it. We don't fight very often and I think it's because we both have learned to choose our battles. As easy as it would be to be miserable and to quickly burst in arguments just out of sheer frustration of everything else going on, it's nice to have that person on your side, not against you. I am not saying we are perfect, but we work very hard to stay on the same page and there are times when we are not and we hurt each others feelings, feel under appreciated or just plain irritated. It happens to the best of us, but I am proud that we make a conscious effort everyday to not let the little {or the big things} make us feel distant from each other. Money can be tight, the house can be a disaster zone, you can be dead exhausted, but fighting about it is not going to fix anything. It's quite the contrary it always makes it much worse.

I didn't mean to rant about our ways to avoid arguments, but that's my way of ending to let you know that despite it all, I am still happy. It's been a rough few weeks, but when everything is said and done it made us stronger and more appciative of our support system within our marriage. We knew we had a strong one, but we were really able to test it out on this current trial. It's comforting to know without a shadow of a doubt we can handle it. Whatever "it" may be.