Current mood:	worried
Current music:	Writing for the Soul
Entry tags:	family

Waiting Games
After the boys were both treated with antibiotics for their different ailments a few weeks ago, I thought we would be finished. Not so much. Caleb started complaining of his ear hurting again Saturday morning. I took him to the weekend clinic after deciding it would be best not to wait the whole weekend if his ear infection didn't get cleared up with his first round of Augmentin. I checked him in over the internet, and when they called to verify everything, the receptionist said it would be about a 2-hour wait. Three hours later, I called to make sure he hadn't gotten lost in the shuffle. The receptionist said there were still a few people ahead of us, but to come on in.

We didn't have to wait too long after we got there; I guess we got to watch about 5 minutes of Rudy, which was also playing when I took Jacob there 3 weeks ago. One of the doctors took us back, saying the nurses were really slow that day. She took Caleb's vitals, asked a few questions, and began examining him. She didn't see a sign of an ear infection, but she did find a rupture with a blood clot in his eardrum. She wasn't sure so she called in the other doctor for a second opinion; she agreed with the diagnosis.

The first doctor also said that Caleb had some knots under his neck and had a "strep smell", so she did a strep test. I told her Jacob had that a few weeks ago, but Caleb had been on antibiotics, too. The test came back positive so she prescribed a stronger round of antibiotics, along with antibiotic drops for his ear.

Caleb couldn't hold down the first (as we found out at The Black-Eyed Pea) or second dose of his strep antibiotic, so I called the clinic to have them double-check his dose (1 1/2 tsp. twice a day!). They didn't call me back Saturday night, so I called again Sunday morning. A nurse returned my call only to say I had called the wrong clinic, the North Dallas location instead of the South Garland one. I double-checked the number I had called and compared it with the one she had given me. It was the same one, so I called again and left another message. They finally called me back about 8:30 last night, but I wasn't able to get to my phone in time. I tried calling back, but the message I got said the clinic was closed and that I needed to call back during regular office hours. The nurse had left a message saying the same thing. Grrrrrrr....

Thinking about the situation off and on during the day, I decided I need to double-check everything with our pediatrician. The doses seem extreme to me. As soon as their office opens (15 minutes from now), I'll leave a message with our doctor about Caleb's symptoms, diagnoses from the clinic, and the prescriptions they gave.

I had a sudden thought this morning while I was lying in bed, trying to urge myself to get up: I ate the rest of Caleb's cole slaw at Chick-Fil-A Friday night. Billy ate part of the remainder of Caleb's chicken sandwich. I've never had strep before, so I don't know what it feels like. I also don't know what the incubation period is from the time of contact until symptoms begin showing up. I hope my immunity to strep continues to be what it has been all these years, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see...

Better Things

We also had some good times this weekend. Mama and Daddy came to celebrate Jacob's and Billy's birthdays with us. They arrived Friday night and went back home Sunday morning. We played games, watched movies on TV, talked, and ate good food while they were here. Caleb's lengthy trip to the clinic knocked out mine and Mama's plans to go to The Rock Barrell, but we'll try to go next month when they come for Caleb's birthday.