Tough Times in Texas

Our poor Clara is sick...again.  It seems to be never ending.  She's had one throat infection after another.  Major episodes with hugely swollen tonsils and pain and fever.  She's out of school for who knows how long at this point.  She feels miserable and neither she nor I have slept decently in days.  We saw a pediatrician, FINALLY last Friday.  She seemed nice enough...nothing like our wonderful pediatrician back home, but nice enough.  She diagnosed strep throat, again, and prescribed some pretty major antibiotics for our Clara for 10 days and wanted to see her at the end of 10 days again to re swab her to make sure the strep really did clear out this time.  Only, she's been so sick over the weekend that we didn't make it anywhere NEAR the 10 days for a recheck.  Instead we were back in there this morning.  She ran crazy high fevers all weekend.  Higher than any fever any of my children have EVER run.  She hung on to a 104.4 degree fever for hours and it was a battle to get it down below 101 at any point.  We were in the office first thing this morning and the doctor agreed that her throat was in terrible condition.  She still has huge puss pockets in her throat and her fever and pain continue to hang on as well.  In order to rule out anything else, the pediatrician pricked Clara's finger and also ordered a blood draw for more tests.  THAT was traumatic as Clara panicked as she remembered her LAST blood draw where the tube was bad and she ended up sitting for much longer than she would have while the nurse ran to get more tubes and straighten it out.  So with all of her panic and freaking out, of course, the nurse missed the vein the first time and could not get it.  So we ended up having to calm her down, give her some water, walk her around a bit and then start the whole thing all over again.  It was excruciating, but we finally got the blood they needed and were on our way.  We are still waiting for test results from all the things the doctor ran today, but we are on our way to the ENT tomorrow afternoon regardless.  I was glad that we were on our way to that...until I researched the possible abscess that the doctor mentioned today.  And now I am pretty much just freaking out.  I am SO not looking forward to that appointment now and all the yuckiness that might be involved.  My heart is breaking and terrified for Clara and we have not yet even set foot in the office yet.  I am SO hoping that my worst fears are NOT confirmed and that we will have a much different outcome than what I discovered on the internet.  That's what's on my mind tonight.  Nothing else but that and just getting through tomorrow.  Ugggg.  Life just stinks sometimes.

McMama Giveaway!!!!

Howdy there blog readers!  Wanted to let you know that McMama, over at My Charming Kids is giving away an AWESOME HP Touchscreen computer.  It appears to be capable of running pretty much the whole universe and so easy to use that even her 4 year old can orchestrate unassisted entertainment options for his younger siblings!  Which  means....it should be easy enough for MEEEEEEE!  Which is why I would be most delighted to win it!  Wouldn't that make for a groovy Christmas?!  Anyway.  YOU can win it too.  Of course...if you do win it and you found out about it through my blog, then the only appropriate thing for you to do would be to give it to me.  But you already thought that.  Right?  Well...just so long as we're clear about that!!!  Hey!  Go on over and check it out!  Her blog lives at www.mycharmingkids.net.  Great stuff there in her blog world!  HOURS of entertaining reading!  And the pictures are beyond gorgeous! Go on....head over and check it out!