Sick girl

Poor Kaarin has had a very rough month! She is such a good sport all the time, we don't always realize right away how sick she is!! In Sept. we had just returned home from a week at Lopez Island when she woke up in the night crying (she really only does this when she is sick) & she was breathing very strangely, almost like it hurt. We were debating what to do, because we felt like we really needed to do something but it was 2:30 a.m. so doing something was either a trip to the ER or calling the paramedics...In the end we opted to call the paramedics because it is much easier than one of us dragging the poor kid to the ER. (We had to call once before on Annika). So, the EMTs came out, checked her out, & told us they thought she was getting a cold (NICE. We really wasted their time...!). The next day (Friday) she was a little better, but still not herself, but we were busy most of the day (opening day of the Fair, etc.) & she seemed o.k. The next day (Sat.) she was worse, so I called to make an appt. for her, feeling a bit silly & that they were also going to tell me she had a cold...but I took her in anyway. So glad that I did! As it turned out, the Dr. sent us for a chest x-ray (Kaarin did awesome!) & she was diagnosed with pneumonia & a partially collapsed lung!!!!!! HELLO! No wonder she was breathing like it hurt on Thurs. night -- IT DID!! So she was given an antibiotic, a steroid & breathing treatments, & then she started feeling better.:)

But then about 10 days after that, she woke up again during the night, crying that her ear hurt. :( This of course was on Sat. night, so she had to wait until Monday morning to go in...the Dr. said this time she had an ear infection where she had blisters on her eardrum!! :( Poor baby! He said that this is a particularly painful type of ear infection. She took an antibiotic for that as well, then 3 days after she finished it she woke up in the morning saying her ear hurt AGAIN. :( I took her in that day, thinking maybe the blisters didn't clear up completely...but Dr. said her ears looked good. He thought it was either another infection starting (oh no!) or just feeling a little pain left over. She woke up every morning last week saying that her ear hurt (same ear, even) but other than that has been fine. I haven't taken her back in, so hopefully it's all cleared up. The poor thing doesn't need anything more right now!!