It's bad enough when you're sick.
When baby is sick, all bets are off.
Last night was one of those nights.
This was completely preventable in my opinion. Now, truth be told, I am the offending party that got my boy sick. I'm coming off bronchitis, but it didn't have to escalate to that.
The sniffles started over a week ago on a Wednesday. By Saturday morning, I figured I should hit the walk-in clinic to nip this thing in the bud. It felt like a sinus infection - I've had more than my share in my day - and I figured a z-pak would knock it out and keep the kids from catching it.
But nooooooooooooooooo.
I see an N.P., which apparently stands for no prescription. She single-handedly decided to defeat the impending mythical super-bug that over-prescription of antibiotics may (and likely will) cause some day. You see, my symptoms were classic "viral." And if that was the case, antibiotics wouldn't help.
I understand this. However, I've had these symptoms before. I know what they lead to. And I don't want it going there.
It's seems simple enough: Gravity + boogers (this is a parenting blog after all) + asthma = nasty bronchitis if left untreated.
Add a 4-month-old baby to the mix at home, and I'd sure as hell prescribe some GD meds to keep everyone healthy.
But alas, I leave with only a refill for my Nasonex.
So along comes Tuesday and my voice has dropped two octives, I'm hacking up what looks like gray matter (more evidence that my brain has indeed melted and now resides in my bronchioles).
Back to the walk-in-clinic we go.
So now I'm back in the waiting room at 8 a.m. surrounded by what looks like the walking dead. In fact, some poor old woman standing up by the front counter ends up puking and passing out, which facilitates a call to 9-1-1.
At this point, I'm wishing for one of those biohazard suits from the end of the movie E.T.
Eventually, they bring me back, and as the physician assistant walks in (yes, again, no doctor), I launch into a coughing fit that leaves me doubled over, hacking up a lung and gasping for air.
Good times.
This time, they send me for a chest x-ray. Negative for pneumonia. At least something has gone right.
He puts the odds at 70% viral / 30% bacterial, but he'll give me the z-pack and a steroid dose pack to clear out the chest.
FINALLY!
What really burns me is, I've now had a second trip to the doctor and a chest x-ray - and a lost day of work. And of course, I have one of those lovely new high-deductible health plans with an HSA. So I'm out another $80-some dollars.
This could have been avoided had they treated the possible sinus infection in the first place.
Now it's Thursday, and my poor 4-month old is coughing, boogering and down-right miserable.
He woke up EVERY HOUR last night. It just took a little pacifier and some coddling to get him back, but as you can imagine neither of us is too happy today.
And oh yeah, the medicine is working. I'm feeling a lot better.
But rest assured, we're still safe from that Super Bug thanks to the courageous (in)action of one very special N.P.
