Weekending it

Sometimes life is just too hectic to blog. Or I'm worn out and it's at the bottom of the list. That was me this last week. Nothing terribly dramatic, just our first dip into the pandemic reality of having a young child in school and all that comes along with that. 

Kip came home last Wednesday with a runny nose. By Thursday morning he was coughing. School rules, if a child exhibits any Covid symptoms you must keep them home and get a Covid test. So I called the school nurse, reported him absent, and Dan took him to get a PCR test. By Friday morning Kip had a fever and was congested and a total grouch. His PCR test came back negative. I love my child and he definitely wasn't feeling well but also, Kip has always been just, let's say, "extra" when he is sick. He requires A LOT of attention and he puts every bit of energy he has into letting everyone know he is sick. He moaned and watched TV all day Friday and Saturday. 

By Saturday afternoon we decided to take him to a pediatric urgent care because the little pulse ox reader was saying his oxygen level was fine but his heart rate was 160. And he couldn't stop coughing. Like, every 30 seconds coughing. 

One of the benefits of suburban life was finding an easy to access urgent care for kids open late on a Saturday. Dan drove us and I went in with Kip. The staff was lovely and the facility was clean. They gave Kip Motrin, another PCR test, and a chest x-ray. Kip was incredibly compliant and, of course, hardly coughed at all. The nurse said it is very common for kids to have elevated heart rates when they have fevers. It is also common for them to hold their breath and pant (Kip has ALWAYS done this when sick). But, nevertheless we did all the tests. Kip even said "cheese" when the lady did the chest x-ray. 

The doctor said his lungs were clear but given his symptoms and his "panting" he prescribed us antibiotics for developing pneumonia. I can't imagine what this urgent care bill will look like but at least we didn't have to wait hours on end in the emergency room.

Sunday, Kip was still poorly. He started the antibiotics and his fever didn't return by the afternoon. By Monday Kip started to rebound but was still very tired and we had to wait for the second PCR test. Negative as well. Tuesday Kip had essentially a cold but because of all the Covid rules we kept him home since congestion would have been hard to manage with a mask on all day. And, Kip throws consistent tantrums when he needs a "nose wipe." We didn't want his teacher to deal with that.

Last night was the virtual back to school night and Dan and I jumped on the call after Kip was in bed. Kip's teacher asked us how he was doing and that's when we found out that 1/3 of his class had been out sick. Eeek! And here we are, three weeks into school and one dramatic illness down with God knows how many left to go. 

Being a parent in a pandemic is hard. Happy Wednesday. 

Kip is back at school today. Fingers crossed he can finish out the week.