In all the hubbub, I haven’t mentioned that Gracie was sent home from school on Tuesday morning. She had complained about her stomach feeling weird when she first woke up, but not the kind of complaining where she really means it. I brushed it off as Gracie just wanting to stay home and play with her birthday loot, or maybe because she had too much cake over the course of two days (which is, you know, not beyond the realm of possibility). So I wasn’t very shocked when school called at 9:30 and said someone needed to come pick up Gracie. She had complained about her stomach and had a (supposed) slight “fever” of 100.1. I rolled my eyes because that is not a fever for Gracie – and her face was rather sunburned from the weekend festivities (another Mom Fail for another post).
I dragged my butt down to school, picked up my darling daughter who was acting completely FINE by the way, and read her the riot act on the way home about how she would have to go back to kindergarten in the fall if she kept missing school. I made her lie down and watch movies when we got home while I called the doctor’s office. I didn’t think she was sick, but she did have her physical scheduled for Thursday. If I could move it up since we were home from school and work anyway, it would be better than me missing yet another afternoon of work. Luckily for me, there was an opening.
Before we hit the doctor’s office, I decided to stop off at the library since it was also on that side of town. I quickly picked two books (Deaf Sentence by David Lodge and Songs for the Missing by Stewart O’Nan) and let Gracie peruse the children’s room for a few selections. Want to peek inside a newly-minted 6-year-old’s mind? Look at what she picked without any help from me: Labrador Retriever (non-fiction), From Wood to Paper (non-fiction), Dr. Seuss’s I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!, Germs Make Me Sick (non-fiction), It Could Still Be a Robot (non-fiction), Not a Copper Penny in Me House (poetry), and Isabella Abnormella by J. Patrick Lewis.
Then we dashed over to the doctor’s office and talked about Miss Gracie. Her lungs were still crackly from her asthma flare-up, so the doctor decided to put her on a daily preventative. (I’m not surprised – I was diagnosed officially with my asthma in first grade and started with my inhalers a year later.) We talked about Gracie’s mystery stomach ailments and her doctor is still leaning towards psycho-somatic illness (Gracie wants to be sick for whatever reason) or phlegm. We added a daily dose of Zyrtec to her nosespray and her inhalers and we’ll see how that affects her stomach alien.
Right before we left, though – and here’s where my apology comes in – Gracie’s doctor was doing the head, nose, throat portion of the exam. And Gracie’s throat looked awfully red. “Has she been complaining about her throat?” her doctor asked? She hadn’t. I even asked her right then. Gracie shook her head like we were a little nutsy. “Better do a strep test, just in case,” the doctor decided.
Of course, it was positive for strep.
So, dear patrons of the public library, I apologize if my daughter unknowingly infected you with the very catch Strep on Tuesday afternoon. Our bad. If it makes you feel any better, I chalked a giant mark up on my Mom Fail Wall o’ Shame.
April 30, 2010 at 7:21 am |
Poor babe! I remember K doing this once. She complained about head, tummy, everything but her throat. The Mr. finally decided to check her throat and it was darn near swollen closed, covered in those white pus pockets. gross! Aren’t sick kids grand?! It is the most challenging part of parenting. Well, besides curfews, and sass, and….!!
April 30, 2010 at 9:27 am |
The only time my two youngest kids ever had strep, they didn’t have sore throats. They just had coughs. Strep is weird. I don’t think that’s a mom fail at all! I hope the added meds help Gracie to feel better, and I love the books she picked out! (I posted something on my site today with you in mind!)
April 30, 2010 at 12:28 pm |
Hi Katie!! It’s been such a long time. How are ya? It sounds like you are still holding it down! I’ve been so so busy with my schooling. I decided to take a breather and take the summer off. Grad school ain’t no joke!
I’ve always loved hearing your tales of motherhood. I hope Gracie is doing better! Talk to you later..
May 1, 2010 at 10:19 pm |
How could it be a mom fail? she didnt complain about her throat! lol “does he have a fever? damn! what? you know what i forgot to do today? what?! take the president’s temperature.” you’re not supposed to check her throat every morning, and she didn’t complain about it. i demote your check mark in your mom’shame wall o’fame thing =0P
May 2, 2010 at 7:53 am |
Every mom has done this Katie so don’t feel badly. At least you’re not poo pooing a dislocated shoulder like my mom did:)
May 6, 2010 at 6:55 pm |
Don’t feel too bad, you didn’t know! I once contaminated an entire planeful (is that a word?) of people with the stomach flu. I traveled over the holidays and came down with a nasty stomach bug while I was out of town. I probably gave 100+ people the stomach flu for New Year’s Eve. Oops!