My Mary Kate
I thought today would be a challenge because it was our first day back to basketball without my dad... ironically, that was the easy part.
Last night, as we were coming home from my Grandmother's when Tim mentioned that Mary Kate was complaining of being sore "under her knees and inside her elbows"... now she has shown a LOT of fatigue lately, but I chalked it up to our bizarre schedule and odd sleep pattern coupled with our general stress. But it occurred to me that another student had been diagnosed with mono earlier in the school year. We'd been sort of monitoring her lately as she's had some headahces and what seemed to me allergies.. I was thinking maybe a sinus infection, but I thought.. ok, I'll make an appointment tomorrow and see what they say. We'll see how she is in the am.
To be totally honest, I was so tired early this am, I didn't even think of it. Until I went to take Mary's jammies off and get her ready for school.. She screamed out... "don't touch my face".
IMMEDIATELY I knew what was wrong.. she we've been down this road several times. When we lived inMD, she had a swollen parotid gland. The docs were concerned for something fishy because it just wouldn't go away. Over a period of several long months of her crying because her face hurt... we eventually went to a few ENT's. The last being the parent of oneo f my students. Thanks to his bright wife, we were able to get her into Walter Reed as soon as any swelling would occur. Long story short... they wanted to do a biopsy to be sure that it wan't anything to be concerned about. It was a sedated MRI and it went BAD... they gave her too much sedation, then couldn't get her out, she aspirated, choked, and flat lined in front of us twice!!! It was an aweful day and weekend.. She turned out fine. They never got the biopsy because the swelling went away. The docs were too concerned to put her through anything else and basically said, "lets just assume it was a swollen salivary gland" unless anything else happens... There was almost no other glandular involvement and it seemed she was out of the woods.
That was almost two years ago... Now here we are again.
So not wanting to take any chances, I called the doc before they even opened. They could only get us in the late afternoon. We've never seen this doc, but he was pretty great with her. He is a family doc a PCP, basically.... so he referred her to a pediatric specialist tomorrow and she'll see another ent next wednesday. But after tonight, I may ask the doc to speed that up...
Her axillary glands (under her arm pit) are all swollen and red... they look like a red apricot. And they are painful to touch.
She remembers rather clearly what happened the last time and I just want it be smooth... but I am really nervous... I am taking NO PRISIONERS!!!! These docs are going to find out what this is.... and why it keeps coming back... I've had it. I am really not ready to deal with any more doctors right now.... but it what we'll have to do.
I'm really nervous tonight. It could and probably is just a simple glandular infection... but man.. this is like the fifth time we've been through this with her.. the last was messy. Seems odd to me. OHHH and don't look it up under webmd or anything.. .just makes you sick to your stomach to think about the options...
Tonight.. I'm going to go think happy pink thoughts that it is all some simple infection and we will start again fresh tomorrow. So much for getting a lot accomplished today!
She's all worried she'll be too sick to go to school tomorrow and it the Valentine's day party... big happenings for a five year old, you know! After all she did write DYLAN's card FIRST!!!
OHHH and she LOVED basket ball practice... they had twenty kids.. .TWO girls... wow... She and the other girl are on the same team. Dad would be glad though cus the other little girl is more agressive and MKT. Mary tends to be "too kind" in my dad's opinion on the court. Both bball and soccer. She is having way tooo much fun to be aggressive. She just want to be nice and not take the ball from anyone... my angel.....
But she really had a good time tonight.. Thanks to Robbie and Gracie for coming to the game. She was so excited you were there. As much as she hates "being watched" she wants some one to watch her... she is too much.
So every Monday at 5:30 I'll be doing bball with her. Claire starts on Wed... That should be a blast. She had so much fun showing Gracie how to "dwibble".. She said, "look my pap taught me". She is right. Dad spend some long hours out in the driveway. MKT didn't want to go in.... he kept telling me at practice.. "calm down, she has lots of time, I'll teach her what the coaches miss".. He was wrong. But she learned so much from him about it and she'll always have the love of the sport FROM him.
It will be hard to watch her grow up on that court without him... but he would want her out there as much as possible and that is what we will do. We could hardly get her off the court tonite.. the girl LOVES to play.
Last night, as we were coming home from my Grandmother's when Tim mentioned that Mary Kate was complaining of being sore "under her knees and inside her elbows"... now she has shown a LOT of fatigue lately, but I chalked it up to our bizarre schedule and odd sleep pattern coupled with our general stress. But it occurred to me that another student had been diagnosed with mono earlier in the school year. We'd been sort of monitoring her lately as she's had some headahces and what seemed to me allergies.. I was thinking maybe a sinus infection, but I thought.. ok, I'll make an appointment tomorrow and see what they say. We'll see how she is in the am.
To be totally honest, I was so tired early this am, I didn't even think of it. Until I went to take Mary's jammies off and get her ready for school.. She screamed out... "don't touch my face".
IMMEDIATELY I knew what was wrong.. she we've been down this road several times. When we lived inMD, she had a swollen parotid gland. The docs were concerned for something fishy because it just wouldn't go away. Over a period of several long months of her crying because her face hurt... we eventually went to a few ENT's. The last being the parent of oneo f my students. Thanks to his bright wife, we were able to get her into Walter Reed as soon as any swelling would occur. Long story short... they wanted to do a biopsy to be sure that it wan't anything to be concerned about. It was a sedated MRI and it went BAD... they gave her too much sedation, then couldn't get her out, she aspirated, choked, and flat lined in front of us twice!!! It was an aweful day and weekend.. She turned out fine. They never got the biopsy because the swelling went away. The docs were too concerned to put her through anything else and basically said, "lets just assume it was a swollen salivary gland" unless anything else happens... There was almost no other glandular involvement and it seemed she was out of the woods.
That was almost two years ago... Now here we are again.
So not wanting to take any chances, I called the doc before they even opened. They could only get us in the late afternoon. We've never seen this doc, but he was pretty great with her. He is a family doc a PCP, basically.... so he referred her to a pediatric specialist tomorrow and she'll see another ent next wednesday. But after tonight, I may ask the doc to speed that up...
Her axillary glands (under her arm pit) are all swollen and red... they look like a red apricot. And they are painful to touch.
She remembers rather clearly what happened the last time and I just want it be smooth... but I am really nervous... I am taking NO PRISIONERS!!!! These docs are going to find out what this is.... and why it keeps coming back... I've had it. I am really not ready to deal with any more doctors right now.... but it what we'll have to do.
I'm really nervous tonight. It could and probably is just a simple glandular infection... but man.. this is like the fifth time we've been through this with her.. the last was messy. Seems odd to me. OHHH and don't look it up under webmd or anything.. .just makes you sick to your stomach to think about the options...
Tonight.. I'm going to go think happy pink thoughts that it is all some simple infection and we will start again fresh tomorrow. So much for getting a lot accomplished today!
She's all worried she'll be too sick to go to school tomorrow and it the Valentine's day party... big happenings for a five year old, you know! After all she did write DYLAN's card FIRST!!!
OHHH and she LOVED basket ball practice... they had twenty kids.. .TWO girls... wow... She and the other girl are on the same team. Dad would be glad though cus the other little girl is more agressive and MKT. Mary tends to be "too kind" in my dad's opinion on the court. Both bball and soccer. She is having way tooo much fun to be aggressive. She just want to be nice and not take the ball from anyone... my angel.....
But she really had a good time tonight.. Thanks to Robbie and Gracie for coming to the game. She was so excited you were there. As much as she hates "being watched" she wants some one to watch her... she is too much.
So every Monday at 5:30 I'll be doing bball with her. Claire starts on Wed... That should be a blast. She had so much fun showing Gracie how to "dwibble".. She said, "look my pap taught me". She is right. Dad spend some long hours out in the driveway. MKT didn't want to go in.... he kept telling me at practice.. "calm down, she has lots of time, I'll teach her what the coaches miss".. He was wrong. But she learned so much from him about it and she'll always have the love of the sport FROM him.
It will be hard to watch her grow up on that court without him... but he would want her out there as much as possible and that is what we will do. We could hardly get her off the court tonite.. the girl LOVES to play.
posted by Mary Kate @ 7:22 PM
1 Comments:
At 9:06 PM,
Duez said…
Hang in there. Remember that she is young and kids go through a lot of stuff like this. Especially the kind of things where they are feverish, swelled, or discolored and then it just goes away over time.
We are really lucky to have a great doc for Aidan. He doesn't over react to anything. Real low key. It helps us deal with the fact that sometimes kids just get sick and it takes a few days for their system to fight it off. They are better for it.
Just make her as comfortable as you can and let her fight it off. If it doesn't get better in a few days, then worry.
All I can say is that if she is healthy enough to run around a basketball court, be happy! Unfortunately many people would give their right arm for their sons or daughters to have one day doing what she did today. So many don't have a chance in this world. She is a lucky kid.
Keep us up to date.
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