Strep Strikes Again

Alas, I fear it is time to get a referral to the ENT.

Olivia has strep throat…again.

My nephew had a dentist appointment yesterday so my mom brought him and the girls to town where she met my brother and other nephew at the local McD’s, which, happily, has a play area. She swapped boys with my brother, taking the two year old while he took the eight year old to the dentist.

She, the girls and The Monster hung out at McD’s until J & J were done at the dentist.

They were waiting for me at 4:30 when I got off work. I joined them at McD’s for a few minutes before they headed to Meijer and I went on my way to Subway to pick up dinner for me and Tom.

The line at Subway was insane. I probably waited twenty minutes before even getting to the counter to order our subs. There was only one dude working but I’ll hand it to him, he handled the crowd well.

Then, hooray, I was on my way home. A mile from home, my phone rang. It was my mom.

“LIvie’s sick,” she told me as soon as I answered the phone.

“Is she throwing up?” I asked. I’d just seen them an hour ago, she’d seemed fine. I thought maybe if she was throwing up, maybe she’d just eaten something that didn’t agree with her.

“No,” my mom said. “She says her whole body aches. I gave her some ibuprofen this morning because she said her throat hurt. She hasn’t complained all day so I didn’t think anything of it. She feels warm now.”

“Do you want me to meet you at your house and I’ll bring her home?” I asked.

“We’re still in town,” Mom replied. “I think I should take her to Urgent Care. She’s on the verge of tears because she feels so awful.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’m a mile from home. Let me drop off the subs, use the bathroom and I’ll be there in about twenty-five minutes. They should see her even without me. They have her information in file. But have them call me if necessary.”

Then I finished the drive home, quickly told Tom what was up, use the bathroom (THANK YOU LORD!) and hopped back in the car to drive the eighteen miles back to town.

Olivia and my mom were already being seen by the doctor when I arrived at Urgent Care. Lyss and Jax were in the waiting room. They refused to be left behind again and joined me when I went back to see Liv and Mom.

The doctor was still in there. She announced it was strep throat and was writing a prescription. She advised that we treat O’s fever with alternating doses of ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

Olivia laid on the gurney whimpering under a quilt my mom had in her car.

“Do you want to come home with me tonight?” I asked her as I brushed her hair back from her forehead.

She looked at me aghast at the very idea. “No, I want to go back to Gram’s. I promise to rest and drink a lot.”

“She might as well come back with me,” my mom said. “She doesn’t need to go with you to get the antibiotics and she will rest as well as my house as she would at yours.”

Tom was a little miffed that I’d let our sick child go back to her Gram’s where she might wear herself out but I told him that since Lyss and Jax were both already exposed to her germs and my mom assured me she’d make Liv rest, it would be fine.

He forgave me as he ate the sub I’d brought home for him. The subs were only a little cold since it had been over two hours since I’d purchased them. Food always goes a long way toward paving the road to forgiveness.