The Second Opinion (also titled the stupid clinic that didn't listen to the mom)

(this is the longest post I have ever writen, but so worth it.)

Mom's know when something is wrong, they just do. Don't ask how, don't ask why just trust us. We know our kids better than anyone else possibly could.

Boo gets sick, she has had strep twice since January and the stomach flu twice as well. BUT she never-ever get SICK. You know the SICK I am talking about, raging fever, chills, no appetite, and no wanting to drink anything.

Boo would eat until the end of time if we let her. She loves food, so when she won't eat we know something is going on.

Let's go back to...midnight on Wednesday/Thursday. Boo comes into my room, snuggles under the covers and falls asleep. She is coughing, but so am I, so I wasn't really worried about that. At least I wasn't until she shimmied up next to me, and I felt like I was melting.

She was burning up, about a 102 fever at midnight. Not good.

The fever lasted for most of the night, and dropped down to the low 100's by morning. She tried to eat so she could go to school, but it wasn't happening. After a couple bites she new she was staying home, and burst into tears.

Did I mention that Thursday was the last day of school. Poor Boo.

So, because of the fever and cough I new we were in for something. But, not sure what. Boo is never SICK so I was not prepared for what was to come.

I called the clinic to get her in, with her history of respiratory issues it is standard. Her primary was not in clinic that day, so we settled for a Family Practise Doctor at another clinic.

Never again.

When we got to the clinic, Boo left them a very nice present all over the floor of the lobby, I will let you draw your own conclusion on that one!

That was another sign that things were just not right. The receptionist was wonderful, gave us a cool little bag for Boo to use, and we sat to wait.

The nurse that called us back was wonderful, patient with the slow moving Boo. Even offered to get her height so we could see how much she had grown since February. She even did a strep test without me prompting, which I thought was a good start to the visit.

Once we got in the room and were alone Boo started crying again. Her cheeks were bright pink, her lips the color of cherries and her ears glowed in the dark. Her Ibuprofen was wearing off and she was not happy.

Shortly after the dr came in. The strep test was negative, so they would run the 24 hour, but she thought it looked like strep. Boo neck was hurting at that point, her everything was hurting. She was cold, but burning up. She had stomach cramps but didn't want any water. She was miserable.

I asked the dr to check her lungs, "Please do a chest x-ray, her colds travel there 90% of the time".

What did she do? Listened to her lungs and said "That won't be needed, her lungs sound clear".

Did I push? No, because Boo just wanted to go home. She wanted to get her Gatorade and go home to bed.

So we left. Went to Walgreens, where Boo left them a present as well, only this time contained to the cool bag I snagged from the clinic.

We got home, took some more Ibuprofen and she crashed for three hours.

That night things got worse. Boo's fever wouldn't stay down, no matter what I did. She never went above 101, but it wouldn't stay down. She was quarantined to our bedroom, then snuggled with me on the couch. Koda was crazy, and I had to call Hubby home. It was not a good night.

Finally, about 10 she crashed hard. Until about midnight. Then she came into our room with her chest hurting from all the coughing (uh-oh) and her temp going back to that 101 mark. She was in pain, and we couldn't stop it.

We gave her some meds, snuggled her down and went back to sleep.

This happened three times Thursday/Friday night.

At 7 am Friday morning I was on the phone to the clinic. If her dr was in that day, she was being seen. Something was not right. Her cheeks were still bright pink, her lips that color of cherries and her poor throat was raw from all the coughing. Her chest hurt when she sneezed, and she had no appetite. It was a battle to get her to drink anything.

That afternoon we went to see the wonderful Dr. T. Oh Dr. T...the only reason we still go to that clinic. She is so fabulous, always willing to listen, and doesn't not give that "crazy mom" look that so many doctors are known to give.

She took one look at Boo, and knew something was wrong. She looked at her chart and saw that she has lost almost two pounds since her last visit to the clinic, and 4 since the day before (different scale though, so we can't trust that number). I showed her how much she had drank all day (less than half of a standard water bottle) and that she hadn't eaten yet that day.

First thing she did...GOT A CHEST X-RAY! Look at that...I love when doctors know the child's history and LISTEN TO THE PARENT.

She also checked her ears (clear), checked her throat again (still clear) and had a Whopping Cough and Influenza test done (negative and negative).

The x-ray came back and GUESS WHAT! Pneumonia. Shocking right. I was not surprised. It was a moderate case, but it explained the fever that wouldn't go down, the lack of appetite and the lack of wanting to drink. Hubby had it last year, and it was not a fast recovery.

They gave her an inhaler treatment, and she perked up pretty quick. Dr. T. gave Boo the talk about drinking. She wasn't worried about eating as much. She told her about the needle in the arm and all that fun stuff.

Boo drank what was left of her water bottle while we were there. HA-HA!

So we left there with antibiotics, an inhaler and some steroids. That night, Boo slept 14 hours straight and woke up in a much better mood. She is still tired, but on the mend.

We actually ended up having to go back on Monday for hives that kept popping up and a re-x-ray because something was goofy on hers and the Radiologist wanted another film. The result...still something goofy but they are adding another inhaler with steroids to (hopefully) take care of it. We will go back in a month for another x-ray and if that isn't take care of we will go from there.

The moral of this story???

Listen To Your Instincts!! You know your child better than anyone. You know what is normal for them, and what is above and beyond. Don't let any doctor tell you that you are wrong, because a lot of the times you aren't.

Also, find a doctor that you trust, and that trusts your instincts. Dr. T. has always been that for us, and I don't see us leaving anytime soon. She listens, acts and follows up. She even e-mails me at work to check on Boo.

Boo's doctor left me with this on Monday "Mom(s) know when something is wrong, so I know you will call if she (is) not better. Trust yourself, you are your child's best weapon" (she has really broken English sometimes, and I wrote it down as she said it...love her).