The Pink Stuff!!

I just hate it when one – or more – of my children are sick!! It breaks my heart and I just melt inside for them. On the other hand, they DON’T tend to get into as much trouble when they just lay about…hmmmmm. Much to consider.

Tallen woke up at 5:30am yesterday, Saturday, complaining “my throat hurt.” I pulled him in bed with me and lay holding him. He felt rather warm to me but I imagined it was just me in the warm bedroom. (Our room is never the same temperature as the rest of the house.) I felt his chest. His heart was beating VERY quickly! I have to admit that I had never thought to check the girls’ heart rates when they were sick or had a fever…it is only since Tallen was born with WPW Syndrome that I worry about heart rates. I sat up put my lips to his head, very warm…searched franticly for the thermometer to no avail and decided to just take him to the ER.

When Tallen was born and placed in the NICU for something that turned out to be nothing, he was there for 8 days and on monitors when his heart rate sky rocketed one evening. They say it was upwards of 250 beats/min. “Fluttering like a bird’s” they said. He was diagnosed with Wilkes Parkinson White Syndrome (named after the 3 guys who discovered it)

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It means that he has an “extra wire” in his heart that allows the electrical impulse to start at the top, go around and down and then sneak back up to the top every once in awhile. That impulse added to the next “beat” of the heart just keeps going and going and going – thus the pitter pat feeling in his chest. Tallen has only had a few episodes (good) and will have to have surgery at age 9 or so to “zap that extra wire.” Apparently No Big Deal; he just has to be big enough to get through the vein in his leg up to his heart.

Since his birth, my brother Edwin has been diagnosed with WPW and we think my Dad probably had it as well. The doctor tells me that it is not genetically passed down, but whatever! Doctors don’t know everything! I think he told me that so I would not feel bad for giving it to him. But why else would they ask if anyone else in our family had it!?!

Anyway, back to yesterday. It turns out that Tallen’s heart rate was 133 beats/min, he had a 102 degree fever and his throat hurt for a reason. I was told that when you have a fever it is normal for the heart rate to accelerate. His throat is a little red and one of his ears is inflamed, so that means…

‘’ The Pink Medicine ‘’

dun-dun-dun-dun…

I remember LOVING the “pink medicine” – bubble gum flavored I think – right? Tallen HATES it…or maybe he hates that he has to take it. It is a huge battle for each and every dose or it or any other meds for fever and whatnot. THEN, get this, when I loaded him up in the van to go and get the prescription filled after he slept for a bit, he threw up next to Daddy’s favorite shoes in the hall. Poor thing! We took a bucket to Meijer with us (just in case) and he needed it at the pharmacy counter…they filled my prescription QUICKLY, so that’s a plus! (anything to cut in line!)

As of right this minute (2:20pm Sunday) Tallen is under the table playing with his “choo-choo train” and chattering to himself. He seems back to normal except that he hasn’t eaten anything of substance in over 24 hrs. We are trying to hold crackers down now. Updates as they are available.

Update- 7/8/09

The pink stuff never did become a hit with Tallen. I had to hold him down and straddle his legs to even get the syringe in his mouth. Not fun for either of us. THEN, once the meds were in…out they came. He spit it all back out. Two teaspoons worth! Yuck… So, Daddy felt in our best interest to seek professional help. He went to the pharmacy and asked what we could mix with it to make it go down. Guess what! You can mix the pink medicine with almost anything. Steven brought home a cheapy version of sprite and Tallen had “pink pop” for the next 9 days!! Ahhh = success!

Over the flat parts and through the towns…

…because there aren’t any hills in Ohio!!! Well, maybe 3 or 4 total, and THOSE used to be trash heaps! We are on our way to pick up the girls near Cincinnati, Ohio as we speak. I hate this riding in the car and sitting in the car, and being bored silly in the car. Actually, since we have a Ford Windstar, the ride is pretty comfortable. I came upon a genius idea this trip and moved Tallen’s car seat directly behind the driver’s seat. So now Tallen can look out the window and see the same things I do. I assure you, there was a running commentary from the backseat! “Mama, Walls!” (the sound walls on the sides of the freeway) “Mama, (snort-snort sound from behind me) RIDE!!!” (This roughly translates to “Mama, the pigs in that truck are riding to market to be made into yummy bacon”) “Mama! Daddy! Daaaadddy! choo-choo!!!!” “Mama! Daddy! Mooooo!” It got difficult to have a conversation with Steven for all the hollering from Tallen. But we made it.

Adam drives up from Atlanta with the girls and stays with his mom in Cincinnati and then we drive down and meet anywhere between exit 15 and exit 34 along I-75; Depending upon how nice he is feeling on that particular day and how far he feels he has already driven in the day. Never one to serve the fellow man, Adam reminds me constantly how I “get the girls for 300 days a year and he only get them for 50 or so.” and how he “drives 500 miles from Georgia” and doesn’t feel he needs to go any further. These things are both true. I do have custody…and responsibility…and daily care of the children. He does drive a far distance since he moved to Georgia in summer 2005. But he neglects to remember that he drives up in 2 days usually and stays for a time with his mom and rests and such before the return trip south and I drive 4 1/2 hours down and 4 1/2 hours back all in ONE single day. So let’s talk about who’s tired at the end of the day. Don’t mind me – I’m just tired of my butt going numb!!! It makes me cranky! And I have been reminded “And don’t forget about US Mama! We have to ride in the car for 14 hours plus!” On Sunday they left Atlanta at 9:30am and reached the meeting place at 7pm….what should have been an 8 hr. drive. We got in at 1:40am or so. We only spent an hour eating dinner if that. That’s one very long day for all at my house!