Our Independence Day didn’t quite go as planned.  Poor Joshua developed the sniffles the night before & then woke up on the 4th with a cough.  Not thinking much of it, we went out to eat breakfast to start the holiday off right.  Joshua threw up right as I parked the car.  Needing to get out & clean up anyhow & since he seemed to feel OK, we went in to eat.  Josh seemed just fine until the afternoon when he developed a fever.  I cancelled our BBQ plans & we put him down for a nap.  After his nap, he was pretty lethargic (a mom’s description, not a medical description according to Erick) & his fever spiked even higher.  We called the after hours peds number & were told to take him in to the ED right away.  That was the start of our long evening at Walter Reed.

At the hospital, Joshua really got the works—a blood draw, IV with fluid bolus & antibiotics, Tylenol, a straight cath, & several rectal temperatures.  I was bawling when the phlebotomist was sticking him.  Fortunately, he started to feel better & his fever went down just before the docs decided to admit him.  On our way home at 11pm, Erick & I managed to see a little fireworks explosion down the street from the hospital, but it didn’t quite compare with what we’d had planned originally, & Josh missed it altogether because he was strapped into the carseat & couldn’t turn around.

For the rest of the weekend, Joshua was full of energy, acting as if he had lost playtime to make up for.  Thankfully, he was over the worst but he developed a nasty rash that the docs said was just his body fighting the virus.  Since he has baseline eczema, what would otherwise have been a minor rash turned into something yucky-looking.  But at least it hasn’t bothered him at all & isn’t contagious.  Over a week later, the rash is still there but it’s faded a lot & will hopefully be completely gone soon.

On another note, Joshua now weighs 28lb 14oz & got his 11th tooth, a top canine.  We’ve had a few playgroups at our house in the last week & I don’t think Josh has enjoyed them all that much.  He’s not the best at sharing anymore.  Even though he used to be very good at sharing his toys, being away from kids his age for over 3 months has not been good for keeping up that quality.  Hopefully he’ll rediscover how to share soon.  I felt like I spent most of our playgroup this morning trying to peel him off the other little ones who were playing with his toys!