104.4--Yikes!

Our little guy made his first official trip to the doctor's office yesterday in India for an illness. Last Tuesday, he started having a runny nose. On Wednesday, he woke up with a fever. By that evening, his fever was up to 103.7 and began to cough a little. Paul and I decided after doing some initial reading on fever and his symptoms that we would wait and see how he does for the next few days with the help of tylenol and ibuprofen. He seemed to respond well to the drugs and he had playful moments, ate fairly well, and drank well. But, his fever would continue at the 103.7 range when the drugs would wear off. By the third day, I was starting to wonder what was going on. From all that I read, it seemed that by day four or five, if he continued having a fever, maybe we needed to go see a doctor. On day five, I decided we need to go see the doctor. It was confirmed when I took his temperature and it rose to 104.4. Moreover, on Monday, he was a different kid. He was lethargic, cranky, clingy, and didn't seem very interested in food. He was definitely not feeling great. So, we took him to see a pediatrician that we have come to like because he seemed like he cared about kids.

Going to the hospital here is always an adventure. We got there 15 minutes before the doctor's arrival, but we were number ten on the patient list. We waited probably about two hours. There was a "guard" at the door of the doctor's office to "police" people from cutting in line. I had Paul start asking people what number they are before the "guard" got there because I could tell people were trying to cut in line. Of course, once the questioning got started, they started asking each other and monitoring. Elijah fell asleep while waiting.

The final diagnosis was that Elijah has an upper respiratory infection. The doctor thinks it started out as a virus but turned into an infection. So, he was given antibiotics which he is on. He still has a fever of 102.5 but today, he seemed happier and back to his normal playful self. Hopefully, his fever will break soon and the antibiotics will do its job in killing off whatever bacteria that is causing him to be sick.

He always protests initially getting his rectal temperature taken but somehow, he usually concedes with the words, "Umma's turn, then Elijah's turn," which translates to Umma gets to stick that thermometer up in my butt-hole but I get to hold it afterward and put it back in the plastic cover.

I know that some moms are creative about getting their kids to take medicine by doing some stuff, but I have to admit, I'm just not that type of mom. Maybe if I become desperate, I will resort to some creative means, but so far, shoving them into his mouth has been working okay. ;)

Elijah, you're such a good sport! I hope you get better quickly.