no fun when Mommy is sick!

Friday night, January 14th  my right arm started hurting and so I took some advil...thinking I must have carried too heavy of bags while shopping. I noticed some soreness under my right arm before going to bed that night but dismissed it as being my shirt rubbing it. Jake was having a tough night sleeping that night and while up with him I noticed this excruciating pain in my right shoulder. I decided to take more advil and was able to go back to sleep. Around 3:30am the pain woke me up and it was so bad. I described it as labor pain in my shoulder. I was in tears and woke my mom to see what she thought. She said we should go to the ER because the pain was so bad. We went to the ER and they did an EKG and a chest Xray because they were concerned I was having a heartattack. They did not find anything and just gave me pain medicine and dismissed it as a pulled muscle and gave me a sling to keep my shoulder in one place. We left the ER around 7:30am. We then had Jake's birthday party and the rest of the day I pretty much slept and took some of the loritabs they had given me for pain.  We had planned to celebrate my brother's birthday that night at Cinco's so luckily I was feeling a little better and was able to go. (last year we went to celebrate his birthday at Cracker Barrel and I was in horrible pain - labor pains) I was still just lying around and my arm was so stiff it was almost impossible to move. My mom and I had discussed going to an Orthopaedic dr. on Monday because something had to be wrong with my rotator cuff. That night I was changing into my pajamas and noticed swelling on my back.. on the right side. It was also very sore. We decided to go back to the ER and the same dr. was supposed to be there. We got there around 10pm and this time it was much more crowded. They took my temperature and it was almost 103. We had to wait around an hour before being seen. The dr. said he still did not know what was going on but decided to do a catscan of my chest and right side. This showed some enlarged lymph nodes and inflammation. My blood counts all remained good. They gave me a dose of rocephin via IV and then a prescription for Keflex. He then said I should follow up with a general practitioner on Monday. We ended up getting home around 3am. Sunday I woke up and my right collar bone was all swollen and I could not move my neck, my side was so sore and felt almost bruised and it was so painful to cough and to breathe deep. A redness had started showing up under my arm and it was running down my side. We debated about going back to the ER but we felt we were not getting anywhere so we had looked up infectious disease doctors in Cumming. One office opened at 8:30am and they were located at the hospital. I continued to have fever and had decided not to take the loritabs or to use the sling because they were no longer helping. Advil seemed to help with the soreness and inflammation and fever. It was when the Advil was wearing off that I became miserable. My mom called the office at 8:30am and they had an opening at 11:15am. Our friend Jen was so awesome and came to watch the boys while we went to the appointment. The dr. listened and looked at my redness and the amount of pain I was in and said " this concerns me". I just broke down into tears. To hear a dr. say something concerns them is frightening. He then said that we were not going home but going directly over to the hospital to be admitted. He said that he wanted to get me on some strong IV antibiotics because it was a form of cellulitis that must have gone in through my underarm and then set into my tissue and inner tissue. So from there we went downstairs and over to the hospital and then was set up in a room. It took a little while to get the antibiotics going but by around 3pm I was starting my first round. (It hit me that it was January 17th, 2011 and one year ago I was admitted to the hospital on January 17th 2010 to have Jake. ) The next day I started showing a rash all over my body. Even on the left side and my fever was continuing. Again.. if I was taking Motrin things were a little better but about 2 hours before it was to wear off I would start running fever, have chills, and feel so bad. Dr. Dickensheets was my doctor and I really cannot say enough great things about him and his practice. They have been wonderful through this whole process. The dr. stopped one of my antibiotics because it was a close relative to Penacillin (which I am allergic to) and he thought it might be causing the rash. I started a new antibiotic and slowly the rashed started to go away. The IV antibiotics were going in around the clock and by Wednesday my swelling in my neck had gone down and my soreness was less. I did notice might right stomach area was very full of fluid and under my arm was still very sore. The lymph nodes are usually the last to resolve so that is the reason for the soreness. My fever was less and the Dr. debated in having me go home on Wednesday. He then decided that he would keep me through Thursday so I could continue with the IV antibiotics one more day. My mom and Jody took turns being at the hospital and being home with the boys. Jody's parents had come back into town on Monday and they were staying around the clock with the boys at home.
Around 4:30pm on Wednesday Jody got a call from his dad that they were missing one of his mom's medicines. They were not sure which one because two of the pills looked alike. Luke and his mom and dad had been at the table coloring and Jake was in the family room playing with toys. Jake started crying because he had fallen on a toy so his mom went to check on Jake and about that same time Jody's dad got a phone call and walked into the other room. That left Luke at the table by himself. In just a split second.. Luke opened Jody's mom's purse and got out her daily pill counter. After checking on Jake his mom walked back into the kitchen to find Luke under the table with the pills where he proceeded to pour them out (he hides under the table when doing things he should not). All the pills were together but one could not be accounted for. Our dogs were under the table too so we were not sure if they had gotten one. After calling poison control and her pharmacist we determined that the missing pill was her insulin pill. If Luke had taken the pill it could bottom out his sugar and possibly kill him. Poison control said that he needed to go the nearest ER. I was freaking.. I am at the hospital and now my child is being brought to the hospital. My nurse's allowed me to go down to the ER and so we were there when they arrived. I waiting in the lobby with my mom and Jake and Jody's dad. We kept getting conflicting information about how long he would have to be monitored. Some nurses said Poison Control ruled and then others said Scottish Rite would determine. They required that he drink the charcoal which was a struggle but thankfully he did drink enough and did not have to have the NG tube. They put in an IV and were taking his blood sugar every hour. After 3 hours of doing this and waiting Jody's parents took Jake back home. He was getting tired and hungry and so many sick people were coming into the ER that I did not want him there. I had to go backto my room to check in and to have my vitals taken and my antibiotic given. Poison Control ruled and said that he would have to be monitored 24 hours because they have seen patients have reactions in the 23rd hour. So Luke is taken by ambulance to scottish rite. Jody goes with him and my mom and I are still at Northside Forsyth. A mom's worst nightmare to not be with her baby. They continue to monitor him through the night and through the next day and nothing changes. Therefore he did not take the pill. The whole time we are wondering about our dogs but cant afford to take them to the after hours vet too. I am just praying they make it through the night and are ok in the morning. All prayers are answered in that 2pm on Thursday I am released from the hospital, Bella and Mo are ok, and Luke is released from the hospital around 4:30 and we are all home together at around 6:00pm on Thursday night. I still had to have IV antibiotics through Monday. I had a follow up appointment on Monday and he said things are looking good but to continue with the one antibiotic by mouth and once I finish it to start another antibiotic. Tuesday I returned to work and noticed another rash starting on my forearms and legs... WHAT?? I call the nurse and she says to stop taking the Clindamyacin and just go to the Zithromax. After so much time I must have developed an allergic reaction to it. So Wednesday I started the Zithromax and on Saturday night started having really bad stomach pains and it continued into Sunday. Sunday night I was up all night going to the bathroom. So here we are on Monday and I am so much better from the Cellulitis which they think was an internal strep infection (only have some stiffness in my right shoulder and cannot fully extend it up) but all the antibiotics have destroyed all my good bacteria in my stomach and are causing me stomach issues. The nurse told me to hold off on my refill of the Zithromax until she talks to the dr. and to take Immodium.  I have one more follow up appointment tomorrow and hopefully I will get a full release!
Such a crazy ordeal and just makes you really appreciate good health and realize that you can be feeling just fine and the next thing you know you are really sick. We are so thankful for all of our family and friends. Friends that called to check on us, pray for us, bring us meals, and for just offering to help! Please know that you are so appreciated!!