It's been a wild ride, let me tell you

At 2 p.m. yesterday, I got a call that breaks every parent's heart - your child is in the school clinic with a fever of 104.9.  Pokey had been the one to grab the phone so he relayed the message to me.  Before he even had the handset back on the cradle, I was out the door.  My poor Hobbit!

I arrived at her school to pick up my teary baby girl.  Miserable was written all over her precious face.  I kept beating myself up internally because when I got home from dropping her off at school that morning, I came home and set a doctor appointment for her that afternoon for her cough.  Somehow, I should have known that she was going to pop a high fever out of nowhere and feel miserable today.  I should have kept her home even though she was her normal giggly self... I'm a horrible mama.

I get my baby bundled into the car and head straight for the doctor's office.  Sure, we're 2 hours early for our appointment but we've been going to that office for six years - they know me.  I'll just tell Cathy, the sweetest receptionist on the planet, and she'll work us in early.  Enter snafu number two - there was some new little girl working the front!  Oh no - this wouldn't do for me at all.  I may have been a bit more stern than necessary when I went up the second time but if I was, Cathy backed me up wholeheartedly when she came around the corner.  She asked the girl why we were still waiting when Hobbit had such a high fever - clear a room and get us back there now.  See, Cathy truly is awesome - I'm starting to think it has something to do with the name!

When Bernie came back to the room, he knew immediately that Hobbit didn't feel well.  The two of them are so funny to watch - the banter and playfulness between them is amazing.  Sure, he's a nurse practitioner but I won't take her to see anyone else because he actually talks to her and listens to her... he treats her like a person, not like some ignorant soul who is too young to be able to tell him exactly what is going on.  Hobbit will tell it like it is - you can ask her anything in the world, embarrassing or not, and she'll give you an honest answer.  Under normal circumstances, she talks like a very small opinionated old lady.  The inflection, gestures and everything... she cracks me up.  So when none of this was happening, Bernie's face went from his usual jovial smile to complete professional mode - he knew that this was serious and he was going to fix it.  Exams, chest x-rays, questions and consultations with Dr. Mike (my doctor) because he wasn't taking any chances - end conclusion was severe Bronchitis to be treated with a very aggressive dose of Amoxicillin.  Before we left, Hobbit looked at Bernie and asked, very seriously, if she was still allowed to go to Epcot on Friday.  Bernie smiled at me, I shrugged back with a sheepish grin of my own - what can I say, she loves going to Disney.  He pet her hair and told her what had to happen before he would be comfortable with her going - that fever had to be gone all day Thursday, she had to take her medicine like a good girl and she had to keep drinking and resting.  If she was able to do all those things, then he would say okay to her still going on Friday.  She looked up from her paper covered pillow, gave him her best grin and said she would go one better, she'd sit in her stroller (something she despised as a little girl).  They had an accord and Bernie patted her, reminding her that when she comes back next week that she better be up to giving him the usual hard time... because he missed his normal patient.

With my tears still being held back by the grace of God alone, I took my little lump of a girl home.  I changed her into her requested "sissy school shirt", snuggled her into the sofa with all her most prized possessions (blankie, Spots and silky pillow) and that is where she stayed until roughly 3 a.m. and that is where she is now... although now she is fever free, ate a little granola bar, drank a juice box and is working on a bottle of water.  She also was able to take her medicine without throwing up today so I'm calling it a beautiful day.  The weather is crisp and cool, the child has color back in her cheeks and everything is looking up.

It has definitely been one crazy 24 hours to say the least... but it looks like we'll be back to our normal version of crazy very soon.