Yes, I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane

Written yesterday…

I am ashamed to say that this blog is the way that some of my friends keep up with my life. I feel this shame not because I don’t appreciate that they see the blog as a place for friendly facts and updates and the occasional story about how I flash unsuspecting papas at the swimming pool. But rather, I’m ashamed because I really should pick up the phone every now and again or update people in person. I’m also a bit chagrined because sometimes when I relate a story to my friends a quick flash of Didn’t you read my blog? goes through mind.

(As an aside here, SRH had a blog for almost a full year before I started reading it regularly. How weird is that? Who doesn’t read their partner’s blog? Now that I also blog, I think my past behavior could only be labeled as utter lunacy).

But back to my point: I kind of stink at the whole keeping in touch thing.

So yet again I’m going to use this blog as an announcement space for those of you who are wondering why I didn’t call you today to tell you how Zane’s hearing evaluation went.

In short, it didn’t. We didn’t have it. In other words, it went fine for an appointment we didn’t keep.

I haven’t mentioned it, but Zane has been sick all week. Monday morning he woke up with a cough. By Monday afternoon, he had a fever. By Monday night the fever was 104.3 degrees. It came down pretty quickly, and he’s been hovering between 100-101 degrees for the rest of the week. Not the best scenario, but we were pleased that his breathing, while aggravated, was not really progressing to troublesome.

So I took off work all this week, and Zane and I hung out at home – making messes and watching train videos.

He had been getting progressively better until last night. He was up a good part of the night coughing, and we had to give him several breathing treatments.

By this morning, he was coughing non-stop so I figured that I’d better cancel the hearing test and see what the doctor had to say.

The doctor had to this to say, Hey, I bet you’re just glad you don’t have to take him to the ER this time.

Yep, I am glad. Good point, really. Not having to go to the ER is always a positive thing, but what I’m less glad about is that Zane’s back on Orapred – an evil, vile, madness-inducing drug that happens to save his life a few times a year.

It sucks really. And while I hate to rip off my partner’s blog, SRH has the best description of what Zane is like on that particular medication. (See Insane Little Man)

I can’t say it better than those pictures.

A second not so good thing is that I’m writing this particular post while flying to Boulder, CO for a conference. Oh, there’s nothing like leaving a sick child. Unless it’s leaving the sick child on a powerful steroid, which will cause a frenzy of uncomfortable and unmanageable symptoms but will hopefully keep him out of the hospital.

Mother of the Year? Anyone? Anyone?

In summary, Zane really is okay. He’s on a crazy dose of medication that has done us well in the past, and it will start to take care of his breathing within the next 6 hours or so.

In another summary, the hearing test that he didn’t have today was inconclusive so we’ll have to do it in another week or so.

Written this morning…

Do you notice how positive the above post is? Oh sure, I was worried a bit about Zane, but he was on the right medication, and his doctor assured me that my traveling was not going to be a big deal. I hated leaving him, but I was feeling confident that by the time I touched down, he was going to be well on the road to recovery.

You see where this is going right?

To avoid an overly involved explanation, Zane ended up in the ER last night, as he just wasn’t getting better. As you might guess, I have never felt more worried or guilty. This was made no better by the fact that I soon got out of cell phone range, and I couldn’t find any place with wireless access so that I could check out flights home. I got lost several times on the way to the resort – which I knew had wireless access and phones so I was desperate to get there, and I couldn’t find out what was going on with my child. It was a terrible, terrible night.

About midnight in Colorado (3am in Columbus), SRH and I finally got a hold of each other, and he let me know that Zane was starting to do better.

We talked again this morning, and Zane is doing great. (Oh, sweet relief!) The Orapred has finally kicked in, and his breathing is managed. SRH assures me that there is no reason to come home, and in fact has warned me against it as we have a little boy who is sky-high on steroids right now, and it ain’t a pretty sight.

So here are the lessons learned for me:

1. Never schedule a trip where I have to take a plane during the months of October through March. Yes, this might seem extreme, but it just isn’t worth all that we went through last night. I should have been home. I wanted to be home, and there was no way to make that happen.
2. I should always carry a pre-paid calling card. I knew the resort was in a secluded area, but the word “remote” doesn’t even begin to describe where I am right now. We are truly a far piece from any town, and it is truly a miracle that there is internet access.
3. This whole mothering and working outside the home thing is challenging, and sometimes I’m going to make the wrong decisions based on what seems like really good info at the time.

In yet another summary, Zane really is fine. He truly, truly is. I’m starting to be fine, and SRH is stuck at home with a maniac.