Wednesday, February 11, 2004

Where was I? Oh right, everyone's sick.

Actually, everyone isn't sick anymore. Katherine has been doing very well. Nicholas (aside from his slightly enlarged spleen due to Mono) is doing well. Jonathon has diarrhea and I want to have him checked out but can't fathom how to get him to poop in a cup at the doctor's office so I've been putting it off. He cries periodically that his stomach hurts and I have no doubts that it does. No fever anymore.

But this update is about Rebecca. Again.

The nurse called from the school clinic. She threw up in class.
Now, we have a problem. Rebecca has her dose of Flagyl to take 3 times a day. It's a doozy too. Either 1 1/2 pills, or 3 tsp of liquid. Neither goes down easily, in fact sometimes neither goes down at all. I think she's gotten herself so worked up over the medication that now she's simply rejecting it entirely. I should have known how this would play out. Rebecca is the sort that if she has one bad taste or bad experience with something, NOTHING will get her to try it again. I can't hide this stuff either, it tastes too awful and now she's shying away from anything she thinks might have med mixed in. Shying is too gentle a term. Lots of screaming, crying, arguing, stamping of feet and general misery. Oh yeah, from her too. This medication has been a nightmare.
Last night she took her liquid dose, and promptly threw up. Well, she has to have her meds, so I let Ian hash it out with her in the bathroom and after much crying and threats flying around, it went down and stayed down. This morning I told her she had the option of taking it and going to school or not taking it and staying home. Staying home would be worse, she realized, so she took her medicine with much theatrics and went to school.
At 11:30 the school clinic called. Rebecca had thrown up in class. I made sure to ask if it was before or after taking her med (the clinic gives her the 12:30 dose daily), and it was before.
Now I'm stuck. She's either really sick with something else (and what that something else is is anyone's guess) or she has worked herself up so much that idea of the medication is making her ill. The latter is very plausible, no matter how ridiculous it may seem.
Obviously we have a serious problem here. If it was just diarrhea, I wouldn't worry. If it was just vomitting, I wouldn't worry. If it was just fever, I wouldn't worry. But put it all together and add in a good dash of amoebas (and the accompanying cramps and pain when off the meds), and the inability to take medication... dehydration is a big concern and her overall health is causing me worry.
Please give me ideas on how to make this easier on everyone. I'm getting so tired.

No comments:

Post a Comment