Jenny On the Spot

3 days after Christmas Paul, the kids and I packed our things and headed to a camp near Mt. Baker. My husband was asked to speak at a youth camp. There were about 100 junior and senior high school kids from 4 different youth groups. We were looking forward to the mountain get-away, some snow and enjoying a quaint cabin retreat. Ah, the beauty a romantic soul can create…
Oh, and youth, but they would be skiing during the day…

We arrived at camp after 4 hours in the car. We unloaded our luggage and junk into a small, rustic cabin. So romantic, hear my tone? There was a small dresser and a few drawers by the sink. Dresser was rusitc, but perfect in working order. I opened the drawers by the sink to see what stuff could be tucked away… Nothing, at least not if I wanted mouse droppings to keep our belongings company! To self, \”We can do this, we can do this…\”

Time to look into sleeping quarters. There was a double bed (remember prego belly and body pillow), a twin bed , and a loft with 2 twin mattresses. Loft railing had kid-sized openings, and no lights — only a problem considering potential presence of mouse droppings:) We were down to 4 people, ummm more like 5 with a twin and a double. Did I mention I saw a mouse run through the bathroom?

That first day I did my best to tidy up and settle in while Paul prepped for his first night of speaking. For dinner, we ate in the cafeteria with the teenagers (Joel and Livi love to be around the youth). With an open mind, things were working out. Bed time, and the kids settle in toe to toe on the twin bed. Livi starts to bark — like seal. Anyone familiar with that sound? Croup anyone? Despite the bark, her breathing was good, and she was not-at-all congested. Let\’s see how she is in the morning…

No more cough! Good, it was just a fluke — being in the cold perhaps? We took the kids tubing (well, Paul did) and built a snowman. The kids were in heaven, potential frostbite was no consequence for the trade-off in fun! After nap, we even took the kids for ice cream! Good times for the Ingram family! That night, it was time for Paul\’s speaking gig. The kids and I attended until they got to squirmy, and we headed back to our cabin. The kids were all nestled, snug in their bed… BARK! Huh?? Olivia was not congested, but I did sense a bit of a fever… Paul and Joel slept on the twin that night. Livi, me, my 7.5 month belly and the body pillow got the double. Her breathing was fine, but that darn cough kept waking her up all night. The fever didn\’t help either.

We went up with one car, and a commitment to speak for 3 nights. It was official, Livi had a fever. I didn\’t have thermometer, but being the professional mother that I am, I knew it existed at a level that was not considrerd TOO high. We drove a bit down the mountain to get cell reception. I called the pediatric nurse. She agreed with me - Livi had croup, and a not-too-serious condition at that. We laid low that day - in the \”spacious\” and \”clean\” cabin. I kept giving her water and Tylenol. She was sick, but didn\’t act too sick. That evening, we all went to dinner. Livi ate a few curly fries. We went to the chapel to watch Daddy on his last night. The squirming wasn\’t bad. It was the COUGHED-UP CURLY FRIES on me and Olivia that sent us back to the cabin. Always a story to tell…

The bark was gone. The cough became just a congested, yucky cough. Huh? Fever. Not eatin\’ much. What happened to croup? We headed home that night instead of the next morning. I intended to take her to the urgent care that day, but didn\’t. We only get viruses here. No need to pay someone to tell us she need to rest and drink plenty of water - right???

We stayed home New Year\’s Eve. At the stroke of midnight our son slept with his \”swords\” (plastic hangers) on one couch, while Olivia rested on the other with her head on my lap, and chubby, feverish toes in daddy\’s hands. Earlier that evening I called the doctor on call (they just love me!). He said Livi needed to be seen in the next 24 hours, but didn\’t recommend that we go into the ER on New Year\’s Eve night:) I forgot to mention, on our drive home from camp, I was told our poor nephew (who we spent Christmas with) was diagnosed with pneumonia, double ear infection, etc… 2 days before, hmmm…

We were at prompt care January 1, 2005 when the doors opened at 9 am. Grrr…gotta start over on the deductible!

Diagnosis: bronchial infection, ear infection, eye infection, and a smidge of pneumonia.

Poor Olivia. She\’s better now, with a big dose-o-antibiotics (I don\’t think she\’s ever had any before - we always get viruses at our house). I am thankful my friend Lisa encouraged me to call the doctor. It seems every time I do, it\’s never a big deal. This time it was. Livi slept all last night (only waking to cough a little and drink some water) and woke up saying, \”I\’m hungry\”. She\’d only had half an orange, 4 strawberries and any fluids she would take since the french fry incident!

I\’m taking Joel to the doctor tomorrow. He has a cruddy cough, but no fever. He complained about his ears a couple days ago. I\’m not risking it. If his sister\’s got something, good chance something might be brewing in his little body. Like I said, there is always a story to tell…!!!