See? I Am Not Crazy!

Well, at least not this time.



On Monday, Katrina came home from school with a stomach ache. I didn't think much of it, just figured she had, well, a stomach ache. She complained about it on Tuesday, though. And, on Wednesday, she spent most of the day going back and forth between the classroom and the nurses office. And, while she has been known the seek her fair share of attention from our schools wonderful nurse, this just wasn't like her.



Wednesday evening, her stomach hurt. Bad. She didn't want to eat, but made herself. Then it hurt worse. She did not sleep well that night.



Thursday morning came with more stomach pain. I called our pediatricians 24-hour triage service to hopefully get some ideas on what I could do for her. The nurse said, and I quote,



Any stomach pain lasting longer than 4 hours requires a visit to the ER. Which one shall I say that you will be going to?



Lovely.



So, I got the little girls over to Mrs. Sarah's house, and Kat and I headed to Mercy. We got checked in and into a room by 9 AM, which, I must say, is a personal time record. The triage nurse was wonderful, so loving and caring towards Katrina.



* Side Note: While Katrina is certainly not the toughest kid emotionally, physically, she is a she-ra. Not much holds her down, even sickness. So when she said that she didn't want to go to school, I knew something was not right with this kid. Normally, when she is sick, we have to force her to stay home. And there is much crying. This time, she wanted nothing to do with school. Not my normal kid. Not even close.



Well, as luck would have it, her stomach did not hurt nearly as bad as it did the night before. Of course. The ER doc ruled out all the major, surgery-related illnesses, like appendicitis or bowel obstruction or twisted intestine, using the time-honored method. She just didn't seem that sick.



Thanks. I am so glad I am paying you hundreds of dollars for this.



We made her go to the bathroom so they could take a urine sample. And the quick UTI test came back negative. So, he and I were stumped. The doc fully admitted that he had no clue. And that if it was gastrointestinal, none of the other docs at Mercy would have a clue either. We have some amazing gastrointestinal docs, but not any pediatric gastrointestinal docs. And, in his words, the addition of that one little word can make all the difference. So, he told us to call the pediatricians office and make an appointment with them.



So, Nina and I headed to my office for a few hours so I could get some work done and she could rest before our appointment. The pain came and went, was not constant, but was bad when it was there.



And, wouldn't it just be our luck? When we were at the doctor, it didn't hurt. Of course. So now, everyone is looking at us like either I am psycho, or she is. They start questioning her about school, her friends, our home, thinking that perhaps this is all an attention ploy.



That did not sit right with this mama. I know she has pulled some stunts in her day, but this? Again, not my kid. But, she went to school on Friday and, according to her teacher, did fine all day. No pain.



I got home from work, and she was on the couch, crying because it hurt so bad. But then, during Connect Group, it didn't hurt as bad. Honestly, I started doubting myself. Wondering if it was just an act. Wondering if I really knew my kiddo that well in the first place.



This morning was Cheerleading Camp. She said her stomach hurt, but not too bad. So we went. And, while she was there, and I was hanging out with a friend, I received...



VINDICATION!



The pediatrician called. The urine sample they took in the ER was sent to the lab to be cultured. And, what do you know? My baby has another UTI. On the 3 year anniversary of her first UTI.



So, once she is up from her nap (because cheerleading was hard this morning, and performing during the half-time for the basketball game wore her out), we will be getting her antibiotics. That makes two kids in three weeks. I wonder if they offer a frequent-buyer program?



But at least I'm not crazy...