Ahhhh Happy Saturday! A little rough go this week, but it's all good! We are a resilient bunch here. I am just taking a few moments with a cup of coffee this afternoon.
So last week Monday (2/15), my son complained of a sore throat. He started taking one of our favorite products called Airborne. It floods your system with Vitamin C and usually will nip a cold in the bud if taken right at the start. So after that, his cold we thought was starting never developed in to anything and he didn't mention it agin, so I thought we were good.
Well on Monday (2/22), he mentioned that he had been riding out the week with his sore throat and it felt like it was getting worse. This was as I was dropping him off to school so I mentioned to have the school nurse take a look and see what she thinks. Well sure enough, the school calls me and tells me he definitely has something going on as his throat is red and there are white spots. She suggested I might want our doctor to take a look. So I made an appointment. Due to scheduling with work, I made it for as late as possible but ended up with one of my least favorite doctors out of the four Doctor group practice. She would have to do.
My clients husband came home from work early so that I could take my son in. Before we went in for our appointment, I took a look at his throat and sure enough, there were white spots on his tonsils. So of course I am thinking strep throat.
We head in to the office and after about ten minutes, he is called back. I'm waiting out in the waiting room and finally I am called back to have the doctor talk to me. She said she tested him for strep and it came back negative. She dismissed it as an "adenovirus". She told him fluids and rest. Umm, okay. So we left.
By that evening, my son started running a fever of 101. He missed school on Tuesday. Swallowing had become a little hard for him as it was painful. So Tuesday I decided to make some basic homemade chicken noodle soup like my mom makes. I managed to slip in some garlic and ginger without him noticing it in the flavor which was good; giving the soup some medicinal and antibacterial benefits.
With him still running a fever, he missed school on Wednesday as well. He also slept most of the day. When I came home Wednesday from work, he said he felt like it was getting worse. So I took a look and it was red and looked like there were more white spots. Unfortunately it was close to any immediate care places closing and I didn't want to run him into an ER and have us sitting there all night.
Thursday morning, he was still running a fever. I was feeling tired after taking my daughter to her clinical for school. So I decided to lay back down when I got home. Shortly after, my son came in and told me he just couldn't stand this anymore. Obviously he wasn't getting better with rest and fluids. His voice sounded constricted. I took a look and his tonsils were coated in white spots of various sizes and at this point, you could just see exactly how inflamed he was. I told him to get ready and we were headed to Mash Urgent Care!! I needed a second opinion!!
I have never been to Mash before but felt comfortable as soon as we walked in. I found everyone there to be very helpful and pleasant. We got called in and the dr came in, very laid back guy. He checked out my son and said there is one virus out there that tends to confuse doctors because it presents itself as strep throat. He said it is mononucleosis. I asked him "So you think this is mono then?" He says "I am definitely saying its mono." He told me of course we would run a test to make sure, but he seemed pretty positive that this what this was.
The doctor sent the nurse in to do the test. She did a finger prick and got what she needed. She told us it would take about 10-15 minutes and the doctor would be back with the results. Next thing we know, Dr Mast is walking back in after about 2 minutes and said that my son turned an eight minute test to positive in about a half minute!! It was without a doubt, mono.
The doctor put him on some prednisone as this can't be treated with antibiotics seeing that it's a virus. Technically, I learned there really isn't a treatment for it because it is a virus. They usually just suggest rest and fluids, but my son had inflammation so bad. The prednisone helps with that.
I was happy to have an answer and I am happy to report he is on the mend. He is doing much better. The fever has been down now for about 72 hours and you can see his normal demeanor bouncing back.
There was one day last week while we were going through all this that I was tending to him and his needs all evening from the moment I came home, right up til bed time. He said to me "Thank you mom for taking care of me." He's 17, and he still has those tender moments with me. When I come home from work, he is always there to greet me with a warm hug and ask me how my day was. If I've had a bad day, it's instantly fixed with a hug from him and just by showing the fact he cares. So when he thanked me for taking care of him, I just looked at him and said "I'm your mom. Of course I am going to take care of you."
My life hasn't always been easy. It still isn't. But I make it work. It took me a while to not dwell on the negative things that happen in my life, but rather to find the positives. To always cherish the good moments in the day, no matter how small and to embrace the positivity.
I hope everyone else had a great week last week!!
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