Another trip to GA, another adventure :)

Let me start by saying, “Sister, I love you.” Now that that’s out of the way (and I really do love my sister, who watched our daughter & her own 2 kids for DAYS while Bart/I worked), I’m beginning to think GA is cursed.

We spent Christmas Eve in GA (in the ER) with what we thought was an allergic reaction to Benadryl. Turns out it wasn’t, since we spent 3 hours in the ER a month later (back in LA) with an eerily similar episode in the middle of the night WITHOUT any Benadryl… I know I’m not supposed to say my daughter’s body was “limp”, but it was. Mothers know these things.

SO, after the ER doc was completely baffled (but told us there was clearly “something” going on) we went back to see our local pediatrician, who was equally baffled and referred us to a pediatric neurologist (we have an appointment on 2/23).

As any good (neurotic) mother would do, I’ve looked up everything I could possibly find on the Internet about her symptoms (limpness or “loss of tone”, unconsolable crying – though completely alert – that lasts about 10-15 minutes, after which she is a perfectly normal child…)

Believe it or not, there are very few things that fit. Night terrors do not fit. She’s totally aware and in tune to her surroundings. Meningitis, not a fit (thank god), since fever is a number one symptom, and she had none. I found a version of Vertigo that sounds at least on the right track, called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. Though it most often has “nausea or vomiting”, and she hasn’t vomited during these episodes, I have no idea how to gauge “nausea” in an infant. Regardless, we’ll keep you posted. But I bet you’re wondering what this has to do with Georgia?

Not much at this point, though it seems our run of not-so-great luck started there (we’re on our 3rd ear infection, for example – first one ever, in GA). Turns out, another trip to Georgia, another trip to the ER. This time our daughter pulled a stereo speaker over on her head… She was scared but fine when it happened (and we couldn’t even find a bump), but then 2 hours later in the tub, Bart found the bump. It wasn’t very big, no bleeding and she was acting fine, so we moved forward with the night-night routine. Right after her bottle, she threw up. But she was STILL acting fine, so we changed her and moved on. Then, 45 minutes later, MORE vomiting (and a lot of it). So, to the ER we went.

FOUR HOURS (and a CT scan) LATER. Turns out she’s got a small skull fracture. Yes, that head of hers is destined to cause trouble, I’m afraid. Remember, she fell off the bed at 6 months on mommy’s watch, which was her first trip to the ER. For better or worse, there’s nothing you can do for a fracture. They heal on their own. Good news?

Wow. I can’t imagine being this poor kid reading this laundry list of head issues later in life, but it’s almost like a “time capsule” filled with real-time medical history, annotated by mom. :) Dear Zoe, You’re welcome.

I absolutely have to note that the rest of our trip to GA was fantastic (though FAST and filled with lots of work and Atlanta traffic). My niece had her 9th birthday party at a martial arts studio, which was a blast, and my mom, sister and her beautiful family were truly amazing at making Zoe’s trip a really fun one. And with access to Birthday Cake (VIDEO) Zoe’s sure to be up for coming back again and again!