A Trifecta of Terrible

It all started with a rash. An angry, red, unidentifiable rash that suddenly appeared. Out of place, unexpected and totally unprovoked it came.

Did she eat something weird? Did we change laundry soap? Do we have a new pet in the home? Has she been in contact with any unfamiliar plants? Were they working with any strange materials at school, perhaps in art class, that could have caused her hands and feet to suddenly become so red and so angry?

The answer was no, to everything.

We gave Benadryl. We gave oatmeal baths. We watched and waited.

The rash came and went, each time growing in size and the amount of skin it was deciding to appear on. After a few more days, it was all over her body and it brought it's friends fever, upset stomach and sore throat along for the ride. Oh, the fun.

We went back to the doctor for the second time. Eureka! A virus. A virus was causing her body to do this to itself. An immuno reponse via histamine to a virus...most likely. We tested for Strep (NEGATIVE) and we waited. The week slithered by, the fever disappeared along with the sore throat and tummy ache, the rash still coming and going. She, existing on school work sent home by her teacher, lots of coloring books and a nightly dose of Zyrtec. Things were looking up until...3AM - swollen hands and a rash that would have scared anyone.

More lotion, more Zyrtec, another oatmeal bath and a trip to an urgent care clinic because really, what was going to swell next, her airway? And why?

(I do believe this was the day I found my first GRAY eyebrow hair)

We left with 2 EpiPens, just in case. Which made it possible for this mama to actually sleep with her eyes shut instead of nervously watching and waiting for some other weird symptom to appear. We'd follow up with the doctor after the weekend, as long as nothing else happened.

Just before bedtime on Sunday night (because the fun always happens JUST BEFORE BEDTIME) she ran into her brother's room and tripped on his baseball bag, landing pretty hard on the side rail of his bed. Tears. Kisses. Ice and lots of love and she was finally asleep. When morning came, she could hardly raise her right arm. We already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for Tuesday so I dismissed any idea of taking her to the doctor AGAIN for this sore arm thing. Besides, there wasn't any swelling, it wasn't red or bruised and it didn't hurt if she didn't move it.

I gave her an old sling of mine from when I fell on some ice in the 5th grade and called it good. She was fine with that. But then...

Tuesday: X Ray time! Guess what? Broken clavicle.

WHAT?

Now you all know that I have teenaged boys, right? Boys that tackle each other every chance they get. Boys that think couch jumping should be an Olympic sport. Boys that play baseball and football and have been through all levels of taekwondo. Crazy, physical boys that I am convinced will act like puppies well into their 40's.

And has either one of these hooligans ever broken a bone? No.

Let's just say their little sister's coolness ranking grew a thousand times that day when they came home from school and their after school activities (WEIGHT TRAINING = no broken bones) and learned that she had a broken collar bone.

(I'm pretty sure this is the part where she felt like Wonder Woman inside)

So now we have a broken collar bone to accompany the mysterious rash and hand swelling that has had us in a complete and utter state of wonder the past few weeks.

The good news: The rash hasn't come back since that day when we (I) freaked out and got the EpiPens. She kept taking the Zyrtec for the remaining week and now it's been exactly 3 days since her last dose and no rash. I'm crossing everything I have to cross that it never comes back and we're over this hurdle.

The bad news: She got a migraine 2 nights ago. The throwing up, don't touch me, don't talk to me or anyone else, do not breathe near me, all I want to do is lie here very still and try not to think about the pounding in my head or the raging in my stomach before I run to the bathroom and get rid of everything I ate for dinner kind of migraine. No 8-year-old should have to go through this. Me? I can understand. I have a body full of confused hormones and a history of dealing with them. But her? It's not fair. But she soldiered on, migraine, bum arm and that lingering thought in the back of all our minds that the rash may come back at any minute.

The good news: It's not mono.

The good news: The rash seems to be gone and I can now go back to actually eating oatmeal for breakfast instead of stuffing it in a stocking and floating it in the bath for my itchy child (incredibly soothing, by the way, works better than any of the fancy creams and lotions we bought).

The good news: That's 3 things universe. 3. She is done now. For a very long, long, long time you can leave her alone and go inflict your havoc upon someone else because my little girl is done.

And I'll just leave it at that.