Things Abbey/pneumonia can teach me

BACKGROUND: It started almost a week ago - sent home from school after lunch last Monday. Then a steady progression of 103+ fever days, flu tests (negative), strep tests (negative), antibiotics (ineffective), tons of DVD movies (boring) - and missed school Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

Took her in to the 2nd doc yesterday and after blood tests and chest Xray we found the cause. Pneumonia in the left lung. (The picture is taken with her back facing the xray, so it's backwards). Poor kid! But at least now we know what's going on.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

(1) I'm so lucky to have a job that allows for home writing and/or vampire hours. Advertising rocks that way.

(2) I'm so lucky to work with people who get it - we support each other, cover for each other and find ways to make sure whoever is dealing with family stress doesn't have so much of it from work. That is absolutely invaluable. If you don't have it, you should go find it.

(3) I'm so lucky to have happy, healthy kids who occasionally get sick - as opposed to parents with seriously ill children, extended hospital stays and uncertain futures.

(4) All the things I get jealous of (people with more money/bigger houses/better cars/better vacations/better hair than me) - it doesn't matter. My kids matter. The most gorgeous, custom-designed, award-winning home with the most amazing "casual or formal entertaining" spaces wouldn't save any of my kids from an illness. Neither could a spa day - or a spa week - or a ski vacation, trip to DIsneyWorld, amazing new client wowed by my boardroom presentation skills, or (my biggest desire for the past 5 years) new Andersen windows/patio door with (sigh) grills between the glass. (Although in truth I still want those.)

By Tuesday I was getting sort of frantic - Abbey always kicks each illness she gets in the teeth. Never sick for more than 2 days at a stretch. And she was missing school, I was getting behind at work, the anxiety about the boys getting sick too began to set in, and by Wednesday (and first doctor appt) I was concerned.

When she wasn't getting well, and the doctors didn't know what was happening, and every morning she woke up over 103, and every day she lay on the couch crying because she was too miserable to even sleep, and every time she refused to eat even though she was drinking okay ... I was just SO SCARED.

NEXT STEPS: Follow-up chest Xray on Monday to see if it's getting better. Hope so. She's asking for mac 'n cheese and giving me the eye roll on certain occasions, so seems to be perking up.

Being a mom is the most important job I will EVER HAVE. Thank you God for showing me that last week. (And those of you who know me know I'm not overtly religious but dangit had to be said.)