She's a Gem

My poor, poor baby. She is a rare Red Speckled Pearl. This pic is from yesterday, and she looks worse today... angry red hives that are so densly packed that she is encased in hot, itchy red. Her face is a mask of hives... there is not a square inch on her body that is unaffected.

Everyone has paraded through here... Pediatricians, Surgeons, Residents, every sort of Nurse you can name, Infectious Disease docs, Dermatologists... they all agree it is a drug reaction. But it is entirely outside their experience in the magnitude of the rash. Because the allergy could easily turn and close her airways.... we do not go home till she is done. But she is also profoundly at danger of catching something... anything, and this is a Hospital. Yay.

She has also chosen to grace us with at least one new eyetooth.

On the happier side of life, I cannot forget that she HAS dodged so many bullets, and as sucktastic as this is... it could be worse. If it follows the course that LaLa's polkadots did, she could be done in a few days. Of course, as soon as LaLa started exibiting symptoms, I discontinued the offending meds. In Pearl's case, they upped her intake for two extra days. We may be a while.

Interesting tidbit: the doc who did the surgery in December (the Two-Penny Incident) came in last night to talk to us. Turns out he was there as an assist in getting the sequin out. I wasn't aware of that. I asked him if he thought that it was possible that the sequin had been there all along and he kinda looked at me like I was crazy. He said that while no one could be sure about it, he believed that it HAD been there. He said it like he had no question in his mind that it was. This is a relief and a vindication to Dadguy and I... that the surgeon who had been there both times thinks so, and would actually SAY so. I never thought that I would get that kind of concession, if only for ego or insurance reasons.

This has been a frightening path, but I really do think that the bulk of it is behind us. Unfortunately it's my beleagered Pearl who has to gut out the last of it as she has the first.

And my sweet Chaos. I haven't talked about them much here. I can hardly bear to. They are safe and happy and loved... they are doing better than could be hoped for. My mom came from New Mexico to stay with them for ten days, they have been at Gramma's house and with my big Sis and SIL. I treasure the funny tidbits that I hear of what they have been saying and doing. Many blogworthy anecdotes that will live in my heart, but will never get any play here, mostly because I am hoarding them in my heart. But also because I have become the Queen of Not-Thinking-About-It.

I don't think much about "what if" or "why me" or "how much more?" I just think about what is here, what hurts, and what I can do about it. And I think about home. I think about going home and being the Chaos Family again. Dinner time. My homemade Fettucini Alfredo that everyone loves. I think about all the girls wearing swimsuits and running through the sprinklers. Otter pops. Camping trips. Reading books at bedtime.

I know I will find occasion to bitch about cleaning up two inches of slop from under the highchair after dinner, but I suspect that it will lack the rancor that it has had in the past. I suspect that I will be kvetching with a smile on my face, shaking my head in wonder