5.17.2009

Pneumonia, Parent's Appreciation and Fires

This wk started off with a bang. I dropped off Ellie at the sitters house on Monday morning and she was fine, other than her having a typical Monday morning grumpy attitude (yes, it even affects our kids). 2 hrs later, I receive a call than Ellie was running a fever so my Mom gratuitously went and picked her up until I could cut out of work early. By the time I picked her up, this poor little girl was SICK. Temperature was up to almost 104 and she was breathing at 60 breaths/min. That is FAST. (Yes, I realize that when you have a fever, it affects your heart rate and breathing rate). But, she was listless, pale and at times, was turning cyanotic (blue) around her lips. It was VERY scary and I'm not sure how I remained calm now that I look back. Needless to say, to make a long story short, it was determined that she had RML/RLL bacterial pneumonia. I know this is all related to the MRI intubation she had nearly 2 wks ago. Ever since, she had developed this weird sounding cough and in the back of my mind, I KNEW this was going to turn into something. At least she is better now...she still has the cough which will more than likely take a while to rid itself. She's on antibiotics and is almost back to her normal, funny self.

Friday, Maddie's 2nd grade class had a Parent's Appreciation Program. It was so cute. They sang several songs, gave each parent various projects they had worked on this Spring, then presented a slide show of each kid's answer to this question: "Why do you love your mom and dad?" The answers were adorable!!! Maddie's response was that she loved her dad and myself "because we take her shopping at the mall"---yep, typical girl response. But it was heartfelt and genuine. I am so proud of her. She has struggled at times this year but she has tried her hardest, which is the only thing I ask of her. Here are a few pictures I took at the program.













Friday night, a local family completely lost their home to a fire caused by a lightening strike. It's so sad to think that within literally minutes, you can lose every possession you have. Luckily, all of them escaped without injury and they saved their pets as well. Their home was near my Mom's house so we were able to see it and it was completely devastating. Well, this was the perfect opportunity to bring up Fire Safety with Ellie. After going over what to do in a fire countess times, I thought I had it drilled into her head what to do--go outside to our "meeting spot" until Mommy or Daddy say otherwise. May I also add that we told her over and over again to not worry about anything except getting herself out safely. Upon quizzing her about her recent Fire Safety 101 course, I asked her what she should do if we found a fire in the house. Her response, "Stop, drop and rollover, then go get my favorite toy and go to the meeting spot." Guess we have some more teaching to do, huh....

10 comments:

Melissa Swartley said...

Oh my! I'm so glad that Ellie is doing much better! How scary! Looks like you had a great time at Maddie's parent appreciation day! Love her answer, shopping! Zoe's answer for "what my mom does best" was "shopping!" They are just too funny at that age! I'm so sorry to hear about one of the local homes catching on fire! I'm glad that everyone is safe though! LOL, I guess you do have to go over fire safety with Ellie again!

Greene Family said...

Goodness - I'm so glad to hear that Ellie is almost back to her normal, funny self! Way to go mom on staying so calm - I can imagine how scary it was to see her so sick! Hugs!
Maddie's parent appreciation day looked like a lot of fun! I just love her typical girl answer - too cute! Great photo of the two of you!
I'm sorry to hear about that house catching on fire, but it is great to hear that everyone got out safely! Good luck re-teaching Ellie the drill!

Unknown said...

I would be freaking out if what happened to Ellie happened to Aidan. So happy she is getting better. Fire and drowning are my worst nightmares. So devastating. You are doing the right thing by going over fire preparedness!! I guess it just takes going over it a over and over a few times before it sinks in.

Unknown said...

Oh, poor Ellie...I'm gld she is feeling better! I had to giggle aover Ellie's answer to the fire drill...they just come up with the funniest things! But that is so wonderful that you are teaching fire saftey, you've inspired me to get the ball rolling on a fire plan for our family.

The Johnson Family 5 said...

Poor Ellie! That is so scary, but I'm happy to hear that she is almost back to her adorable self!

Unknown said...

So glad that Ellie is on the mend. And Maddie's parent day sounded like fun. I love the pic of you two and Maddies stylish specs!

The Wymers said...

OK - the "shopping at the mall" was way too cute! :o) Love all the pics. Glad to hear that Ellie is doing better - and I loved her fire safety response. Really, you go and save pictures, she needs her toy! :o)

Destini said...

So glad that Ellie is almost back to herself! Maddie's Parent's Appreciation Day sounds like a lot of fun! The photo of the two of you is great! Ellie may need another fire safety lesson or two...I need to quiz my kids on firse safety, we haven't gone over it for a while.

Kim said...

That is so sad that your neighbors lost their house (your mom's neighbors). It is so scary that you can lose everything in a split second. I personally find Ellie's response hilarious! I know you have to drill in that no toys are needed, but it is so funny how she just interjected it in there.
Maddie is beautiful! I love her glasses-so stylish. It looks like you guys had a great time. I would hope one day Preston loves me for dragging him shopping all over creation.
Ellie-poor baby but I am so happy to hear she is on the mend! Can't have her all sick for the kick off to summer!

Mandy said...

Glad that Ellie is doing better. I love Zoe's answer to the question,I think Andrea's would have been the same thing. So sorry to hear about the fire near your parents house. I guess it is back to the fire safety class with Ellie.LOL