One thing I learned from a near 11 years of parenthood, trust your gut. This week, I noticed a few things that were 'different' with Andi. First of all, I mentioned to her once or twice, 'your balance seems off... you doing okay?' She seriously seemed to be a bit more wobbly, almost running into a few things when moving too quickly. The other thing I noticed was her labored breathing. I mean, she has had a runny nose with itchy eyes, a sore throat all week. Her breathing seemed to be more work. I attributed all of it to her seasonal allergies. I mean, even my eyes are itching and nose is drippy. Plus, in our new place, I've been leaving the windows open for a wonderful cross breeze before the horrid heat & humidity really kicks in ... so again, I attributed this to her allergies. (yet, still left the windows open!)
Before bed, we had decided to give her not only the allergy medicine she rarely takes, but some eye drops for allergies that her Eye Dr. suggested. Today, when I woke her for her bath, she mumbled something about not being able to open her eye. I assumed she meant that the allergy meds had her so groggy that she couldn't wake up, but when I finally turned on the light, I could see my very own version of Rocky Balboa trying to look back at me. Her right eye was completely swollen shut. The other eye was sticking together and swollen. I got her in the tub and gave her a cool compress for her eyes. By the end of the bath, her eyes were open, but goopy and irritated. You know when you have dark circles... but the circles under your eyes are a nice shade of red? Oh yeah. So, I canceled school for her, canceled my morning appointment, and got her to the Dr's office.
Turns out this girl has an ear & sinus infection. The goop coming out her eyes is the infection and hello... contagious! So... we're on a nice strong antibiotic (Augmenten) and antibiotic eye drops. Additionally, I'm having to wash all bedding, towels, basically anything she's possibly touched in hot water. It is believed she will be feeling much better rather quickly.
But the point of this post is a reminder. When you recognize something is off, seriously, pay attention to that -- often times, it really does mean something when you take the time to connect the dots!