Bad Medicine=Poor Baby Boy

Although Sam just turned 10 months, I'm going to hold on that post for a few days due to how sick my sweet little baby has been. Let's see where to begin with my little boy. So, about a week ago Sam was diagnosed with his second ear infection in a month (big brother Lucas has had only 1 in his whole life). He was yet again put on a 10 day course of Amoxicillan (same medicine as last months infection). Day 7 of antibiotic was on Monday and that is when I had the biggest shock of my life. When I went into Sam's room to get him from his crib I just about DIED. Words can't describe the sight I saw on my precious baby boy. Sam was covered from head to toe in varying sizes of bright red welts and it was obvious that his hands and feet were very swollen. I immediatly suspected Sam may be having a reaction to the Amoxicillan and I called and sent a picture to my close friend Jane Ellen. Her little boy, Nikos, ironically had the same allergy and similar symptoms to Amoxicillan a while back and I knew she was the perfect person to ask. She (as well as Les) confirmed that Sam's welts were very similar to what Nikos had, she also was amazing in providing me with all the emotional support and facts I needed during this journey. Les and I agreed it was best to take him to our pediatrician where a severe reaction to Amoxicillan was confirmed. Sam looked so bad that the nurse asked if she could have her students come in to take a look for educational purposes. Well, last night Sam took an even bigger turn for the worse and spiked a fever to 102, vomiting of all medications perscribed and welts/swelling that were so bad he couldn't even grip toys....every square inch of his body was covered in either welts or what looked like huge bruises. He was shivering and worse of all in an extreme amount of pain. All I could do was hold him and we both cried. I felt so bad for Lucas as Les had to go to work and I ended up having to call my good friend Jenny to come over and help me put Lucas to bed. Jenny was a huge lifesavor and I will never forget her coming to my rescue when Les had to leave for work. This morning, when Sam woke up, he was still clearly in a lot of pain and when I called the on call pediatrician, he told me to immediatly bring him in for a steroid shot. Not only did Sam get a shot, but another antibiotic as the doctor discovered now a third ear infection (yes, tubes will most likely be in our future). Wow, what a difference that steroid shot made....after the shot and 4 hours of sleep he desperatly needed, Sam woke up so much better and even smiled and played some tonight. What a relief to one very worried mommy and daddy! I just have to quickly mention how this experience with my sick baby has made me think so much about all those parents out there with children that have life-threatening illnesses (obviously much worse then what I have dealt with, thank goodness). I don't know how they have the strength to deal with that....my heart has ached so hard watching my beautiful baby be so sick and in so much pain. I kept wishing I could be the one sick and in pain, not him. This was definitely one of the hardest parts of being a mommy and so many prayers go out to all the mommy's that have chronically sick children. Below are several pictures of my poor baby Sam during this illness.

Look at that pathetic little face....does it not just break your heart? :(

Morning of Day 2 before Sam went in for a steroid shot. This was actually slightly better looking than the night before.

Poor baby boy trying to find a little smile to share. What a sweetheart! Notice how swollen his left leg is.

Those huge welts pretty much covered him from head to toe.

Seeing Sam so sick, was so hard.