The week from Hades, with moments of heavenly help

My last post mentioned the weekend allergy woes. Monday, Elena broke out in hives three more times, despite the meds, but we didn't take her in. Monday night I woke suddenly knowing that she wasn't breathing normally. I listened closely for a minute, and sure enough, there was a catch each time she tried to inhale fully and she was whimpering a little. Even with the worst outbreak of hives, she had never had breathing difficulty, so I took her into the living room to turn on the light. Her color was great, no hives. Then, apparently from the jostling, she began to pass gas. A lot of gas. Like, every time she moved for the next several minutes. It was quite the symphony. :D I'm glad that even in a sleep deprived state I could notice little things like that, and even more glad that it was nothing but a bad case of gas!

Tuesday we celebrated the Cinco de mayo, my sister's birthday, and a day without hives, all wonderful reasons to rejoice! We met at a local coffee shop for the birthday, and Ariana and I had rose steamers. My 94 year old grandmother tried a sip and thought it the oddest thing she had tasted in a long time, but Ariana felt like a princess drinking a rose-petal drink. The lovely coffee drinks, with the elaborate heart and leaf shaped cream, also failed to impress Grandma. She prefers QuikTrip coffee. LOL. To each her own, right?

Last night, after we got home, Ariana climbed up on the arm of the couch. Just as I turned to tell her to get down, Joelito "assisted" her off. She landed with a thud and a scream. We made sure she could move her arm OK, and there was no visible swelling or problems, but I could tell she wasn't using it, either. She woke at midnight in extreme pain, and so we spent a second night at the ER this week. We didn't get home till nearly six in the morning. I'm too tired to give all the details, but let's say there was a reason why they did NOT invite us to fill out a comment card on our experience. The nurse practicioner noticed that Ariana couldn't extend her arm, but the X ray didn't indicate a fracture.

Carlos, Ariana and I slept about an hour, if that. I had to take Elena in for her follow up. We were there nearly three hours. It was frustrating to wait that long, but I did have a lovely conversation with the nurses and doctor there who are very relieved that we don't vaccinate. They actually gave me some great info on different studies about it and some other links, too. Best of all, they got us into our allergist THIS WEEK! Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles! We live in one of the worst cities in the nation for allergies, and it typically takes months to get in. Getting an appointment for Friday is absolutely amazing!

No rest for the weary, this afternoon we followed up with Ariana's ped. Despite an entirely different philosophy on vaxing, I love her. She did a much more thorough examination than we got in the ER, and found that her elbow is definitely hurt. There are several movements she can't make. X rays of the elbow (which were not taken last night) show a line that may or may not be a fracture. She's getting a second opinion on it, but at least we have a sling that fits and are watching for her.

Tomorrow, since she hasn't been through enough this week, Ariana goes in for four crowns. She can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight tonight, and it will be quite a session tomorrow. I'm hoping that it won't be a bad experience, though.

Friday is Elena's allergist appointment, Saturday we are celebrating SIL's graduation. Sunday is Mother's Day, Monday I go in for an examination to see if I can get my wisdom teeth, which are causing problems, extracted with local rather than general anesthetic. And Tuesday? I am looking forward to a day without any appointments of any kind. Maybe, just maybe, I'll even get to sleep (but I probably shouldn't count on it).