follow your gut ...

Do you see this face?

This is the face of the adorable Dizzle, a little girl who has been running a high fever (103-105) since Thursday. A little girl who would still be running a fever if I hadn't trusted my gut.

On Friday, I took Dizzle to the doctor. Other than the fever, we couldn't really pinpoint what was wrong with her, but we (J and I) knew something was up. She was complaining about a stomach ache and leg pain every once in a while, but nothing that was stopping her from acting like a normal five-year-old.

When we got to the pediatrician's office, they did a battery of test, all with normal results. The doctor suspected a UTI, but would need 2-3 days for the results. Dizzle was to start antibiotics and I was to treat her fever, if necessary.

Over the course of the weekend, Dizzle didn't improve. She spent much of her time lying on the couch, not eating. She didn't seem to have worsening symptoms, but we just couldn't get the fever to break. Then on Monday, she woke up with a cough.

I decided to give her another day to rest. Her fever had slowly crept from 105 to 102 and I suspected that she was on the mend. But I was wrong, when Tuesday rolled around. Her cough was horrendous and her fever was back to 103. Back to the doctor. Again.

When we arrived at the doctor's office, I was getting the "crazy" looks. You know, the ones mothers get when they are freaking out over a paper cut. When the doctors all "know" it's just a virus and the mother thinks it's the Plague.

Anyway, they started by weighing Dizzle. She was down 1.5 pounds in four days. Right then, I knew something wasn't right. Then, they retested her for all of the things they looked for four days prior. No flu. No strep. No UTI.

With no clear diagnosis, they were about to give her a different medicine and send us on our way. That's when I said this ...

"Five day long fevers just don't happen. Her body is fighting something. We just have to figure out what. I had to bring her back to see what, because I would hate to miss something like, um, I don't know. Pneumonia."

The doctor looked at me and said, "Well, you know sometimes lung infections can present with stomach pain. Her lungs sound clear, but let's send you for a chest x-ray anyway. Go get it taken and go home. I will call you when her prescription is ready."

So, we went. Dizzle had her x-ray and I was about to leave. But then the x-ray technician came out and told us that we had to go back to the doctor's office. Fan-freakin-tastic!

We walked into the exam room and the first thing the doctor said to me was, "Did they tell you? You were right. She has PNEUMONIA."

Are you kidding me? That was a joke. Her lungs sounded fine. I could not believe it.

Before I knew it, three people were holding Dizzle down to give her two high-dose antibiotic shots in her legs. She was in complete freak out mode. It was sheer craziness.

But the real kicker was that if I hadn't pushed the issue and made them look deeper, we still wouldn't have a diagnosis and Dizzle would be chillin' on my couch with a 105 degree fever. And that's why you have to ALWAYS follow your gut ...