Day 764 - "Little Boy's Been Sick, I Know..."

I'm going to sing a little song in the tune of "Girlfriend in a Coma" by The Smiths. Yes, it's straight out of the eighties but it's on my mind since I just finished watching Bumblebee last night which all takes place in that decade.

Little boy's been sick, I know

I know, it's really not serious

Little boy's been sick, I know

I know, it's really not serious.

Great song. A modern-day work of art if I do say so myself. It's no shocker to find out that last statement is brimming with sarcasm. The point remains that, for the very first time, Ethan has gotten sick. As the song said though, it's nothing serious; just an ear infection. However, that's not much consolation to poor Ethan.

 

Allow me to flashback to last Wednesday. In a huge change of pace, Ethan's normal easy-going and affable nature had been replaced by one marked by screaming fits and continual tears. It wasn't just the screaming and crying that vexed us though. Ethan had also become plagued by a total inability to sleep. The previous night was marked by me never sleeping for more than 40 minutes at a time before having to get up to soothe him.

"Don't mind me, Dad and sister. I'm just dying."

As the day went along, Bethany and I were in constant communication over how to help the little guy. Finally, after lunch, with Ethan refusing food and relentlessly tugging on his ear, I decided the time had come for us to go to the doctor.

While I generally love the kids' doctor and have very few complaints, chief among them would be the difficulty in getting a timely appointment during a situation such as this. Instead, we're forced to settle for the walk-in clinic. While not the end of the world, that does generally mean a lengthy wait is at hand. As many could guess, there's no lengthy wait like the one where a parent is desperately trying to keep a sick one-year-old happy while also entertaining a very energetic three-year-old. 

On second thought, desperately trying to keep a sick one-year-old happy isn't as difficult as it sounds. The difficult part is keeping him still while waiting for the appointment. It might have been something to do with the change in surroundings or maybe just a little fresh air, but Ethan was not going to be content sitting on my lap until his appointment. Instead, he wanted to walk. He wanted to explore. He wanted to make new friends.  He wanted to try to eat random little scraps of paper those same new friends had tracked in on the bottom of their shoes. By comparison, Ellie was super easy to keep happy as all she required was the occasional sojourn to the bubble wall or aquarium to take in the sights.

"Oooh, a scrap of paper. I want to eat that!"

Mercifully, after a little over an hour, Ethan's name was called and we were on our way back to the exam room. Once there, I was told to strip him down to his diaper for a weigh-in. Once done with that, I slipped his shoes back on and let him continue parading around the room as we awaited the doctor's appearance. Finally, the door to the exam room opened and in came our doctor. 

As I scooped up Ethan in my arms, I was slightly dismayed to see him respond to the doctor with a big smile and wave, leaving me to explain the exact reason this overly happy child was in an exam room. According to Dr. Avery, the "Ethan phenomenon" isn't unheard of. As the appointment went on though, even Dr. Avery became astonished at how Ethan reacted to his exam. 

It started simply enough with her using her stethoscope to listen to Ethan's heart. Unlike most children of his age, Ethan had no adverse reaction to her using the stethoscope on his bare skin. His only reaction was to gaze at it in curiosity and smile at Dr. Avery as she spoke to him. Then, she continued the exam, touching his stomach, checking his throat, nose, and finally his ears with Ethan smiling affably all the while.

Finally, the diagnosis came. Confirming my initial suspicions, Ethan was suffering from an ear infection. With a prescription for Amoxocillin in hand, I dressed my son and we were on our way. Now, five days later, Ethan is back to his usual happy self. Not only is he laughing, smiling, and babbling nonstop, but he is sleeping through the night again! 

The one weird thing to add to this whole saga is that Ethan has apparently developed an intense like for Amoxocillin. The moment we take it out of the refrigerator to give him his dose, he immediately starts smiling, clapping, and grabbing for the bottle. It all kind of makes me wonder a few things.

  

Can a baby develop an addiction to Amoxocillin? 

Is there going to be a vicious detox period for Ethan in the near future?

Does this point to Ethan's future career as a doctor or pharmacist?

All are good questions to which we will find out the answer in time. In the meantime, I guess I should think about giving the baby another dosage of Amoxocillin. It's about that time after all. Actually, it's not but I felt that little blurb made for a nice ending. #DaddyWrite