Gut Wrenching Correctness

Well, well, well...
What a day it's been.
I knew it was going to be long day when I had to reheat my single cup of coffee like 10 different times. 
Between checking Olivia's fever, making sure she had warm soup and liquids, giving her medications, and giving her the breathing treatments - my coffee should've just stayed in the pot.  It would've been more useful there.  I don't even think I got to drink the entire cup.
I tried. 
I really did.
But...
Any good mom worth her salt will tell you that a sick child prevails over all... including the needed caffeine in our mugs.
And boy, was Olivia sick...
I had her at the pediatrician's office Monday afternoon.  That pediatrician (in a whole network of other competent pediatrician's) was my least favorite of them all.  Sure, she walks around with a fancy stethoscope and a pad of "to-be-filled" prescriptions pad...
But, that's where the resemblance ends. 
She listened to Olivia breathe.  Listened to her heart.  Asked both of us the common questions. 
How long has she been like this?

What have you been doing at  home to treat it?

Any fevers present?

I answer all questions with firm replies and was quite sure she was  going to order an X-ray for my sick child.

Nope. 

Not even close.

Not even antibiotics made it out of this particular appointment.

Just a short and concise - "She needs breathing treatments and a little rest.  She'll be fine in a few days."
I know I sighed. 
I know I rolled my eyes. 
I know my daughter. And once my daughter gets this kind of sick, it always gets worse.  ALWAYS.Now normally, I love to be right.  I love winning arguments.  I live for competition and coming out on top.
In this case, however, I would've loved to be wrong.
Today, Olivia woke up with a high fever.  She was actually sleeping on the couch when I emerged from the bedroom.  John had said something to the effect of "She was up all night coughing.  She had a hard time sleeping."
I felt her forehead. 
Yup, you could've fried an egg on it.
She looked up at me with those cute eyes and said, "Mom?  I sound awful...." 
She yawned and got up long enough to go to her bed and sleep the rest of the morning....
I've never seen this child so incredibly without energy and so incredibly tired before... Not in the 12 years she's been my daughter...
But, this child could barely keep her eyes open.  And her cough!  Wow!  What a noise coming out of her....
And she kept complaining of chest pain.  And not just when she coughed either.  This was an "all the time pain", she would say.
So, I called her pediatrician and they said they'd call in a cough syrup with codeine it for her. 

"Ok."  I say.  "But, she's a lot worse than she was yesterday.  She's still complaining of chest pain."

They assured me that she would be just fine in a few days...

I assured them that they were wrong and hung up on them.

They don't know my daughter the way I do. 

So, with much back and forth and a lot of persuasion, I finally convinced Olivia that the hospital was the best choice for her...

That, no, they probably wouldn't make her spend the night.

And yes, Lamby could come along. 

Yes, grab your Ipod. 

And with one final complaint, we made it out the door to head to the emergency room. 

I sped to the ER. 
She seemed so out of it. 
So, sick...
I was so worried about her...

So, we make it to the ER and we sit for a very surprisingly short amount of time. 

While waiting in the waiting room wasn't that long, the hospital made up for the short wait in the waiting room where the wait actually came from sitting in a room waiting to see a doctor.  Or in this case, a physician's assistant.
She also listened to Olivia's breathing and heart. 
She ordered an X-Ray immediately and for good measure, an EKG as well.
The X-Ray showed pneumonia on the left side of her lungs.  There was no question about it. 
What a scary word to hear.  Especially when it's about your own child. 

Pneumonia. 

Right there in the hospital, she was given Motrin, the beginning part of a 5 day antibiotic course, some cough syrup and strict instructions to rest and rest some more.
Obviously, school is out for the rest of the week. 
Hearing that kind of news usually has Olivia doing back flips.  Today, however, she just said, "Can we go home now?  I want to go back to sleep."
With that, we left the ER (almost) the way we went in.  We must've gotten there at a good time too.  When we left, the place was packed tighter than sardines in a can.  Loads of other "sick" people.  If you ask me, most of those people with hospital wristbands looked like they just wanted to get out of the house for awhile...
So, this whole experience will be chalked up as "Momma does know best.  And Momma won't put her child's health on the line."
She'll be feeling better soon enough.  I'm just so grateful that I listened to my really smart gut.