I'll be honest: as much as we need a vacation, it makes me incredibly anxious to think about the actual trip. Sure, I'd be crazy not to look forward to sleeping past 4:30am and soaking up some vitamin D while reading some trashy fiction. But the truth is that Dane seems to be allergic to vacations and holidays.
It all started with our first family vacation in 2011. Dane developed a 103.7 fever on our third night. We rushed him to the ER where he promptly vomited all over me at the check-in window. The doctor ordered a chest x-ray. He asked again and again if Dane had asthma (because he was on all the breathing treatments and medications any kid with asthma would be) and we replied over and over "he's too young to be diagnosed with asthma; he has allergies." He had just turned 10 months old the day before. I wasn't ready for asthma. I also wasn't ready for pneumonia. On vacation. But that's what he had, along with an ear infection and eye infection. He promised us that Dane would be fine. They pumped him full of antibiotics, oral steroids, and albuterol. They sent us "home" with instructions to finish our vacation and come back if his fever returned or his breathing worsened. They also gave us the name of a local pediatrician we could check in with in a couple days to make sure his lungs sounded alright. The experience was a pleasant as could be for rushing to the ER with your 10-month old at midnight on vacation.
We tried to hang in there for a day, but being on vacation made things seem worse. I guess it was like going on a Ben & Jerry's tour if you're lactose intolerant. He was miserable, we were as exhausted as we had been when he was a newborn, and we were at the beach. After a day of tears, I told Jonathan I wanted to go home. We packed up our car and headed for our real home at 10pm. It was a miserable trip home. Dane couldn't breathe well in his car seat, Jonathan snored, and I almost hit two deer standing in the road. I was heartbroken that the family vacation I had dreamed about for years had hit such a wall. Even so, we were happy to be home.
Here's a few of the other reasons I tend to flip out a little over planning a vacation, or any celebration for that matter:
- November 2010 (Nana & Papa's first visit) - rotavirus
- Thanksgiving weekend 2011 - ear infection and asthma trouble that required oral steroids
- Christmas Day 2011 (2am)- ruptured ear drum/ear infection
- February 2012 (BFF Owen's first birthday party) - pink eye and ear infection
- Thanksgiving weekend 2012 - asthma trouble that required oral steroids
- Christmas 2012 - on antibiotics for ear infection
- Disney trip 2012 - the norovirus "Sydney" that's hit so much of the nation this winter
I'm a little skittish about vacations and holidays, as you can see. Thankfully, this year, we are going into it knowing a few things that we didn't when we embarked on our first family vacation:
- Dane's does have asthma, so we come prepared. That means nebulizer, nebulizer meds, and oral steroids. A little breathing trouble no longer scares us as badly because we know what to do now.
- Our relationship with our beautiful, fantastic, intelligent, selfless pediatrician (can you tell we're smitten?) has grown to the point where we have her cell number for the really scary situations.
- We know that the hospital at our fave vacation location is top-notch and we wouldn't hesitate to make a visit if it was necessary.
Even so, do us a favor and send happy vibes and prayers our way in May!
