Monday, November 5, 2007

The Joy that is Illness

Son the Younger (age 14) can be surly, but he's rarely whiny. So when he complained for two days straight about his runny nose and cough, and followed it up by saying his chest hurt, I knew it was time for a doctor visit.

I was expecting a sinus infection maybe. As I said, he's not a whiner. And he may have been running a low-grade fever last night.

Doc (who is the sweetest, tiniest human you've ever seen) looked in his throat, nose and ears and listened to him breathe. She asked if his ears hurt (they didn't). Oh dear, I thought, an ear infection. Then she turned to me and informed me he has bronchitis. Not a bad case, she said, but still.

So we have Augmentin for the boy, and if he runs fever, he's out of school tomorrow too. We had to get a doctor's note because he's missed a couple of days and has a couple of inexplicable single-class absences which prompted the school to send us a threatening note about misdemeanors and absences and such. The joys of teenagerhood, I tell ya. Fortunately, Doc left the return date blank, so I can fill it in for whichever date I see fit.

Curiously enough, bronchitis does nothing to curb the teen boy appetite. He's decimating a bag of grapes as I type. Go figure.

2 comments:

Cindy said...

Poor kid. He is pretty tough, so he must feel pretty yucky. At least he gets a break from school, right?!?!?

Melissa Stover said...

that's tough. we're fighting some cough and cold issues around here. no doctor's visits yet though!