Medical Mayhem Part One

Lauren had a tendency to experience strange medical issues or accidents. Luckily not many were life threatening but often they were just plain odd. It's a good thing that she and I always had a great time at the doctor's office cutting up and making each other laugh. I recall actually being scolded by her rather stern and serious pediatrician a couple of times because we were being too silly.
When Lauren was just turning four she came down with strep throat. She went through several rounds of meds but she just couldn't shake the virus. Then she developed a mild case of scalded skin syndrome on the inside of her hands. This is an illness characterised by red blistering skin that looks like a burn or scald, hence its name. Fortunately it was not painful but it looked hideous. Trips to the grocery store or any other public arena brought about many puzzled looks. People probably thought I stuck her hands on a hot stove as punishment...or maybe I was paranoid. Probably the latter. So we had to lather her little hands in Aquaphor and cover them with socks every night before she went to bed for a few weeks.
Just when we thought we had the virus licked disaster struck. I was working that summer at a local daycare and took Lauren with me. She had just turned 4 that May. She often complained about still being sleepy when I woke her to get ready and I would give her a pep talk and keep her moving. One morning she awoke and performed the same routine. "I'm tired. I don't feel good. Can I go back to bed?" she whined. I pushed her along and we arrived at the daycare center on time.
I was working with the school age students and left shortly there after to go bowling. When I returned around noon Lauren's teacher rushed over to me and appeared very distressed. She informed me that Lauren had not moved off her mat all morning, including lunch time, and her been complaining that her "brain hurt". If Lauren missed lunch something was wrong. I entered the classroom to see Lauren laying on her tummy atop her little nap mat. I went down to my knees beside her and rubbed her back. "Lauren, it's mommy. How are you feeling?" She slowly turned her head toward me and said "Mommy, I don't feel goo..." She was unable to finish her sentence as she started vomiting all over the front of her mat.
Now I am no medical expert but I know enough about kids to know that vomiting in combination with a headache is not a good thing. I informed my supervisor that we were leaving and rushed home. Being on an HMO insurance plan I was required to contact Lauren's primary care physician. As soon as we arrived home I laid Lauren on the couch and called. I described her symptoms and was told to not break any speed limits but to definitely get her into an emergency room quickly. My heart sank. I was terrified.
I called Ray who worked in the apartment complex where we were living while looking for our next house and we immediately took her to the hospital. After a spinal tap was conducted we were told that she had contracted meningitis. Luckily it turned out to be viral from the strep she had been fighting and not bacterial which is the often fatal type. She was in the hospital for 5 days but thank God she was alright. Due to the swelling in the brain mood swings are common. My poor little girl would be laughing one minute, crying the next and then shouting at us a few minutes later. My heart broke for her.
During her stay the only channel that worked on the television in her room was one run by the hospital featuring movies. Some of the films were not appropriate for her age and we would have to turn the set off. The only movie she could really watch was Flubber. And by only I mean it is the ONLY age appropriate movie they kept playing. By the third day Lauren recognized the opening sequence when the production company's logo would be shown and she would cry "NOOO...not Flubber." Poor thing.

This story of Lauren's medical mishaps will need be a three parter because trust me, there is more to come.