Spring is here!

Ella has a book about a bunny who is searching for a new home. The opening page is a groundhog shouting, "Spring is here! Spring! Spring! Spring!"

Well, for the past three months, Spring has NOT arrived at the Denbar house. My sweet Ella had been so sick for so long, and we could not figure out what was wrong. We even had her adenoids out, which allowed her to breathe through her nose finally, but did nothing to help her feel better.

Finally, I forced my way into a late Friday afternoon appointment with her pediatrician (the THIRD doctor's appointment in a week-one with the ENT, one with another pediatrician because ours was booked, and this one). I demanded that something be done to make her feel better. I explained in detail the lack of sleep, the intense amount of coughing, the two-week-long fever, and her generally unpleasant mood and zombie-like appearance. She was in a rough way, to be sure.

Turns out, Ella needed breathing treatments every 4 hours for her asthma (which they finally admitted she has) AND a strong antibiotic (apart from the amoxicillin and steroid she was already on!) for a...get this...lung infection.

Now, I have chronicled all this so that the next time she is mildy (or intensely) sick, I can look back and have a gauge to go by. I thought I was losing my mind for a few weeks there, and I thought Ella was literally never going to sleep again. It turns out, we both had cause to be so distraught. She was really sick.

The real point of this post, however, is to acknowledge that Spring has arrived at the Denbar house! Ella has finished her meds, and she is a brand new girl. She is so happy and playful, and she is sleeping through the night. Today she took a two-hour nap. That's never happened before! She is loving to run and hop and wrestle. She is eating well and thriving in a way I had forgotten she could do. We are joyful and thankful for our healthy, happy girl.