The Pink Stuff

I remember segments of childhood more than specific occurrences. Of those segments, I clearly remember my ear infections and … THE PINK STUFF … the yummy cure all that lived in the fridge and sometimes I would even pretend to not be feeling well to get a taste. (Result: The last time I took amoxicillin I got a terrible rash! I’m done with it … tapped out on being able to use it, or any other drugs in the penicillin family, when I get sick)


Amoxicillin. Yummy and YUCKY. And Necessary.

In my various waves of mother purism I hoped to never have to give Raymond antibiotics before he was a year old. It was my personal goal. Yet another goal that was either totally unrealistic or I failed.

On Monday I took Raymond into the doctor early in the morning and he was diagnosed with his first ear infection … in his weird ear with a narrow ear canal where if there are any complications he will have to have a CT Scan. Even though his fever was not raging and there was a chance his body could overcome the infection on its own I felt certain, in that moment, that a little Pink Stuff was better than strapping him down and putting him in a scary machine.

(At the same time I was also thinking of a dear friend who has a baby girl that temporarily lost hearing due to ear infections before she was one year old.)

I get the prescription, come home and open it to give him the first dose and drop the entire bottle of amoxicillin everywhere. Hot pink bubble gum stain on my pants, all over the floor, splatter on the walls. Gross. Luckily my brother in law was here and got the dog out (it would NOT have been good for Cooper to get into The Pink Stuff) and cleaned it up while I teetered on breakdown. I should have taken this as a sign that I shouldn’t give it to him. But NO, I go back to the pharmacy and pay full price for a second bottle to help my baby.

Wednesday rolls around and he still has a fever – now it is slightly higher – and he has started grabbing the base of his head and crying. His neck appears swollen and is very sensitive to the touch. Back to the doctor with great fears of meningitis or other scary things associated with brain swelling. Two and a half hours later, after extensive exams, two doctors, blood and urine testing we know: Raymond does not have an ear infection anymore, he does not have meningitis, there is no bacteria in his blood, there is no bacteria in his urine, and his viral blood count is incredibly high – so high in fact that one of the doctors said it is the highest she has seen. My directions give him Tylenol and keep him hydrated, call back if the fever isn’t going tomorrow.

OK, a virus, we can deal with this … part of life … part of being a baby…

Yesterday comes and things seem a lot better until Raymond fever goes back up and I cannot get it down with Tylenol. And he has stopped eating, still nursing but no “solids” or water. Back on the phone with the doctor… virus hasn’t run its course yet, if it started on Wednesday then we should expect him to have a fever today.

Round and round we go. I should say that I am very happy with the care we have been getting with our doctor(s). My frustration is not with them but with the virus. It is so aggressive. Today Raymond woke up in obvious pain, high fever, etc. It took me two hours to cheer him up and for the fever to go down … which is very odd for my baby. I just have to let it be, I can’t fix it, I can’t do anything! DAMN VIRUS.

So what happened … he got an ear infection, we gave him The Pink Stuff, which in turn voided out his immune system and WHAM he got his with this virus. A terrible aggressive virus … just like all the medical literature says will happen with antibiotics.  And the kicker is, now that I've bought in, I have to complete the course of treatment - so finnish the bottle!  We're not done with The Pink Stuff!

I am left feeing much less assured that I did the right thing to get rid of the ear infection and feeling guilty as hell that I let him get exposed to the virus.

All the damn pro-biotic supplementation we do couldn’t stand up to The Pink Stuff.

I hate it, but I know it won’t be the last time I’ve got to use it.