Pitiful

Henry has had this lingering cough for a couple of weeks now.  It morphed out of some preschool plague (mutation H1N1-624Q... or something like that)  and it just seemed to hang around.  Everything else about him seemed okay, but sometimes he would start coughing and would sound like a two pack a day smoker trying hard to get rid of that troublesome lung.

The other morning he and I were laying in bed and he started coughing.  I looked at him and said "Baby, that cough is so pitiful".

He looked at me and smiled like he was proud, so I asked if he knew what pitiful meant. 

"Ummmm.... Pitiful means much much better!"

No... not really right at all.  I tried to explain pitiful to him, but it's kinda tricky.  I told him it was sad, or sick, but he just said "No... it's better!"

A couple of days later we were visiting with Grandaddy and Val in our living room and Nick said "Mama... something is wrong with Henry."  I loved over at him and he had hives all over his cheeks and arms.  My first thought was he was allergic to something, and I  shot up a quick all important prayer of "Please god, don't let it be peanut butter..."  .

We gave him some Benadryl and they went away, but three hours later they were back with a vengeance.  Through out the night they took on a life of their own and completely covered him from head to toe.  The Benadryl would help for an hour or two, then they would start creeping back up.  By the time he was ready for another dose he looked like he had the plague.  If the plague looked like really really bad hives.

So anyway, off to the doctor we went (after a two hour emergency babysitting stint by Papaw (THANKS PAPAW!!) where they watched Tron and  played with play-dough while Mama gave her mandatory final presentation for class... the juggling act of school/mama/work. It's tricky sometimes) Turns out that some viruses can result in full body hives. Who has ever heard of such a thing?? Not me. I just assumed hives were always from allergies.  But some viruses just throw them at you as a curve ball. Jack ass viruses.  On top of that the poor baby has a sinus infection, which was all part of this smokers cough. So... good thing I finally caved on having to pay a copay.

When we got into the car to leave the doctor Henry asked if he was pitiful. I said "yes baby, you are pitiful".  Then I asked him what pitiful means. He thought for a second and said "Pitful means... awwww, poor Henry."

I think that's all around pitiful. 

I am happy to report the hives are gone and the cough seems to be getting better.  He isn't nearly as pitiful as he was.   He is now officially Much Much Better.