Monday, May 05, 2008

I am woman. I am strong. I am so tired.

Telling title, don't you think? Today is day eight of my child's battle with mononucleosis. AKA: mono. We've been to Urgent Care once, the Emergency Room once, his regular Doctor once, and the day after tomorrow we will be seeing an ear, nose and throat guy. Ugh. Thank goodness for health insurance, or I would have to sell a kidney to pay for all this stuff.

What started out as what I thought was a nasty cold, it has progressed into the worst case of mono the docs have ever seen. Oh gee yippee skippy. And now he has ruptured a tonsil or something along those lines. When he spewed the blood all over his room, I freaked a little and we took the trip to the ER. Nice people, got in right away. Except when I first came in and asked for help getting my son out of the car, and they just pointed to the wheel chairs that were lined up on the wall and continued their conversation. Uhhh? Gee thanks for your concern. Then they saw him and started to move a wee bit faster.

So I guess the reason I am writing this and airing my dirty laundry is that I had no idea that mono could be this bad; so I am here to testify. There will be some links if anyone is curious, but I want to let you know about some of the really weird shit I didn't know about mono.
  • It is called the "kissing disease". That's a myth though. It can be spread the same way a common cold is. Although it is not as contagious as a cold.
  • Most people get it when they are very young and don't know they have it or the symptoms are mild enough that they think they have a cold. Then over the years they will develop an immunity for it.
  • When you get mono, you have it forever; the symptoms just fade away. And even when you are feeling better you can be contagious for up to 18 months.
Those are just a few things that come to my tired mind right now. Heed my words though: Mono is serious business, it enlarges the spleen and it could rupture if movement isn't checked. It can be spread through sharing drinks, coughing, sneezing and yes kissing.

Infectious Mononucleosis - Symptoms


University of Maryland Medical center