Worst Ear Infection EVER!

My poor Levi love is finally starting to get over an awful ear infection. I took him to the doctor Thursday afternoon because he and Joel had been fighting a runny nose and dry cough on and off for about 6 weeks, and Levi had mentioned that his ear was hurting a little on Wednesday at bedtime. I was surprised when their doctor said that they both had "impressive" double ear infections, because other than needing their nose wiped they seemed pretty much normal. I started them on their prescribed antibiotics that evening, giving them the recommended double dose to get a good jump start on killing off the bug. Joel has never missed a beat, and the Amoxicillin has been working for him since day one, Levi on the other hand was not so lucky. :( On Friday morning he woke up with crusty eyes and a productive cough. By the end of the day all he wanted to do was lay around.

 
He did not sleep well that night, and woke up with a massive nose bleed and horrible fits of coughing. I was still hopeful that on Saturday the medicine would start working (you are supposed to give antibiotics at least 48 hours to take effect). Unfortunately, Saturday morning he had snot running from his eyes, and crusting up his lashes, there was even some draining from his ears. His cough was so sad and sometimes made him purple in the face. Thankfully the cough let up some during the day, so I decided to give the medicine a little more time. He had another rough night with coughing and nose bleeds, so on Sunday morning we stayed home from church (also because Philip tested positive for flu on Friday...yipee!). Levi had woken with the same symptoms, but a little worse, and with ruptured vessels in his eyes. So so sad!

I called the on-call nurse line, and she told me that as long as his pain was not severe and he did not have a high fever (his was never over 100.2) that I should just wait, treat the symptoms, hydrate with lots of juice and get him in to the doctor first thing Monday morning. So, that's what we did. We watched a LOT of movies and cartoons that weekend! First thing Monday I took Levi in to the doctor and he confirmed that Levi's ear (now also sinus...as I suspected) infection was "raging" and uneffected by the amoxicillin. He switched him to Augmentin, which is a stronger antibiotic, and we started that right away. He already seemed a little better that night, and this morning he seemed ever better! I kept him home from school so he could get a little extra rest and hydration, but I think he will be able to go back tomorrow...yay!!! I understand the need to give the antibiotics enough time to work, but in hind sight, I wish I would have just asked to switch antibiotics on Saturday morning...writing this all out it was very clear the Amoxicillin was doing nothing. Thankfully, Levi is now on the mend, and I have a greater appreciation for my usually very healthy little guy! Having a healthy family is such a blessing, if coping with a bad ear infection is the worst we have to deal with we are doing pretty well. Thank you Lord!