Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

The following photos are a bit gross, for those that are squeamish (although to be honest, the photos look much better than it actually looks). Anna has developed a nasty case of cellulitis in her ankle. The black marks are so we can watch to see if it is spreading. I'm not really sure how she got this, although I think it started from a bug bite. On Monday afternoon she was complaining that a bug bite really itched. When I looked at it it looked just like a mosquito bite, nothing more. Yesterday afternoon when I picked her up from preschool she said that her sock felt really tight today. Strange since I just bought her new socks! So, I took her sock off to discover her ankle was twice the normal size, bright red, shiny, hot and draining a clear fluid- yuck, I know! I cannot believe how fast it happened. I had put on her socks at 8 in the morning and this was only at 1 in the afternoon- scary! I immediately called the pediatrician and said that I was bringing her in right away and who could we see. It was either that or I was going to take her to the ER, but I knew this couldn't wait for the "next available appointment". Anyways, it was as I suspected and the pediatrician is quite concerned. Since she didn't have a fever though, or swollen glands, he wanted to try oral antibiotics first. So, she is on 2 different really strong antibiotics which have made her a bit sick (but the little trooper is still taking them). We have to go back in today and the doctor thought there was still a 30% chance she'd end up in the hospital with IV antibiotics even though we caught it early. We were up most of the night with her since the antbiotics need to be given around the clock and the times do not coincide. It seems to be a bit better today, although her cheeks are bright red now (no fever though when I checked). As we are discovering, there really are no dull days when you have 3 kids, there is always something going on! We are keeping our fingers crossed that we caught this in time, I will keep you posted.