Five Things Friday, ep. 21.

1. What a week! First, there was the whole hospital episode with Conal and my SIL's surgery (she had two this week and is still in the hospital) and then there was the group run mix-up and then, to top it off, I gave myself the most painful injury I think I've ever had: I scratched my cornea. Holy searing pain, Batman!

For two days (no lie!) I was completely out of commission. I couldn't really see, my eye was red, puffy and tearing like crazy. And that doesn't even get to the pain. The pain was, at times, unbearable. It felt like dozens of daggers stabbing me in the eye, nose, cheek, ear, forehead, all at once. The worst part of this whole thing is that I have not been able to take any medication to ease the pain because I'm pregnant. So, I had to suck it up. And it sucked!

I am hap-hap-happy to report that I woke up this morning with MUCH less pain. I should be good to go for the weekend!

2. Conal is getting better every day, too. With my eye thing, he spent a good bit of time at my parents house and I think that was good for him. He needed a little change of scene and entertainment, but couldn't handle too much excitement. Grammy and Pop-pop were just his speed!

3. After not being able to run (or do much of anything, actually) on Wednesday or Thursday, I am dying to get out there and move my legs! Fortunately, warm weather is blowing in so I will have many opportunities. I already told Owen I'm heading out as soon as he gets home from work!

4. I'm behind in everything: I have tons of work to do on my book project, my cupboard and fridge are bare, I haven't read any blogs in days, the house needs to be vacuumed, my flower beds need weeding and I have three reviews to write for the other site.

5. But, even with all the catching up I'll be doing this weekend, I have fun stuff on tap! We have a dinner party to go to tomorrow (Conal is spending the night at my parents . . . yay!) and then a birthday party for a good friend on Sunday. Can't wait!

I hope you all have had less, ahem, eventful week -- and wish you the best for a great weekend! Good luck, racers!!!

~ Felice

Spastic group run (with bonus post-run pic!).

First, let me send you all a HUGE thanks for your kind comments and emails about the whole hospital/croup episode. I appreciate it all. Conal is MUCH better and he should be back to normal by the end of the week.

Now, about last night's spastic group run.

It was a big night because the plan was for the runners to run their first continuous mile. Their longest run!

Anyway, we planned to meet at 6 and run on a path that follows the river. I sent directions to a parking lot next to the boat launch, not realizing that there was another parking lot just south of that one. So, of course, at 6 there were three of us at the boat launch lot, waiting for two others. I checked my cell phone -- no messages. We waited. We walked on to the path and looked around but the others weren't there.

At 6:10, I put a note on my windshield and we headed off. I was running with Bridget and Janis and we had a bit of a time crunch because Bridget had to get home by 7. So, we couldn't wait any longer.

We walked for a quarter mile and then took off for the mile. Janis and Bridget did great! I know it was hard, but they stuck with it and finished the mile in about 10:45. Really good, right? We followed the run with a quarter mile walk and then the plan was to run a half mile, walk a quarter, run a half and cool down. Bridget, feeling peppy, suggested we just run another full mile, instead of two halves. Janis was game so that's what we did.

At .95, we ran into Jen and Lisa (the other two runners who were supposed to meet us) walking toward us. They had gone to the other parking lot! Well, since Janis and Bridget were almost done with their second mile, I sent them on their way to cool down and told Lisa and Jen I would run with them.

They had already walked more than a quarter mile so we took off for the mile. Lisa ran a little over a half mile and I continued on with Jen, who pulled out the whole mile! Then we walked, met up with Lisa and finished the plan (.5 run, .25 walk, .5 run, cool down). Since Jen is my speedster, I encouraged her to run ahead at her pace for the two half miles. I stayed with Lisa for most of each interval, and then sped up to catch Jen and tell her when to slow to a walk. It was nice knowing this pregnant runner could still pull out some speed :-)

Here we are post-run:

That's me looking like I have the biggest head in the world, with Jen and Lisa. Way to go, happy runners!

All in all, my gals did AWESOME!!! I only wish they had a less spastic "coach" who would have been more clear about the directions. We'll know better for next time. The path is a nice one, running along the river, which, last night, was full of rowers:

I'm sure we'll check it out again sometime.

Have a great day, everyone. It is chilly and windy here in upstate New York -- hope it is nicer by you :-)

~ Felice

Oh, crud. Croup.

Chalk it up to bad decisions or -- and this is my preference -- a series of unfortunate events.

Either way, what should have been a weekend full of family fun was, instead, a weekend spent at the Children's Hospital.

Far from a running post, this one . . .

The long story is:

Conal had been a little "off" on Thursday and Friday but, honestly, I thought it was the tree pollen that had been causing runny noses all around town. I guess I brushed it off. Bad decision #1. He never seemed sick, just not completely himself. So, on Saturday morning when he woke up at 5am with a cough, but went back to sleep, and then woke up again and was full of pep, I thought he was fine. Fine enough to travel to see family. Bad decision #2.

At the start of the trip he was all OK. Two hours in, after waking up from a short nap, he couldn't talk -- had no voice at all. And neither energy nor appetite. I took his temperature at a rest stop and it was normal, so we continued on. Bad decision #3.

When we go to our niece's lacrosse game (what was to be our first stop of the weekend), Conal was flushed and lethargic. He still had no voice and he was drooling like crazy. He got worse as the game went on so we decided we'd drive straight home afterward. When we were waiting to say hi to our niece after the game, he ate some fruit, had something to drink, and seemed to perk up. I thought maybe we might be able to stay but then, after playing with one of his cousins, he came rushing over to me with a very scared look on his face, unable to catch his breath. He was wheezing and having a very hard time.

In the meantime, though, we had a horrible experience when my sister-in-law, who was at the game and has been dealing with a bad hip/back, passed out and we didn't know what was going on. As Owen was helping her and talking to the EMTs, I was stressing about Conal. My SIL was in rough shape; she ended up going to the hospital and is having surgery today. Unfortunate event #1.

Later than we would have liked, we left Columbia and started the 2.5 hour trip home. About half-way there, we stopped to get something to eat and I took Conal's temperature again. This time he had a fever. He wouldn't eat anything and he was saying he didn't feel well. The breathing was still bad (although better than it had been) so we called our pediatrician for advice. The doctor called back when we were on the road and, as I described Conal's symptoms, he started to have an attack. He was crying and unable to catch his breath and turning blue in the lips. So, there I was: On the phone with the doctor, trying console Conal and motioning to Owen to, "PULL OFF! PULL OFF!" The doctor, justifiably concerned, told us to go to the hospital.

So, we did. We got there around 7:30. By that time, the poor guy had a fever of over 103.4 and was just wheezing like crazy. After all kinds of exams, it turns out he has croup and his trachea was narrowed and his larynx was inflamed (or something like that). They gave him Motrin for the fever, but after an hour it hadn't gone down so they gave him Tylenol. Then they gave him steroids and an epinephrine treatment before sending him for x-rays.

Then there was all the observation and checking and more poking and prodding, but at 11:30pm we were told that the attending physician had talked to our pediatrician and they agreed that if Conal was stable we could leave at 2:30. Seemed like a long time to wait but we were willing because we wanted to get Conal home.

At 2, the nurse who had been treating Conal and a new doctor came in. Unfortunate event #2. We woke Conal up and the new doc examined him. No fever. Lungs still clear. Heart rate fine. But the breathing still wasn't great. So, she decided to admit us. I wanted to cry. It was so late and all I wanted was for Conal to sleep and, I hoped, get better. I had been expecting to go home because that's what the first doctor had said to but the new doctor disagreed.

At 2:30, when the admitting doctors came to examine Conal, I wanted to die. He was so tired and felt so crappy and here he was being poked and prodded and asked questions all over again. He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said, "I don't like this" and it broke my heart. He cried and cried and it was just . . . ugh.

We got to the hospital room at 3-ish and after being checked in we tried to sleep a little but how can you? At 7:15 someone came with breakfast and then someone to check Conal's vitals and the day started. Our pediatrician came by to examine him at 9:30 and said that we'd probably be able to go home after lunch, which we did.

It was stressful and I hated every minute of it. It was our first trip to the hospital and it made me truly appreciate how healthy Conal has been. I don't know how parents who have to take their kids to the hospital frequently -- or even more than once -- handle it. It sucks.

Since we've been home, Conal's been better. We all took a nap on Sunday and slept late this morning. His breathing is still labored and we have to keep him calm, which is hard for an almost 3-year-old. So, we're all about Sesame Street and Kipper today!

In the end, I'm glad we went to the hospital because Conal got the treatment he needed and he's on the road to recovery. But, I do wish I had made better decisions along the way. Owen keeps telling me that you just do the best with the information you have so I shouldn't blame myself. But, man, it is hard not to!

Wow, what a long post. Thanks for reading! I hope I never have to write about another hospital episode again -- and I hope everyone has a great week (Conal included!).

Do you think I need a run today? You're SO right!!!

~ Felice

Full and fun.

Warm spring weeks rule. They're just the best!

Between packing in work (I finished four chapters on my book project -- I'm rolling!), running alone, running with friends (another fun run last night, this time with Bridget!), a girls night out (woo hoo!), laundry, cleaning, etc., etc., this week was also prime-time for . . .

picnics in the driveway . . .

goofing around . . .

mowing the lawn . . .

gardening . . .

and the always fun trick of running away from Mom!

What a fun week! Conal loves being outside and can you blame him? The sunshine, the fresh air . . . it feels wonderful.

We're off to the park today for some play with friends and then to Columbia U tomorrow to watch a niece play one of her last college lacrosse games. Go, Delia! And, without fail, I will be sending tons of good running vibes to my running pal Amanda, who is running the More Half-marathon in NYC (her 2nd half in five weeks). Go, Amanda!

I also hope to have time for one more run this week. That would be the icing on the cake.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

~ Felice