Nema's Visit; Road Trip; ER...in that order!

We've had an eventful week around here. Nema (Nate's mom) arrived Tuesday afternoon for a fall visit. She came bring many wonderful gifts for Claire, including the new playhouse seen below.

Claire put on a good show for about a day and then came down with a fever. I was supposed to leave Wednesday afternoon for a conference in Missoula. However, after Claire got sick I didn't feel comfortable spending my first night ever away from her while she was ill, so I decided to postpone leaving for a day to see if Claire improved. She did improve and seemed back on track Thursday morning, so we decided it might be fun if we all went to Missoula together. Nate and his mom could take care of Claire and see the area while I attended my conference. Unfortunately, by the time we got to Missoula (about 2 1/2 hours away), her fever had returned and got progressively worse. When it reached 103 degrees we decided to get her to the ER. They initially treated her with more Tylenol and Motrin there, but the fever still keep climbing--up to 105 degrees. At that point the doctor recommended a whole spectrum of tests--strep, chest x-ray, urine, and blood. Those of you who have gone through this can relate to the understatement that holding your 18 month old down while these tests are administered is horrifying. Nate did most of the hard work as I felt I had to leave the room while the nurses tried to find a vein. After three failed attempts we told them to stop and NOT do the blood work up. At that point, Claire's temp had finally started to drop. We left the ER with a prescription for antibiotics, a bottle of Tylenol and ibuprofen, and a traumatized child and parents. No diagnosis. We had to go back to a hotel room and pass the night, mostly sleepless, before heading home the next day. Nema was a great comfort and help through it all! I never did make the conference. In the picture below, Claire was over the worst of the temperature and I'm showing the faceless, genderless doll the nurses gave us, but Claire couldn't quite figure out (if you look closely you can see the face Nate drew in).

After the evening in the ER, we did take a brief walk around Missoula in the morning to stretch our legs and get some fresh air.

For some reason, I thought riding a carousel would cheer Claire up. She wanted down after about 30 seconds. Thank goodness we got down before the ride started because it actually ended up moving quite quickly!

We took a scenic detour on the way home and stopped in Phillipsburg, an old mining town that has found new life with a slight "yuppie" vibe. We had some buffalo burgers for lunch and strolled the scenic streets.

After arriving home Friday night, Nema had to leave Saturday morning. We felt bad that Claire was sick most of her visit, but thankful for her help and good cheer in helping us deal with the situation! Claire is improving more each day, and none of the tests ended up showing anything, so I guess it must have been one of those nasty viruses kids can catch.