The day that would not die
Posted by Carrie on 11 Jan 2009 | Tagged as: Samuel
Went to church this morning. On the way, Gabe was doing his “I’M A PRESCHOOLER, I CAN SING LOUD!” routine, and Sam complained that it was giving him a headache. Fair enough; it frequently gives the rest of us one, too.
At church, the kids went to their respective classrooms, and Eric and I went to warm up with the choir, then into the sanctuary to sing. La, la, la.
Promptly after we sang for the offertory, I got a whispered message from the end of our pew: I was needed in the nursery. I have no kid in any nursery, so I was confused, but I headed out. Out in the lounge, just off the sanctuary, Sam was lying on a couch, pale and crying. His headache was still there, with a vengeance. (I later learned that he had gone to his class, asked his teacher if they could have a quiet day, and she told him that it was unlikely, since they were having a party, so he just left and sat in the lounge, where somebody found him.)
Somebody brought him an ice pack, but nobody had any kids’ pain medicine. He looked worse by the second, so I ran to grab Eric and told him we needed to go. I thought we’d go home and give him some Tylenol and rest, then reassess whether to take him to a doctor, but in the van, he puked. And puked again. We headed for the ER.
He was very, very pale, and light hurt his eyes. I sat with him in his darkened ER room, while Eric stayed with Gabe in the family room, watching Sponge Bob. After another puking episode, he slowly started to feel a little better, and he improved more when they brought him Tylenol. The doctor reassured us that it was probably not serious, but he wanted to do a CT scan, just in case.
The scan showed…a sinus infection. They said the headache was almost certainly unrelated to that, but they went ahead and gave him a prescription to treat it. The headache and puking were probably a migraine. 
It’s unusual for kids his age to get them, and more unusual for boys, but it can happen. If it happens again, they’ll do more tests, but in the meantime, we’re just watching. At the moment, though, he seems back to his normal self.
Not my idea of a fun day. Can this weekend be over now?
13 Comments »
on 11 Jan 2009 at 10:53 pm
Alli said …
Poor Sam. As a migraine sufferer, I just want to give him a hug. I started having them around age 11. As a mom, I want to give you a hug! Pretty scary stuff.
on 11 Jan 2009 at 11:00 pm
Sarah said …
headache and puking from a migraine ? I didnt know those were side effects! Poor guy!
on 12 Jan 2009 at 12:29 am
lil 1/2 pint said …
Poor thing. I feel so bad for him. As I was reading your post, the first thing that came to my mind was migraines as well. I can’t imagine getting them at such a young age either.
I hope the medicine clears up his sinus infection and this migraine was a one time thing.
on 12 Jan 2009 at 9:53 am
Melanie said …
Poor little guy! My migraines started around age 3. They have come and gone throughout my life. Hopefully they will be a rare occurrence for him!
on 12 Jan 2009 at 10:22 am
Sherry said …
Oh poor Sam. I’ve had two migraines in my life and they’re brutal – it’s incredibly unfair for someone so young to get one. I hope he feels better today.
on 12 Jan 2009 at 11:03 am
Melissa said …
Poor little guy! I really hope it was just a one-time occurrence.
on 12 Jan 2009 at 11:06 am
alysia said …
It’s that damn school, stressing him out. Tell him Zach is on webkins and wants to “be his friend. zaj2000
on 12 Jan 2009 at 11:42 am
Coleen said …
Poor Sam. That first migraine is so scary (even if you are 45 or so when it happens). IME, sinus issues and migraines do tend to go hand in hand. Anyway, hope he’s feeling better!
on 12 Jan 2009 at 12:17 pm
Shoe Running said …
Ooo, poor guy! That sounds so uncomfortable for Sam and must have been scary for you. I hope it was a one-time only thing.
on 12 Jan 2009 at 8:04 pm
CA said …
Hmmm…I’m wondering why they thought the headache was not caused by the sinus infection? I used to suffer from chronic sinus infections, and severe, migraine-like headaches with light-aversion and nausea were definitely a symptom. The post-nasal drip that sometimes accompanies a sinus infection can also cause nausea. So, definitely not a pleasant way to spend a day, but don’t be resigned to a life of migraines for Sam yet, necessarily… Give the little guy an extra hug from us!!
on 13 Jan 2009 at 8:49 am
Karen said …
Before I finished reading it I was thinking sinus infection. Same symptoms my kids have, especially the oldest, too many times. Headache and can’t stand any noise, sensitive eyes to light, very pale, and throwing up.
on 13 Jan 2009 at 10:30 am
Carrie said …
It would be nice if it were the sinus infection that caused it, since that’s so treatable. The reasons they thought it wasn’t is that the infected sinus is the one just behind the bridge of the nose, and his headache was across the top of his head. Plus, the speed with which it came on, and the speed with which it went away when it finally did, made them think it was vascular. I don’t suppose it matters right now, since the scan didn’t pick up on anything dire. He’s had headaches in the past, too, though we assumed they were related to a needed eyeglass prescription change; that history is part of why they decided to do the scan.
But hopefully, they were wrong, and the antibiotics will mean no more headache.
on 13 Jan 2009 at 5:59 pm
hannah said …
Poor little guy.
And good news– the weekend is now over. You’ve cleared it by 2 days now.