Little Girl has been sick with diarrhea for two weeks now. The poor girl is still complaining of belly pain, too. I took her back to the doctor Monday, and left with three stool sample kits and a "hat" or insert to put under the toilet seat to catch her stools.
We had a great time collecting these samples. Both Scott and I got turns scooping poop into bottles until the fluid reached the desired level. Then you had to mix everything together to blend. The kids took tremendous interest in the process. Little Girl was quite proud of herself, at one point excitedly proclaiming her poop to be bigger than Big Boy's. They also seemed to get quite a kick out of "taking Little Girl's poop to the doctor."
Fortunately for us, the first sample came back positive for a parasite called "cryptosporidium." So we got out of sending in samples two and three. Crypto causes watery diarrhea, cramps, weight loss, vomiting, and nausea. In children, it can be difficult to get over without help, so the doctor prescribed a medication to help her.
I immediately called my doctor, given how sick I've been and my ongoing digestive tract issues. He looked at the record of my office visit from Saturday and prescribed me the same medication as Little Girl. Given that I'm breastfeeding an infant, I am also more susceptible to the complications this can cause, I guess.
Now we just have to pray that Big Boy doesn't get it. His bowel movement cleanup skills are so poor that he'd have that parasite all over our house in no time. (It spreads through feces and anything contaminated by feces. Handwashing is the best defense.) And I think I need to buy Little Girl a new mattress cover for her bed -- this stuff is resistant to almost all chemical disinfectants.
