the WORST illness ever

On Saturday night I was awake for at least part of every hour during the night with Jilly who was crying and complaining that her mouth hurt.  I assumed she was getting a cold and had a sore throat.  On Sunday morning we finally got her to open up and she had two huge sores (one on each side) of her tongue.  I remembered hearing about hand, foot, and mouth disease so I did a little google research and happened upon this article entitled The WORST Toddler Illness- Hand Foot Mouth Disease.  At first I thought the author was being a bit melodramatic, but now I can attest that it truly is the WORST.

For the next four days and nights Jilly turned into a monster.  When she tried to sleep she would wake up almost every hour screaming in pain.  She tried to eat but everything hurt her so badly, so she survived solely on milkshakes.  She was constantly drooling and developed a lisp because her tongue was swollen and not working properly.  She whined and cried all.day.long.  Lack of sleep, not being able to eat, and being in so much pain will do that to a two-year-old.  The surest proof Jilly was not herself- not once during those 4 days did she ask to wear a princess dress.

On Monday I told my mom I was sure this was the most miserable day I had ever had (bit dramatic? yes.)  But, seriously, this sickness STINKS.  Finally, yesterday afternoon Jilly started to cheer up a little  and she actually slept last night (hallelujah!)  Today she is is much, much better and I have sworn that I will never ever take my happy Jilly for granted.

this was on Wednesday- I knew she was starting to feel better because she asked to wear a church dress (I obliged) and chose her favorite flower for her hair.

*please note- I realize there are many, many worse things that could happen to my children, I'm just being whiny