My red-cheeked gal

Rosalie came down with what seemed like a cold last Sunday afternoon. The fever set in by that evening. All the symptoms beside the fever seemed to be just a cold. After 4 days of a fever, I started to suspect that it was most likely not a cold. On day 5 of fever, I decided to upgrade my diagnosis to flu. She had a terribly miserable week. I even did something I rarely to never do - I gave her a dose of tylenol. Her fever did not seem high enough to bring down, in fact, I typically do not bring down fevers. Fever is the body's way of killing the virus, so I don't even try to bring a fever down unless it gets up to 105 degrees. Her fever never got that high. I gave her the tylenol because she was absolutely miserable. She had not cracked a smile all day long. We were nearing bedtime, and she had been crying for about 30 mintues straight. Within 30 minutes of giving her the tylenol, she was smiling and almost acting normal.

I was able to get a natural flu remedy on Day 5, and started giving it to her mid-day until bedtime. She finally woke up on Day 6 with no fever! She was still fussy, but so much better!

You may be able to see her bright red cheeks in the picture. Her little cheeks have been bright red all week. I thought for a while that maybe she had Fifth's Disease. However, with further investigation, I ruled that out. I put some A & D ointment on her cheeks last night before bedtime and her cheeks were much better. I am certain that all the wetness and mucus just chapped her cheeks a bit.

So, it was a tough week for Rosalie, but I am thankful that the rest of us didn't get what she had!! I *think* she had the flu - but that's really the best that I can do. It doesn't really make that much of a difference anyway.