Medical Mystery solved!

So I took Jacob in this weekend to his pediatrician for an earache. The doc asks me if there are any other symptoms and I mention a rash that both he and Parker have on their legs. They had been playing in the woods at a baseball game last week though, so I really didn't think anything of it. The doctor starts inspecting his legs and then his arms (he had it there also, I just didn't notice). So the doctor says "He has Fifths Disease". I asked what it was, he said it was no big deal, just a virus that almost all kids get and that it would go away. It usually doesn't even present any other symptoms besides the rash in children and red cheeks (which they both had also...but when it is 102 degrees everyday, you tend to attribute it to the heat). Then he says, "The only time it's a big deal is if Women get it. Most Women get it when they are kids, but if they didn't and they aren't immune to it, it can be really bad; causing severe arthritis."

Dum dum dum........It all started making sense!!! The horrible illness the day before I left for the beach that I thought was heat exhaustion from my boot camp (the virus, known as Parvovirus B19, starts with flu like symptoms). Then the terrible, crippling joint pain that I had at the beach. The swelling, muscle aches, headache....ALL SYMPTOMS OF PARVO....or Fifths, whatever you want to call it. So it wasn't my UC after all. I don't have Lyme's disease either. I don't need to be Quarantined.....woohoo!

Now it has come and gone and I feel fine. From what the doc said, after we put 2 and 2 together, I was really lucky. A lot of Women suffer with it for upwards of a month and can barely move at all. As much as it sucked at the time (and I never really let anyone know how bad I was hurting), I am sooo thankful it happened when it did. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to take care of my kids....namely Eden. I could barely hold her!

In other news, we had a great weekend. Went out Friday night with some friends and had way too much fun...and then followed it up with a Barbecue/Pool Party at the McCools on Saturday. The kids were nice enough to let us all stay (read: party) until 1 am. We're bad!! But the kids had a ball and so did we. It is so nice to let loose sometimes! Here's a pic from the night. I won't share the others! LOL!