Ski Trip Drama

There are moments when it feels like the world is working against you, and you start to wonder if what you want to do just isn’t meant to be. That’s exactly how we were starting to feel about our Colorado ski trip before we even left. Emmy had been sick on and off for about two months. Strep throat, then antibiotics, and she’d get better—until a week later when she’d be sick again. If it wasn’t strep, it was the flu, congestion, or a cough. Robb had taken her to urgent care yet again, and they said it was just congestion and a cough. After multiple days of school missed, I finally took her to the pediatrician.

We saw a new PA, and I’m pretty sure she’s now labeled our file as 'mom is a B.' She swabbed Emmy’s throat and said it wasn’t strep. That’s when I almost lost it. Emmy looked awful, she felt worse, and we still didn’t have answers. I said, 'Is all we care about Strep? Can we maybe dig a little deeper because clearly, this child is really sick?' So, we got some blood work done and a chest x-ray. And guess what? My mom instincts were right—Emmy had pneumonia. Poor girl. She got antibiotics, cough meds, and breathing treatments. This was one day before we were supposed to leave for the trip.

But Emmy wasn’t the only one sick. Susie had a UTI that wasn’t responding to antibiotics, and her lab work looked awful. The doctor was concerned about sepsis. Not something to mess around with. So, instead of leaving on the planned day, they had to stay in town for a couple more days to get another round of antibiotics and monitor her labs.

Now, the problem was that we usually have a child or two ride with grandma and grandpa, since we take the truck. In theory, it fits our family—but really, only in theory. You shove three people up front and three in the back, and it gets tight. The thought of an 8-9 hour trip like that wasn’t exactly appealing, but we did what we had to do. Was it pretty? No! There was some fighting, a few times where I had to ride in the middle (even though Emmy has the shortest legs) just to keep the peace. It was a LONG drive.

As we got closer to the mountains, Bryce started feeling carsick, and Abby started crying at the thought of him getting sick by her. Looking back, it’s kind of funny, but at the time, it felt overwhelming. We pulled over in the mountains, and I sat in the back with the boys so Abby wouldn’t have to sit next to a potential puker.

So, yeah, you can see how it felt like the universe might be telling us this vacation wasn’t meant to be. But nope! We had lift tickets, a place rented, and time off work. By God, we were going to Colorado whether it killed us or not!

Robb and the girls in the front.

Bryce sleeping and trying not to look out the window because it made him carsick.

This was the pharmacy of meds that we had to bring for the trip.