The Phone Call Every Parent Dreads

Today started out nicely.  I received not one BUT TWO very happy letters from Spencer.  The envelopes were still all hosed up, but the letters were happy and said he was having fun---made my heart feel good!

Then I got a call from a camp counselor.  Spencer was throwing up and had severe ear pain. He either had an ear infection, something in the ear or swimmer's ear.  They recommended I come get him (the camp is only 30 minutes away) and take him to the pediatrician for evaluation and then bring him back to camp assuming he only needed an antibiotic.

So I got coverage for my meetings and headed out.  About a mile or so from the house...I got the dreaded phone call.
Spencer had gotten severely sick, near passing out, dizzy, lost feeling in his extremities, blurred vision and the camp director said he LOOKED "very wrong"- so she had to call emergency services. The Fire Chief had just gotten there and an ambulance was 3 minutes out.
Then she said she would call me back when she knew more.
So I drove.    FAST.    And cried.     And called my mom.     And cried some more.
And made my poor 4 cylinder Honda CR-V whine and shake at 90 mph.  And I thought-- we have two freakin muscle cars at home -- I am pretty sure the 69 Mach I (with a big ass 351 Windsor V8) would have no problems passing this stupid Mountain Dew truck on a double yellow line....but oh yeah, it doesn't have AC. Never mind.
I whipped my little (non muscle car) Honda into Quaker Lake Camp in record time pretty much on two wheels Dukes of Hazzard style and fish tailed through the driveway landing in the parking lot in a cloud of dust and gravel like Dale Jr. on meth.
I ran (or my version of running. shut up.) to the infirmary just as the EMT team were finishing their work up on Spencer.  They suggested that either I take him to the doctor or transport him to the hospital.  I called his pediatrician and they said they would be ready for him so I chose to take him on.  They had gotten some fluids in him and he was talking but was still having cramping, headache, nausea, etc.
As I signed the release and was getting him ready to go, my brother and my mom came barreling up in mom's Honda Pilot...in their own version of a redneck gravel cloud.
Jimmy got Spencer in Mom's car with me--and then he drove my car back home and Mom took me and Spence to the pediatrician's office. Spencer was evaluated and it was a classic case of heat exhaustion and dehydration but it was magnified with swimmer's ear AND an ear infection.  That's a recipe for a biological implosion in a 78 pound 10 year old.
Fluids, a big shot to the thigh and SEVERAL prescriptions later, Spencer came home, rested up for a few hours and as soon as he re-hydrated and the meds kicked in, he was BEGGING to return to camp.
So... we took him back to camp. The director will keep him on modified activity and lots of fluids with his new meds.
I will keep myself on some Xanax tonight.  It was a day I hope I never have to relive--but I am VERY thankful it wasn't anything worse and I am so glad Spencer was able to bounce back to quickly!