Jackson's Fever

My son Jackson has been running a fever since my brother Jim died 2 weeks ago - which is an awful long time for a kid to be running a fever. Let's see if I can accurately account for my own (and my wife's) level of stress during that time (using the Department of Homeland Security threat level values):

3/28 - my brother passes away (stress level - elevated)
3/29 - we notice at dinner Jackson's cheeks flushed, running 102.4 fever (stress level - guarded)
3/30 - fever continues, but generally low grade (stress level - guarded)
3/31 - fever breaks briefly midday, but returns to 100.4 by bedtime (stress level - elevated)
4/1-4/4 - fever breaks only with aid on Tylenol, also Jackson has developed a dry cough - (stress level - guarded because at this point it's probably not a virus anymore, it's probably a sinus infection or strep)
4/4 - 1st trip to family doctor. Jackson hates visiting the doctor (to put it mildly) - he really hates having his throat swabbed and having blood taken. The doctor orders a throat swab and a chest x-ray. Both, according to our family doctor, who we've been seeing since 1990, are negative. Must just be a virus. Come back, he says, if the fever hasn't broken in 3 days. (stress level - elevated/guarded - an experienced healthcare professional, one we trust, has told us it's a virus. However, Jackson's dislike of office visits had made the day a stressful one.)
4/4-4/7 - fever persists, as does what sounds to me like a 'productive' cough (productive cough in that it is no longer a dry, wheezy cough, but instead what sounds like mucus inducing cough). (stress level - elevated - it must be something other than a virus now, right? A kid can't have a fever for 10 days without some type of infection...right?)
4/7 - Jackson returns to the doctor, this time with both parents in tow. My presence alone raises the stress level. Both the doctor and Jackson realize this is much more serious than before if only because I took time off from work to attend. The doctor orders a sinus x-ray, a urine test, and the drawing of blood. Jackson really hates the drawing of blood, even if it's only from his thumb one drop at a time. The doctor has a physicians assistant student along. Together they analyze the tests, and conclude that even though the x-ray doesn't show anything conclusive, the presence of an elevated white blood cell count must show a hidden sinus infection. Treatment: amoxicyllin. (stress level - low. Yay! We've finally found something that sounds like a treatable malady - and a valid explanation for the fever.
4/8-4/10 - Fever persists even though the antibiotic is well into his system. (stess level - elevated)
4/11 AM - Fever has broken in the morning, but for how long no one knows. Even Jackson expects it to return. My wife and I worry that this is something much more serious than a sinus infection. After all, the x-ray was inconclusive at best. The only fact we have is an elevated white blood cell count. Which scares us, because the only thing we can think of is ... leukemia. (It's in my nature to jump to the worst conclusion possible.) (stress level - severe)
4/11 PM - Family doctor of 16+ years calls our home. Is that ever good news? Apparently it is standard practice to send all x-rays to a radiologist for further interrogation. The radiologist (meaning: the one who actually knows how to read x-rays) has detected a small occlusion in one of Jackson's lungs. Diagnosis: pneumonia. Time to start him on a new antibiotic. (stress level - guarded)
4/12 - Jackson has been fever-free since yesterday morning. Cough hasn't diminished much, but Jackson's demeanor is much improved. So far so good. I will keep watch until his cough is gone, which could take who knows how long? (stress level - guarded)