I am going to write a current post! I have SO many others to write, but I wanted to write this while it was fresh. My week last week went nothing like I thought it would. It went a little something like this:
Sunday afternoon Brandon left and went to Kansas City for a show and seminars. He would be gone until Weds.
Monday morning I get up to exercise. At 6:30 Analise comes out to inform me that Caramel threw up in her crate. I stop my kickboxing to check on the dog/crate. Thankfully she hadn't really thrown up, but she was foamy at the mouth. I send her outside and send Analise back to bed.
At 7:00 she comes back out, this time with tears in her eyes and informs me she doesn't feel well. I take her temp - 101. something. No school for her.
Maisie gets up a bit later, finds out she is the only one going to school, and she is so sad she is teary eyed all morning and hardly talks at all. I try to encourage her by telling her that she will have a lot of fun since it's the 100th day of school.
I then go back to my bathroom and find my toilet is clogged. I was able to fix it with the plunger, but not without making a mess. All this before 8 am!
I knew I needed to take both Analise and Sadie to the doctor. They had had coughs but no fever until today. And I knew the clinic would be busy. I finally got them there around 10:00, and we didn't have to wait more than 30 minutes. The doctor was nice enough to just inform me that both girls have Influenza, without making them suffer through a nasal wash test. I didn't care if it was A or B. He also told me to keep them home all week, even when they started feeling better because they would still be contagious.
He prescribed Tamiflu for both with the advice to call in for more if anyone else started running temps.
All I kept thinking was, "My week, my week! I will be home with the girls and not able to go anywhere. When/how am I going to buy groceries? Bible study? Awana? CMA?"
Thankfully, my dear Sarah offered to get groceries for me....what a lifesaver that was! I narrowed down my long grocery list to less than 20 items of essentials. We made it through several days, thanks to Sarah.
We came home from the clinic, and I gave each girl her Tamiflu...which by the way is almost $100 for five days worth. Goodness! Ten minutes later, Analise threw up. And again. Poor thing, I thought she was going to have a stomach bug on top of Influenza. We layed low for the day, picked up Maisie from school...who was happy she was there for such a fun day, and went back home where I made my first batch of chicken noodle soup in years. It just sounded good and comforting. Maisie was the picky eater, which isn't uncommon. However, I took her temp -101. something.
I called the doctor and he sent in an order for Tamiflu. I called Grandma to the rescue to run to Walgreens to pick it up for me.
In the meantime, I am cleaning up dinner, getting girls ready for beds, giving them fever reducers, finding and filling up humidifiers and so on. Poor Brandon called during this needing me to find a phone number for him, and I had to tell him to wait. I just couldn't help him at the moment.
So finally at 8:00 I give each girl their expensive dose of Tamiflu. Two girls go to bed, and Analise starts throwing up again. Poor thing threw up every 20-25 minutes for over two hours. She was miserable. I put her on the couch to watch "Biggest Loser" with me to keep her mind off her circumstances, but that really didn't help. Her stomach pain was intense, she was running a fever, had a cough and looked so sad.
Sadie was in her room coughing like crazy.
Finally, at 10:15 Analise fell asleep on the loveseat in the living room. I was just getting ready for bed when Sadie came out of her room again, coughing. I decided she might as well join us sleeping in the living room. I set up large couch cushions on the floor and nestled her in her sleeping bag.
I then tried getting comfortable on the reclining couch. Tried. I did NOT sleep well at all. Finally after comforting Sadie at 1 am, I told her I was going back to my bed to sleep. I would keep the door open and the fan off so I could hear her.
I think I was up every 1-2 hours that night. Even the dog decided she needed to go out. It was one of those nights that when I was sleeping, I was sleeping with "one ear open."
We were all home on Tuesday. I guess if they were going to get Influenza, we would enjoy the perk of getting it over in one week. They could play together, sharing toys and germs.
They had highs and lows. Moments they acted better, moments of being tired. They didn't eat well. I never gave Analise any more Tamiflu, and she never threw up again.
During the afternoon we drove through the bank and library drop off. That was it.
Grandma provided us dinner that night, which I really appreciated it.
Tuesday night I put Sadie's makeshift bed on my bedroom floor. (In what space I had; we have a small bedroom with hardwood floors.) She coughed and coughed, and spiked a 103.5 fever in the middle of the night. Ugh. So, we did a breathing treatment on my bathroom floor, and then we snuggled in the recliner for an hour to make sure her fever came down. We then went back to bed, and I got four hours of sleep! She slept until almost 9:00.
Weds. we were home ALL day. And Brandon was supposed to come home that day. Wouldn't you know that we've had two days of bad weather this year and both days were when Brandon was supposed to get home from out of town. So in addition to taking care of the girls, I was on the internet looking at roads and weather and talking to him. I had my good cry while I showered. He decided to take the south route home, and he made it here by 7. Praise the Lord! The girls were super excited to see him, and since two had taken long naps, they were hyper and went to bed later.
Thursday he hunted ALL day long. Our outing for the day was taking Caramel to the pheasant farm so she could hunt with him. We were all so excited to get out of the house for an hour. Later in the day I decided to take Sadie back to the doctor; I thought her cough sounded worse. And when it comes to Sadie's lungs, I have learned to be on the cautious side. Thankfully her lungs sounded clear!
So what did we do all week? I tried to maintain some schedule. I allowed myself to sleep in a bit later than normal. We would eat breakfast, and then I would exercise. They watched a short movie while I would get ready for the day. They then got dressed by 10, and we did some school work. Sometimes we did a craft or something fun. After lunch was rest time, more school work and they played. I would allow some computer or Nook time if they wore a mask. One night they felt well enough to play some Wii Disney Dance.
It was somewhat challenging since they couldn't go outside, and we couldn't bake like we usually do when we are at home. I tried to find 15 minutes a day to go outside to play fetch with Caramel. Even her schedule was thrown off for a few days. And yet she still had energy to burn. :) After they were in bed, I just wanted to crash. I had enough energy to watch something on tv but not enough energy to read.
Analise made her own mask before Grandma brought some over.
We did a science experiment and inflated a balloon with the carbon dioxide made from baking power and vinegar. It didn't take long, but it made us all smile.
Maisie did some Compass Learning
Nook time for Analise
Caramel thought Sadie's "bed" was for her.
Caramel loved to eat the tossed, used Kleenex on the floor. I guess at one point she decided to try them clean. I found the box like this.
Breathing treatment
Craft time and I allowed them to paint their hands!
I won't lie. It was a long week, but I had much to be thankful for:
Friends and family that got things I needed, or just called each day to see how we were doing. Dee stopping by after school surprising us with crafty things and popsicles. Friends that I could message and ask for prayers. So very thankful I didn't sick. Glad to get this over in one week. Kind Kaleb getting the girls' schoolwork each day and dropping it off for them. Braylen running Awana games for us. Most of the time the girls got along well. Our worst afternoon was Friday afternoon. They were feeling well enough to be grouchy. And I think I was at the end of my rope.
I also learned some things. I had been working through a fear of having sick girls. I just didn't want it. At all. And I think I almost lived in a state of fear of "what if." So I believe God taught me I could handle it. Not only did he let all the girls get sick, He did it while I had to fly solo. Someone who must get out each day. And we made it. :) I learned I was embarrassed the girls had to miss so much school. That I felt like a failure my girls got Influenza. I mean we did everything "right." We got flu shots. We sanitize, sanitize, sanitize. We bathe. Take our supplements. Wash our hands.Tell the girls to keep their hands away from their faces. And yet we still got sick.
I was weary by the time Brandon got home. Sure, it sounds like it should have been a "relaxing" week. However, moms know. I had to mentally be up and engaged. Taking temps. Remembering who took what medicine when. Keep them going with different activities. Picking up used tissues all.day.long. Reminding girls to throw away their tissues all.day.long. Laundry. Cleaning. Disinfecting. Meals. Clean up kitchen since my man was gone. Comfort them when they didn't feel well. Empty throw up buckets. And the list goes on.
I was selfish enough to feel like I should have earned an "I survived" medal. Obviously, that didn't happen. But I was reminded that God gives me just what I need when I need it.
Last Friday when I went to bed, I found a note from Analise in our journal we share messages with each other. She wrote, and I quote:
Dear mom, Thank you for taking good care of me while I had Enfluenza. I missed a bunch of school but you made sure I did a little homework. I love you. A.J.
Yep - tears from feeling blessed.
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