Dr. Mom

This is the second weekend in a row that I've had the opportunity to take care of my not-feeling-s0-well family. It started last Saturday when Deklan caught the flu and then both Vince and Grafton came down with it this weekend.

The two weekends are running together and what sticks out in my mind is taking temperatures, cleaning, catching & wearing puke, continuously refilling drinks with water or gatorade, hand-feeding crackers, rubbing nauseous tummies, lots of cuddling, getting behind on the laundry and house cleaning, only stepping outside to take the trash out, and not even getting out of my jammies.

However, there's no one else I'd want to take care of them besides myself! I've also come to realize that God must give mom's special immune systems. It seems we can be covered from head to toe in sick germs, but we somehow keep rolling along because we do not have the time or the luxury to be down and out!

Doctor's Appointments and Rest Time

This week both of our boys have not been feeling very well. It started when Deklan woke up Sunday morning with pink eye. I treated it with some homeopathic drops that have worked before, but Tuesday evening his eye got extremely red again. I took him to the doctor Wednesday morning and found out that he had a bad infection in his left ear as well as pink eye.

Tuesday evening Grafton started running a fever which seemed to be caused by some type of virus. However, Thursday afternoon I noticed Grafton's eye was looking red too and when I asked him about it and he said it was itching and he told me both ears were hurting. I called the doctor right away and they scheduled our appointment 35 minutes from the time I was calling. Problem was, we were all still in our pajamas and Deklan was taking his nap!

We miraculously made it in time (fortunately it's only a 2 mile drive) and Grafton only had the beginning of an ear infection in his left ear plus pink eye.

During one of our two trips this week to pick up a prescription, Grafton was not wanting to walk so I put him in the cart. He then complained about being cold and so I found a towel at the end of an isle and wrapped him in it. A couple of minutes later he told me he needed his "rest time" and fell asleep shortly afterwards.

We are now the proud owners of a $3.99 lime-green bath towel from Target!

Haggard Housewife Week

This week has not been a glamorous one around our house. I started not feeling well on Sunday with a headache, sore throat and body aches. Then, on Monday, Grafton ran a fever all day and has had a terrible cough ever since and even had a bloody nose last night.

As a result, we have not left the house or been out of our pajamas since Sunday! YIKES!!!!! I must clarify that we are not in the same pair of pajamas... we have been changing from one pair to another each day.

The upside to all of this is that I have my Book Club book almost finished and my laundry load will be light!

Matters of the Heart

Living in a different state as my Dad has never felt as far away as it has this week. On Tuesday evening he called me and let me know he had been having some chest pains for almost two weeks and was staying the night in the hospital so he could have testing done.

The next day he was moved to a heart hospital to have an echocardiogram. During the procedure it was discovered that one of his main arteries was 95% blocked. It's an artery that's often called the "widow maker" because most people do not survive a heart attack when it comes from that area. He also had another smaller artery that was 91% blocked.

The doctor was able to put stints in and he should make a full recovery.

I don't think the reality of what was close to taking place has completely sunk in yet. I have been continuously thanking God for sparing my Dad from major surgery or even death.

I'm not sure when my next visit with my Dad will be, but it can't come soon enough!

A Pain in the Neck

Tuesday morning I woke up and noticed a slight crick in the right side of my neck. Since that time, the pain has increased and I cannot even tilt my head back. Right now I'm using heat and ibuprofen to try and make it feel better.

We have a big day ahead of us because we're celebrating 5 years of hosting our small group and have at least 30 people come over this evening. I must get better quickly!

The Flu Stinks

Especially when one of your kids has it. In this case, it's Grafton. This is the first time in his 3 years he's ever had the flu, so I guess we can be grateful for that.

Friday morning Grafton came in our room at 3:30 AM and said he was sick. He was not kidding! I will not go into details, but it has not been pretty. The way he describes his sickness is, "My tummy is sad."

If he was feeling well, I'm sure he'd love all of the super-star treatment. He's been getting constant tummy rubs, carried wherever he needs to go, he gets to sleep in our room instead of his own, his favorite books are being read to him, the TV has been constantly playing his shows, and he's been hand-fed the little he's felt like eating. Basically, we're at his beck-and-call.

Right now we're 34 hours into this and I believe the worst is over. He finally has some color again, he's actually eaten some crackers and part of a waffle, and he asked for some of his trains to play with. Best of all, we're seeing a smile on his face again!

Deklan's Illness Updated

When I took Deklan to Urgent Care yesterday the doctor told me there was a good chance he had Roseola.  This is a virus common in children ages 6 months to 2 years.  It starts with a sudden high fever that lasts around 3 days and then suddenly stops.  After that a rosy-pink rash appears on the skin.

I didn't mention this in my last post because he told me his illness was either bacterial or one of three viruses.  His best guess was that it was Roseola but didn't know for sure because we weren't in the rash stage yet.

Deklan's fever finally broke yesterday afternoon (day 3) and today he woke up with the rash (if you look closely, you can see it on his forehead).  This is something he will get over on his own and he shouldn't be contagious after 24 hours of running a fever.

I'm glad to know exactly what is going on with him and relieved we're finally at the end of this. 

Poor Baby!

Our Deklan Boy hasn't been feeling very well these last few days. When he woke up Thursday morning at 4 AM for a feeding I noticed he felt warm, but I didn't take his temperature because I could tell it was low grade.  He fever continued in the morning, but he's on the verge of his 4th tooth popping thorough, so I figured it was just teething.  Unfortunately, by Thursday evening he had a fever of 102.

His fever continued all day on Friday whenever the Motrin or Tylenol would wear off, but he was still happy and had a great appetite, so I figured his body was just fighting a little bug and this would pass soon.

Well, he still had a fever this morning (Saturday) and I noticed him tugging at his ear.  I took him to Urgent Care and was told his temp was 103.8 and that he has an infection in his left ear. The doctor thinks the ear infection is a result of all of the drainage from being sick and not the cause of his sickness.  

Now that he's on an antibiotic I hope he'll get better very soon. His sickness has been tough on both of us!