Flu, Swine Flu, Stomach Thing????? I Dunno....

Sophia was sick about 3 weeks ago. She went to spend the night at a friends house and woke up at 3:30 throwing up. Poor baby. She was sick for a day and a half. Was that the Swine Flu?

A week ago I stopped by the nurses stand at Kaiser. I asked, "Will there be any more flu vaccine this year?" The receptionist said that there wouldn't be and that I should wash my hands, cover my cough, avoid sick people, and keep my hands away from my face. "Thanks" I said and almost rolled my eyes. I know she is just saying what they have told her to say but really.

I have 3 small people and 2 of them practically sneeze in your face, they WILL lick you and the quick nose pick is not unusual. I don't want to know where the boogers are. The Lysol Wipes are good but there must be some sort of Irradiation Machine that I could get. The kids could just walk through it daily after school. Yes, I am going to look into that.

Tuesday, this week, Sophia woke up with a headache, a temp of 102.5 and her back and legs were sore. I called the peds nurse who said, "It's probably H1N1 and it's probably just the beginning. She was hot and uncomfortable all day but she was able to bring herself to watch TV....LOTS OF TV. We all stayed away from her for the most part and any time she moved through an area I would follow behind with Lysol Wipes.

Wednesday she still had a fever of 101.5 but felt much better. Again, TV...not a lot of sleep, just a lot of TV. I insisted that she read and then she was only able to read 2 pages before she was just "too tired." Yeah, right.... Back on with the TV. By bed time, no fever...we'll see.

Thursday...NO FEVER!!!! Off to school. I took her over to her friend's house so they could walk to school while I dropped Kees off at his school. I got a call 10 minutes after I dropped her off. Her legs hurt, her stomach had "bubbles" in it and she wanted to come home. I picked her up. I was sick of being at home....I took her to coffee with Bob and I. She was able to stomach a steamed milk. I figured if she could do that she could go to....Fred Meyer. I hadn't been out of the house in 3 days! I will tell you that before we left the coffee shop we did our community service and wiped the table down with hand sanitizer. Sophia didn't want anyone else to get what she has.

Fred Meyer was successful and I picked up just a few things. If she could go to Fred Meyer then why not Costco? Off we went to Costco. Again, I didn't need much, just the usual $500 basket. How is it that every time I walk through the door it's $500? That's another post. Sophia was fine the whole time. A little tired but fine. We picked Kees and his buddy up from school and then headed home. Sophia went right back up stairs and turned on the TV. What's a girl to do?

Last night I insisted she shower, wash her hair and get ready for school the next day. Enough with the half sick kid. She agreed and said she was missing going to school. That was nice to hear.

So with a bit of trepidation, I sent her to school today. She has been with out a fever for more then 24 hours. Unfortunately, she woke up with a headache and a few stomach cramps. A couple of Ibuprofen later and a bit of breakfast too, she was much better. So today, I made sure I was near a phone all day. It's 12:30 now and no call. I pray this is good news. And I ask....Was that the Swine Flu?

So far so good, knock on wood, pick a 4 leaf clover and hold on to your rabbit's foot. No one else in the family has been sick. Who's going to take care of me if I am sick? The thought terrifies me. I am praying that we are all healthy for Thanksgiving. I want to make sure we do not pass this along to anyone else.

Wash your hands, cover your cough, avoid sick people and keep your hands away from your face. That's what the pros say. Yeah, good luck with that.