You had a few really gorgeous 70 degree days just a few days prior, but now all the toys are covered in snow...
You've been cooped up with sick kids (and a sick Mommy) for right at a week and everyone is going stir-crazy with cabin fever...YOU...
bundle up and go outside...
even if just for a few minutes.
Because who in their right mind would pass up the opportunity...
for a little snow ice cream!
In fact, just to make it extra special, we even made a cake and declared it a SNOW PARTY!Poor little Evan didn't get to join us outside, and he didn't much enjoy the inside activities either. He's been sick with the flu. All of us have except Daddy. Ryan started it last Wednesday, but I never dreamed it was going to be the flu. By the time I figured it was something more than just a "cold" the weekend was here which means no doctor's appointments (unless of course you want to pay an arm and a leg for after-hours/emergency care...oh wait!...I did pay an arm and a leg without it! More on that later). I started with the fever and malaise on Saturday and poor Evan started with vomiting and fever on Sunday. Monday morning I called the doctor. He tested positive for Influenza A which is probably what the rest of us had. Fortunately he was within "the window" for treatment with Tamiflu to lessen the effects and duration and since Wade hadn't "caught" it yet he could also take Tamiflu to more than likely prevent it. Unfortunately for Ryan and I we were out of that "window of opportunity" (we'd had symptoms for too long) and Tamiflu wasn't an option so the two of us were left to ride it out. Dr. O said I was right at the peak of the worst and should be feeling better within a day or so, and she said Evan should be better within 4 or 5 days but if he (or Ryan) started getting worse that we needed to return for the possibility of a secondary infection. In the mean time Evan and I were encouraged to start alternating Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours. (Boy did that make a HUGE difference in how I felt. I wish I would have known about that on Sat and Sun. I would have been able to function.)
So off to the pharmacy I went. It was there that I spent an "arm" on Wade's Tamiflu because the insurance coverage of it was...well...not great. And...I spent my other arm and both legs paying for Evan's Tamiflu BECAUSE...despite the fact we pay dearly for our family's insurance (Ryan and Evan completely out of pocket and partial on the rest)...and because Evan is a baby and can't swallow those stupid pills yet and needs his medicine mixed in some form of a liquid...INSURANCE WOULDN'T COVER HIS! Ugh. I hate insurance companies. All of them. Healthcare (primarily insurance) is so messed up...and NO Obamacare is NOT the answer! At any rate...now that I'm over my little rant...I spent nearly half of my paycheck buying Tamiflu, aspirin, ibuprofen, tylenol, and a few other maintenance meds for our cabinet. So...we can't have the flu anymore! Just kidding...I'm just griping a little...I'm allowed...I've been sick. I can be gripey!
Evan vomited up his first dose of Tamiflu (a common problem) but has been able to keep it down with the following doses. He seems a little better. He has his good moments and his really rough moments. He cried all night on Sunday (which was really rough on me since I was so sick too) but since we've started giving Tylenol and Motrin on a consistent schedule he is resting better and seems more comfortable. He woke up 5 or 6 times last night but that's improved from crying all night the night before.
I am feeling much better. I even did a little house cleaning and cooking today. My throat is killing me from all the coughing and drainage and I'm terribly hoarse but "this too shall pass". Ryan is doing much much better. He is a little hoarse too, but he is gradually getting back to his ornery little self. Daddy isn't sick.
So that's about all that's been going on with us lately. I'm so ready for winter to be over. We've been so so sick this winter. I guess that's a testament of the importance and the value of "hibernating" for those families with medically fragile kids. We hibernated for 2+ years after Ryan was born and more less never got sick. Boy not this year! Ugh. Come on Spring!!!!
And some RYAN-ISMS:
- My kitty's tail is hot. He's got hot food inside it. (The cat stole some food off the floor that happened to drop from the hot stove and was quite warm for our little furry feline.)
- Girls are yucky. (Hmmmm...)
- You're not a girl. You're a mommy. (After hearing "girls are yucky" I just had to ask if that included me since I, too, (believe it or not) am a girl. This was his answer to that!)
- My mouth doesn't have enough energy to go "toot! toot!" (This is kind of sad. He was sick and we were playing a toy train whistle.)
- Baby brother is too loud. Can we put him inside? (Ummm...too loud for outside?)
- No singing. You can't be a singer. You can only be a mommy. (I have started singing a lot especially as a way to diffuse stressful situations in the home. It works great! I'm amazed and how calm I can remain when I start singing "The joy of the Lord is my strength" even though my natural inclination is to yell. It also tends to diffuse and re-route some negative behaviors. Well on this particular day Ryan really didn't want me to sing. More likely he didn't want the singing to challenge his naughty behaviors.)
- It's windy. The wind needs to blow baby brother far far away. Back to the hospital. (Obviously a moment of jealousy. You think?)
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