Thoughtful Thursdays

Something incredible happened this morning - there was a cool breeze!  My daughter and I stepped outside and gasped at the sudden change.  Of course it warmed up as the day progressed, but it's been breezy all day, and the humidity has been lower than usual.  Even Molly seemed to enjoy her walk a little more!  It'll be interesting to see if this trend continues.

I took advantage of the lovely weather and did the monthly car washing.  Once a month I clean the cars (3 of them) inside and out.  My kids are welcome to help me, and my daughter came over to give me a hand.  I usually wash cars the first week of the month, but with all the rain we've gotten it's been impossible.  I was glad to see a drier, crisper day, perfect to get things done outdoors.

This has been a rough week for my youngest son.  After an enjoyable weekend at the Awana conference and church, he went back to school on Monday.  After dinner, I noticed something wasn't quite right.  I can't pinpoint anything specific, only that his face didn't look like it usually does.  You moms know what I mean.  I asked him if everything was okay because he had a strange look on his face, and he admitted his stomach was feeling weird.  I left it at that and left him alone.  A little while later he came over and told me his stomach was really hurting, and he was nauseous.  I felt his cheeks and they were clammy, which is what happens whenever his stomach acts up.  I urged him to take a cool shower so he could feel a bit better, and he could go to bed.  He went right away, and after his shower he lay down.  I read him a chapter from Exodus, then prayed over him.  He quickly fell asleep, about a half hour earlier than usual, so I knew he wasn't feeling well.  I figured, if it's something he ate, it'll pass quickly.  If it's a stomach flu, it'll be a bit more complicated.  At 10:00 pm I went to bed.

An hour later I was awaken to the sounds of violent vomiting.  Despite the fact that I'd put a small trash can by the bed, he managed to throw up all over the place (in his defense, it was dark and he couldn't see to throw up in the trash can).  He got up and ran to the bathroom and continued being sick.  I started cleaning up Kool-Aid colored puke.  Once he'd finished he washed his mouth over and over, claiming the taste in his mouth was unbearable.  I said he could drink a little water to see if that helped.  He did, then proceeded to throw up water all over the kitchen floor :P.  It was pretty bad.  I still wondered if it was just food poisoning and once he rested he'd be okay.  It wouldn't be that easy.

After everything was cleaned up, sheets put in the wash, new sheets put on the bed, I had my son try to get some sleep.  Another hour later and I could hear him in the bathroom being sick once more.  At least this time he'd gotten to the bathroom in time and I didn't have to get up to clean again.  Then at about 4:30 am he got up and was dry heaving.  That pretty much told me this was more than simply food disagreeing with him. This was a virus, and not a kind one.  I turned off the alarm clock; no way my son was going to school.

When he awoke at 9am, I took his temperature.  101.3.  I gave him some ibuprofen and asked if he wanted to eat a biscuit, to see if it would settle his stomach.  He tried, poor thing, but was only able to stomach a couple of bites.  I had him stay in bed, and he dozed off.  That was pretty much the routine for the entire day.  He'd wake up, I'd take his temperature, give him his meds every four hours, and he would sleep, sleep, sleep.  The most he ate all day was a few bites of a biscuit.  His temperature kept creeping up slowly despite the medicine, from 101.3 to 101.5 to 101.9.  He also complained about backaches and headaches, all typical symptoms of the flu, which I now felt sure he had.

The next morning I realized there was no way he could endure a full day of school, even if it was Wednesday and they get out an hour earlier.  I also knew if he missed 2 days he'd need a doctor's note, so I went ahead and made an appointment.  His doctor told us this mild version of the flu is going around; it has all the symptoms of the flu, but when tested for the flu virus all the tests come back negative.  Thankfully it's a short-lived flu; unfortunately it's very contagious.  The doctor kindly gave us a note stating he could go back to school on Friday, though she said if he felt better by the next day he could go.  He still had a low grade fever and wasn't eating, but I hoped he could still make it to school the next day.  That was the plan, anyway.

This morning I got up early and began preparing everything for E to go back to school.  I made him a simple breakfast:  one hash brown and a biscuit.  I figured something like that wouldn't upset his already delicate stomach.  He hadn't eaten anything for 2 days, and was almost afraid to eat.  He was eating his hash brown when he said he had to go to the bathroom.  He went, then went again, and I realized he now had the runs.  Really bad, too.  I'm so grateful that the doctor included today as a stay home day, because under these conditions he would definitely have to miss yet another day of school.

Thankfully, the worst of it is definitely over.  His fever is gone, his appetite is coming back, and there have been no more bathroom breaks.  He was even able to get some homework done, which is important because now he's 3 days behind.  I think he's especially happy because his siblings were staying away from him for fear of catching the virus; now they come over and help him with his homework.  It looks like things are getting back to normal.  We're very thankful that God answered our prayers and my little boy is back to his old self.