Sick of Sickness

I don't want this to come off as a series of complaints, but I do want to remember how much it sucks when your entire family is sick.

It all started last weekend, when Thurman started to feel ill. He was clingy and morose and cranky, which should have clued us in that he was sick. He also had been yawning and complaining that his ears were plugged up.

We figured he had som kind of sinus thing, and gave him Benadryl to help clear it up. Well, on Monday morning he was hard to awaken in the morning, very sluggish, and cranky. He also said he wasn't very hungry. I made him a pancake anyway and told him he should try to eat some. Carma and I were discussing whether or not to send him to school when he vomited on the pancake. End of discussion.

So, he and I stayed home that day, and he felt mostly better it seemed. He napped some, and ate a bit of lunch. We played video games and watched a movie. I took him to the doctor that afternoon, and was a little surprised to have the diagnosis: both of his ears were infected. He was prescribed some amoxicillin, which we got. We went to pick up Niko and Carma about 5:30, and got home. Next thing we knew, he was vomiting in the garage.

So the debate Tuesday morning was whether or not to send him to school. He seemed fine, and didn't want to miss school again. Both Carma and I had pressing issues at work to deal with, and so we sent him.

So Tuesday afternoon when I went to pick him up, he had just had a HUGE amount of diarrhea in his pants. Let me preface the next part by saying I love my son, and would do anything for him. But cleaning up that mess was the most disgusting thing I've ever had to do. I struggled to keep myself from vomiting the stench was so bad. It took about 20 minutes just to clean him up and get him changed.

So again, the discussion at home was whether or not Thurman should go to school. We figured that the diarrhea was a one-time thing.

We were so very wrong.

Wednesday, I was called to come get him because his diarrhea was bad. The poor kid spent over an hour in the bathroom, and the poor teacher who had helped clean him up. That night, we decided it was best to put him in his "Goodnights" training pants, because he just couldn't help it. We felt bad for the poor kid.

Thursday he spent the day at one of our friend's house, after Carma took him back to the doctor. The doctor, like us, figured it might be an adverse reaction to the Amoxicillin (which we stopped giving him on Wednesday). His ears appeared to be fine though, so he didn't give us a prescription for different antibiotics for Thurman. We were told to monitor the diarrhea situation, and if it hadn't stopped by Friday, to bring him in Saturday. Thursday the diarrhea was better, but still hadn't stopped.

Friday, Carma took him with her to work, which made for a stressful day for her. He only had it once that night, and not very much. So, we decided to pass on bringing him to the doctor's office, and thank heavens that was finally the end of it.

Except that then, Nicholas came down with a cold. A pretty bad one, with tons of snot. Plus he started teething again. Usually, Niko gets up once during the night for a bottle. The past few nights, I doubt he's been up and needed our "help" no less than four times a night. Which makes for very long nights for all of us (except Thurman, who miraculously can sleep through anything).

So, Monday (yesterday) Nicholas was too sick to go to his daycare, with a low-grade fever and his cold. So, I stayed home with him, which was not easy. He was clingy, fussy, tired, and not very hungry all day. We went to get Thurman in the afternoon, and according to his teachers, had spent a lot of the day yawning and saying that his ears were causing him some discomfort.
Monday was an especially long day because after work, Carma was scheduled to go give a lecture at Rutgers. She came home about 11:00 pm, and told me that she wasn't feeling well. She had a sore throat, was congested, and felt sick. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I had a sore throat, and felt nauseatingly tired and sick.

Today, Carma is taking both boys to the doctor, while taking a sick day herself. I'm at the office, despite my body's protests and desire to be in bed.

Oh, and Carma's flight for Paris leaves in less than 60 hours, and I'll be at home with the boys for five days. I really, really, really hope we all feel better by then.