Prior to last Thursday, we had enjoyed a reasonably good run of health since moving into our new place. (We'll ignore the two lice infestations that visited us in the fall.) But things can turn in a hurry when your hygiene-poor kids are surrounded by other hygiene-poor kids at daycare, preschool, and kindergarten: there simply isn't enough hand sanitizer in the world to keep all germs at bay.
Our run of good health ended last Thursday when Andres developed a fever of 103º. That night, vomiting was added to the list of maladies. School was thus out of the question for Friday. But the virus was a persistent one and lasted though the weekend, teasing us with Saturday and Sunday highs of 100º, before rocketing north again on Monday, hitting 102º. A visit to the doctor yielded good results but no real answers. He did not have strep, an ear infection, or pneumonia (a chest x-ray confirmed that). Apparently it was just a garden variety viral infection that would hang around long enough to cause discomfort and multiple school absences before eventually disappearing.
Andres made the most of his time (Friday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday!) at home. I could see the poor kid was in pain on Friday, so I broke out the ultimate salve: Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Naturally he loved it. Ewoks were designed for small audiences, after all, and Andres was immediately seduced by their furry ingenuity and attitude. He told me his favorite part was at the end when Luke removed Vader's helmet and "Darth Vader became a good guy." Perhaps redemption stories are for all ages too.
He spent most of the weekend either resting or camped out in front of his favorites: How to Train Your Dragon, Cars, Wall-E. His energy level was through the floor and it was difficult to see him languish on the couch, unwilling to eat more than saltines. He didn't even have enough energy to be his regular salty self. All 5-year old self-assuredness and attitude went out the window as soon as he got sick.
 |
| Stratego in his PJs on Tuesday evening. |
Though the visit to the doctor did not yield any cure, it was a turning point. His fever receded a bit on Monday night, and on Tuesday it was back to the high 90s. This was when Celia took a turn for the worse. Having held it together all weekend, she lost it (literally) on Tuesday night--though thankfully she made it down to the bathroom when evidence of her illness appeared.
The poor kid was so afraid of throwing up. There I was, sitting with her in the bathroom just after midnight, trying to comfort her as her entire body shook--everything was telling her that she needed to vomit, but she wouldn't let herself do it. I can't recall a time when I have seen her so scared. No amount of soothing helped. But of course it finally happened, through tears and a few strands of hair, and for a few seconds she seemed to relax before the whole cycle started again. Nobody slept well that night. (In fact, I brought her mattress down to the bathroom, thinking that trips to the toilet would be a recurring event...but Natalia is a softer parent than me and invited Celia into bed, armed with a wastebasket nearby).
This is how everybody under 6 ended up at home on Wednesday. It was like a vacation day--except that all the kids' friends were at school, and my house was functioning as a hospital ward. All things considered it was a good week not to go to Tunisia.
Oh yes--this trip was originally in the cards. A few months ago, I was asked to head overseas to photograph some entrepreneurs in the North African country, my job having somehow become convinced that I am an Actual Photographer, and not just a guy with a camera. And for a long time I was planning on going. I delayed my leave for two weeks and was looking for flights, but firm details about where I would be going, who I would be photographing, and even when I would be coming back were proving to be too elusive for me, so I eventually begged out. It was all proving too stressful. And given my year-long quest to eliminate unnecessary sources of stress from my life, I felt that remaining on terra firma was the comfortable/best choice, even if I was forfeiting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In these years, my priorities are all domestic. International travel does not appeal much. (Now if I had been asked to shoot an ultimate tourney over there, well...I may have found a way to make that flight.)
By Thursday everyone had returned to enough health that we could ship them back off to preschool and kindergarten. Quiet, lovely routine had returned. (It lasted only a single day though, as today's unanticipated snowstorm canceled school and gave us another weather-related three-day weekend.)
And now, as I write this on a Friday night of a week of sickness and snow, I am officially on leave until June 3. What a send-off. Finally some time to cross off all those things on my to-do list...visit the bank, pay my taxes, get my car inspected, etc. Oh yeah--and it will also be nice to spend time with Lucia, who is noticeably absent from many of my posts. We're going to have some fun together. And I'll definitely write about it.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment