We have been pretty blessed in recent years as we have not really had to deal with the stomach flu. I have read posts on Facebook galore of friends whose whole family was sick with the full on stomach flu and thanked my lucky stars that it was not me. We'd have an occasional kid get sick, but it never was hard or it just didn't pass through the whole family. Our lucky streak ended this week. We had a horrible stomach flu and it did pass through the whole family fast. The last time we had anything like this was in 2009.
I think Sam must have been the person who spread the flu so thoroughly because he got very clingy, lethargic, and grumpy on Monday. We were wondering if he had an ear infection or something. But then on Tuesday, Sam would not eat anything and didn't even want to nurse much. Then Josh got sick in the car just as I had left for the grocery store. I turned around, brought Josh home, cleaned out the car and went grocery shopping.
I got home to the news that Sam had an explosive diaper, Josh was fine, and all the laundry was being done. All seemed reasonably well.
Later in the day, I noticed that I was not feeling well, and thought I may have caught what Josh and probably Sam had. I decided not to make our fancy dinner that we had planned for Valentine's Day and I am so glad that I did. The day was normal. I never get sick to my stomach, I just feel uncomfortable, so except for the nice dinner, we stuck to our daily plans and routines.
We sent the kids to bed a little earlier than usual to spend time alone for Valentine's Day. At midnight Kate came into our room and said that Arwen had puked all over. Arwen shares a room with Kate, Rachel, and Anya so all the girls were up feeling somewhat traumatized by the scene. John and I cleaned it up and decided to put Arwen in the living room for the night. Kate said that she was sure that she was sick too and wanted to be in the living room. I opened the window in the girl's bedroom to air it out when it seemed clear that Anya and Rachel were not ready to go back to sleep. I told them they could just stay up a while. I am so glad I did. All four girls were sick over and over throughout the whole night and into the next day.
Which brings us to Thursday. John and Johnny begin to feel sick but had symptoms like Sam and myself, so nothing compared to the girls, but still unpleasant.
Thursday night Kate felt better, but Rachel, Anya, and Arwen were still having a lot of stomach pains and they now had fevers, so Kate went to bed in her bed, but Rachel, Anya, and Arwen stayed camped out in their sick beds for another night. John and I thought we might be able to get a little more sleep. I had only gotten 2 hours in the past 24 at that point. But fate had other plans. Two other kids chose to repeat the scene of the previous night. Susan and Adam were up and sick all night and into the next morning, each with fevers on Friday and really feeling too sick to move. By midday, Joseph who was holding out longer than anyone else fell prey. Saturday and Sunday became rest and re-hydration days.And again, I will say that I hope this never happens again!
Besides all the yuck, here are a few things about the kids:
- Ruth had a missionary meeting on Monday, her normal p-day, so we worried for 24 hours until we heard from her on Tuesday.
- Kate spent 4 hours making an adorable and delicious tea party. Since that time, Arwen, Susan, and Joshua have all asked to have a tea party on their birthdays.
- Johnny had a cough, except when he was playing video games. John says he has the same thing.
- Adam hung out with Kate and did things for her while she was very sick, so Kate hung out with Adam and did things to make him feel better while he was sick.
- Rachel had her hair up in a high ponytail while she was sick and John kept telling her how pretty she looked. Rachel and Kate determined that their dad must think girls look pretty when they are weak.
- Anya hung outside with Sam and I the whole day she was re-hydrating. I really enjoyed her company. She just walked around with us carrying her cup of water that she was sipping with a spoon.
- Joseph never holds still. He bounced around the whole time he was sick.
- A few hours before Josh got sick he matter of factly told me that he was too sick to do any more school work. I didn't really believe him. He did complete his school work, and then came with me to go grocery shopping. Next time, I will believe him.
- On Susan's second day of recovery and Arwen's third, we gave them some baby dolls to play with on Susan's sick bed. They seemed very happy about that. When I looked over at them, I noticed that they were having their little babies say prayers.
- While John was bending down to kiss me, Arwen climbed up his back and got onto his shoulders. Susan started yelling, "No, that is my shoulder ride! Mom, Arwen is taking my shoulder ride."
- When Kate was sick and lying on the couch, Sam came up to her and gave her a very gentle, sweet hug.
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2 comments:
So sorry that you had such a rough time with the flu. I can't imagine how hard it was. When our children were young we had Chicken Pox over the Christmas Vacation which was the worst. They were all itching and miserable. I remember it wasn't a fun time at all. I do like that some of them were kind, lovingand helped each other; that was awesome.
Praying that you are all doing well this week.
Seniding prayers, love and hugs your way!
Blech.... Sorry! Flu is never fun. And neither is the laundry or cleaning that goes with it. I'm glad that you weren't hit very hard.
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