Gotta go watch Lost , but wanted to share tough girl's latest look...

 

 

the effing flu.  My drink(s) that Saturday were fabulous as was the family outing the next day to the Aquarium.  It started going downhill Monday.  By Tuesday afternoon I was convinced a sinus infection had settled in and made a 7:30 am dr appt.  Got drugs and had a crazy busy day that left me miserable.  By dinner I was a zombie with a 102 fever.  When I called the doc back Thursday, he said to come in for a flu swab.  Um, why didn't we do this yesterday?  I seriously didn't think I could drive.  Went though and let's just say an AMEN for Tamiflu.  I don't think I'd still be alive today if it wasn't for that stuff.  Seriously, the flu SUCKS.  DON'T, I repeat DO NOT get it.  Stacy was out for a full 7 days.  I'm human again after 5.   The munchkins here have stayed relatively healthy, poor Allison and Jackson didn't escape.  They had flu and strep. 

 

SICKNESS, BE GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Sharon, Brittney, Trisa, and mom, thanks for all your help, you ROCK!   Husband, do better next time or pray you never get sick.  Just a fair warning. 

OH people, it's been a week.  All three munchkins got the Great Vomit Virus of 08.  This was no small bug, it created more retching and vomit than I care to see (or clean up after) for the remainder of my life.  I just started what I hope to be the final load of laundry.  I even had to enlist the help of a friend's washer to get the big stuff; oh how I long for a huge front-loader of my own.  To think I used to dream of fancy vacations and now I lust after washing machines and mini vans, ah the good life!

 

Anyway, I have LOTS o stories from the week.  Oh yeah, forgot to mention, Nate was out of town from Sunday early am and still isn't due home for another 2 hours.  It made for an interesting sick week.  My friends and superstar nurse sure pulled through though, so a HUGE shout out to Brittney, Sharon, Jeff and Stacy, Trisa, Caprice, Natalie, Amy, and Suz--y'all got me through it!   

 

More to come when I awake from a self-induced coma.  Oh yeah, Happy Valentine's Day! 

Ask me how many prescriptions we left the Dr.'s office with yesterday for "miss Thang who's come so far"?  FOUR.  Ask me how high her temp got today and worse, how high her respirations were?  103.7 and 93, yikes!  Mostly this is normal kiddo stuff, stuff the boys get (and probably brought her!); the problem is, you throw her crappy left lung into the mix and it escalates all of it.  Breathing at 93 is nearly hyperventilating for most, she just does it like she doesn't know any different, it sucks.  She comes down to the 60 -70's when her fever is down but she's still working pretty hard.  I'm up right now awaiting her next double breathing treatment; she's on Xoponex, Atravent, and Pulmocort Q3 around the clock until we get the wheezing under control (2 of the three for almost every treatment, she gets one that only has xop in it) .  Then, this morning she thought she didn't feel crappy enough so she started vomitting too.  Once the wretching ends the little pumpkin gets so stressed out about the mess she forgets she doesn't feel good for a minute and points like mad saying "meh meh meh" (mess, mess, mess) indicating we better get it cleaned up quick!  Whenever the fever is gone she tends to perk up a bunch too so I'm really not worried.  It just sucks seeing her when the yuck is in full force.  It's her 3rd ear infection too so we're headed to the ENT next week to decide if we're going to replace her tubes.  They worked for nearly year which I heard is pretty normal.  I hate the thought of any more surgery but we'll do what we need to. 

 

Last week, Strep had Ethan down for the count.  He missed 2 days of school and you would have thought the world was going to end, by Monday though he was saying, "maybe I should stay home one more day", um NO!  He had the cutest program tonight at school and he was adorable on the risers singing with the rest of First Grade.  Nate stayed home with Audrey and I suggested Jason may not enjoy the sitting part of waiting for and then watching for over an hour.  With that,  I won an evening of Ethan to myself and actually enjoying a performance without nervously keeping an eye on (and arms around!) the movements of a preschooler and toddler--greatness!   Audrey was great while I was gone but apparently I bring out the puke or something cause as soon as I got home she got sick again all over her bed (did I  mention her first puke this morning was all over my sweater?)  The joys of being the most loved ;-)  Or maybe I'm not?! 

 

Anyway, I'm hoping to be back sooner than later with no more talk of illness!   This weekend I had gratefulness bowl me over after attending Kylie Dudley's birthday party (Audrey didn't get fever until Sunday night).  We had to leave in a hurry for another party but I could have stayed there all night watching our two girls together, looking SO great  after all they've been through and more-so, for all they haven't had to endure that some CDH babies do and that so many don't get the chance to.  I'll take all the extra special stuff Audrey's life entails for the priviledge of seeing her smile everyday.  I wish everyone's outcome was the same. 

To the Family of Maggie Dowtin. 

 

Maggie was such a valiant fighter. Although I never met her, I was inspired by her spirit and touched by her smile.  I mentioned her here back in October but met her mom through email last year right around this time.  Our thoughts are with her family.  I long for the day when I don't have write these posts anymore.  Y'all don't realize either that I only write these for families that I "know",  but through the groups I belong to, I hear of deaths often.  The frequency is horrifying.