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Feeling Pretty BLAARGHH…
I shudder a little as I reflect upon the week. This is yet another I’d prefer to forget. It began very early Monday morning. Our sleep is normally interrupted a few times each night, but I awoke as Kira was returning to bed after what I assumed was dealing with one of the children. She mentioned that she was in quite a bit of discomfort in her general tummy area. I mumbled some sympathy and drifted back off to sleep. When Merritt had me up around 6, Kira reported that she had been up and in the bathroom off and on throughout the early morning with symptoms of what seemed like the stomach flu.
She went back to bed and I got up to manage the morning rush of getting the kids fed and to school. I felt a little off, but I figured it was probably due to disrupted sleep and the slight smell of vomit that was turning my stomach a bit. I got the kids fed and to school in two separate trips (Avey has early extracurricular activities on Mondays), and then came home. Kira woke up feeling a little better, and I was getting worse energy-wise, so I laid down to try to nap for an hour or so. I ended up shivering through it, even though I was covered in blankets. After a little bit of rest and a lot of discomfort, I awoke with my own stomach churning, and my body generally feeling like I had gone through a cycle in the dryer. Luckily, Kira seemed still to be doing enough better that she could stay in charge of the two younger kids while I had my long shift in the bathroom. It was awful.
I don’t think I’ve had an illness that debilitating since the Christmas of 2012. Kira and I were both grateful that we at least had our waves of symptoms staggered so that one of us was capable of managing the children. How on earth do single parents handle being sick?
Naturally, our illness spread to the children quickly. Hakan was the next one to come down with it, tossing his cookies all over his pillow and bed just a few hours after going to bed Monday night. He handled the whole illness with stoic defiance. He insisted that he was not sick anymore as soon as he awoke. He did the same thing after he threw up each time over the next few days. He kept wanting to eat like normal, dismissing our concerns that his tummy was not quite ready for things like milk and meats.
Avey came down with it next. She was pretty miserable, but I think she was secretly glad that she didn’t have to go to school for 3 days. Carver was the last to fall, and was also the only one to strike a fever, albeit short-lived. He missed 2 days of school.
I was really glad that I do not teach any courses on Mondays (my worst day). Tuesday, I had two classes to teach, and felt like garbage, but at least I was not vomiting any more. I warned the students that I was running on about 2 hours of sleep, and class was pretty dull, but thankfully I was back to my usual self on Thursday.
We are all still dealing with unsettled tummies. There are a few days still where I don’t want to eat at all, but most days food sounds pretty good to my tongue and my brain, but my stomach says, “Don’t even think about it.” I imagine this is also what’s going on with the kids, because their appetites are still pretty mild.
On top of all of this, I had to leave town after my late Thursday class. I arrived at my destination after 1 in the morning, and then the day was full of meetings, so that was really rough. I still have not recovered from that loss of sleep, but maybe by next weekend we’ll all feel a little more human.