It’s been a miserable few days at our house and there finally seems to be an end in sight.
It all started on Friday. I woke up with a sore throat and achiness but popped a few Ibuprofen, sucked on a cough drop and headed off to work. Little did I know, CJ would also wake up sick only his would be much worse. I found out when I got home from work Friday night. My father-in-law was here watching Isabella so CJ could sleep. I guess Ceige was having tummy troubles. I took Munch to a jewelry party and didn’t think too much of things. My husband has a sensitive stomach and it tends to happen every 3 months or so that something doesn’t sit right.
Saturday was mostly me hanging with Isabella while CJ slept all morning. Turns out it was more than eating something bad. I did manage to make a run to the grocery store. We ate homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner along with corn muffins and cheesy potatoes. It was yummy and just the thing for all of us feeling less than stellar.
That night Isabella threw up. I was just laying down for bed when I heard her cough a couple times and then start crying. Something told me it wasn’t your normal cry for attention. Sure enough, I found her covered in vomit, with her sheets soaked too. I tended to her while CJ stripped the bed. She was so brave. She didn’t carry on or anything, just let me change her in to clean jammies and told me her tummy hurt. We went and got some water and I took her to our bed to rest until hers was ready. She just sat with me and snuggled. When CJ was done, I asked her if she was ready to go back to bed and she nodded saying simply, “Yeah.”
She slept through the rest of the night and didn’t have any more issues. Thank God.
It hit me on Sunday. CJ was feeling better and so we all decided to walk to the park in the afternoon. We played and then took the long route back home. By the time we reached the house, I was about dead. Now mind you, this was not a long walk. The “long route” comprises a total of like, 6 blocks. But I was pooped and starting to feel queasy. I sat on the couch and waited for it to pass. It didn’t. We decided to order Chinese for dinner but I only wanted some egg drop soup and rice. Figured that would be safe. CJ left to go get it around 6 and I turned on some Sesame Street for Isabella as I fled in to the bathroom. That was when the puking started. He got home and I tried to eat the soup but it just didn’t taste the same after having just regurgitated my previous meal. I could only choke down a couple swallows before I had to flee to the bathroom again. This would continue for about every 30 minutes until midnight. I couldn’t even keep water down. It got to a point where there was nothing left in my stomach so it turned in to dry heaves.
I have never thrown up so much in my life. And I never want to again.
I also had diarrhea going on. Now I know that’s an “unmentionable” but hey we all deal with it at some point in our lives and I certainly did Sunday night. I was pretty much alternating between throwing up and having things come out the other end.
Then we reached the inevitable moment when they both happened at the same time. I was not prepared for this. I ran in to the bathroom and barely made it in time to hurl. As I knelt before the porcelain throne, I felt things going on down below but there was nothing I could do to stop it. When all was said and done, I peeled off my soiled lower garments and tossed them in the trash. You know those scenes in rape moves when the girl curls up the hot shower and never wants to leave because she feels so dirty? That’s what I wanted to do. Just curl up in the shower and die.
I tried to sleep in between bathroom trips but I was so achy and feverish, it was hard to get comfortable. Finally I dozed off around midnight when everything seemed to settle down but it was a restless sleep. I finally got up around 7am and went downstairs for some juice and to try nibbling on a graham cracker. I was able to keep that down.
I didn’t want to spend too much time around Isabella because I didn’t want her to get it. We weren’t sure if her incident on Saturday night was due to the flu as well or just eating something that didn’t settle but I wasn’t about to take any chances. So I spent the morning in our bedroom, either sleeping or reading. She did come up and visit, bringing me some stuffed animals for company and asked if I wanted a smooch.
Of course I did! She gave me one on the forehead and I’m just sure that was what helped me turn the corner. I went down for a lunch of toast and to watch a bit of TV while Munchkin napped. Then I went back upstairs and had an afternoon nap myself.
The stomach/bowel issues have stopped and I’m slowly working regular meals back in. I wrestled with staying home from work again today. I’ve never been one to NOT feel guilty about it. Even in school I would tell my mom I was ok to go when clearly I wasn’t. I feel like I’m letting everyone down. But at the same time, I know it’s not good to go back too soon and risk getting worse again. Plus I don’t want to infect anyone in the office. So I’m staying put again today. Hopefully with a few more naps and some decent food I’ll be good as new tomorrow.
On the upside to this whole thing, I probably needed to slow down in life a bit and this was God’s way of forcing it. Plus I got caught up on all my DVRed shows. And I lost 3 pounds. But on the downside, this was the most miserable 24 hours of my life. From what I hear, this nasty thing is going around so whatever you do, channel your inner OCD self and sanitize!! May you all stay healthy!!
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