When Mom Gets Sick

In my household, Mom is the caregiver. Mom takes the kids to most of the therapists and doctors. Dad is awesome and steps in when he has a day off, but in general, it's mom. There's always so much to do in our house. Just keeping up with the 3 kids is challenging enough, then add chores, school, appointments (I forgot to take the Skink to a follow-up to her ear tube surgery last week) and whatever else.

Normally when I get sick, I can still function enough to handle my usual mom-duties. Unless, that is, I happen to come down with the dreaded stomach virus!

I had something called a pyloric stenosis when I was born. Basically the opening at the bottom of the stomach isn't very open, and puts a "Return to Sender" label on all the food. I had surgery at 1 week of age to correct it. It worked, but whenever I get a stomach virus, the scar tissue causes the muscles in that area to freak out. We're talking a seemingly unending cycle of charlie-horses in the stomach muscles, galloping out of control.

I try to avoid getting the stomach virus.

On Friday night, The Skink (who also had a pyloric stenosis repaired at the same time she had her g-button inserted) apparently quietly vomited in her bed and happily went back to sleep. The evidence presented itself when we got her up in the morning. She was in a great mood, so we just figured maybe it was post-nasal drip related.

It wasn't.

Fast forward to early Monday morning - we're talking, just-barely-waited-until-Mother's Day-was-over-12:15 A.M.-early. It began.

The by the time my hubby's alarm went off at 3:15 A.M., I knew this wasn't a *mild* case of stomach virus and begged him to stay home. By 7:30 he was driving me to the hospital with my bucket in hand. Poor Iraq started vomiting about 3 hours after I did. With a sick kiddo and two more that needed to get off to school, my hubby dropped me off at the ER entrance and left.

I was super lucky - the ER was virtually empty. I was to the point where I was really dehydrated and craved a drink so badly it hurt. On the other hand, there were a lot of other things that would hurt even worse if I did. As I sat and waited to be taken back, I couldn't help feeling it was a cruel joke that the name called before mine was "Waters."

So I was taken back, plugged in to enough equipment to make me look half cyborg, and given over 2 liters of fluids plus meds and potassium. Just as I was starting to feel less ill, the ER gurney began to haunt my 17-year-old back injury. See On-line book, Ch. 5: What Back-Breaking Work Martyrdom Is!

Something very similar happened when I was pregnant with my 3rd child. I had pre-eclampsia as it was, but my back couldn't take the hospital bed and sent my blood pressure skyrocketing. Luckily for me, my best bud in TX just happens to be a chiropractor... talk about room service! No such luck here in Virginia. I didn't have anyone to call to come adjust me, and when I asked the nurse if I could get up and move around, she took one look at my blood pressure and told me I shouldn't move! Aaahhhhhhgggghhhhh!

I got this lovely shot with my cellphone camera. Yes - you read that right. 184 over 104. Normal is about 120 over 75-ish and anything over 140 over 90 is BAD! LOL! I've always been a bit of an over-achiever.

The doctor was called in and I told him what was going on. Within minutes I was shot full of sedative and painkiller. The next thing I remember, it was about 4 hours later. I called the nurse and told her I didn't have time to be in the ER and needed to get home to my kids (I may have been a little dopey still).

All in all, I spent 9 hours in the ER. When my hubby came to pick me up, he had his own bucket in hand. Poor thing got the bug just hours after dropping me off.

These are the times having a 15-year-old around the house comes in very handy! Broadway stepped right up and took over. He fed The Skink and kept an eye on her. He took care of all his daily chores, and most of mine. He made sure we all had what we needed and he never complained once!

I'm happy to report we are all doing much better now! I have still had nothing but crackers, chicken broth and ginger ail, but my blood pressure is way down! Iraq is feeling better too. Unfortunately she couldn't take her medication for the last 2 days, and her anxiety level and OCD behaviors are up a bit, but she should be back at school tomorrow.

And The Skink... she is enjoying the two new beanie baby cows I ordered on Amazon.com. I got her another of the black and white "Daisy" cows that she already had plus a "Bessie" the brown & white cow. Tonight she went to bed surrounded by the entire herd, with Bessie in her arms. I said "I love you!" and she simply replied...  "Moo."