A Plague Descends Upon Our Home

There we were in the waiting room of the urgent care clinic on Sunday. All four of us were there, in our pajamas, paper masks on our faces, trying not to infect any other patients. The receptionist seemed a little surprised that all of needed to be seen right away.

When we were finally called in, Nick went with Greg and Henry went with me.  We were only together at the end, when the diagnoses were given. Our verdicts?

Me: severe bronchitis, sinus infection with bad drainage, and my left ear is close to an infection
Henry: sinus infection, ear infection, and a nasty cough that hadn't quite turned into bronchitis
Greg: bronchitis
Nick: bronchitis that is so bad it's nearing pneumonia

All of us have been feeling absolutely miserable since Saturday, and the doctor's confirmation merely told us what we already knew. We dropped off all seven of our prescriptions at the Walgreens, then headed out to Red Robin for lunch while we waited.

Our smiles belie our true physiological state.

Henry was happy so long as the french fries kept coming. His attitude has been better, comparatively, through this whole illness. I guess he's used to having a runny nose. Nick, however, has been very sick. He has wanted to snuggle, sit in my lap, have me rub his back, and even hold his hand. I'm glad I could do this for him.

We picked up our $120 worth of prescriptions and it was then that I realized Nick had been given an oral steroid. While I do understand the necessity of such a drug, I greatly feared the consequences. Nick has turned into a veritable whirlwind of energy and hunger. I spent Monday moaning, coughing, and wheezing while trying to keep Nick's excessive energy under control. I found some window crayons lying around, and the boys spent over an hour decorating them. This enabled me to sit on the couch resting while occasionally yelling out warnings not to fight.

Yes, I'm aware that it looks like he drew a giant penis on the window. It was really a picture of Henry drawn on top of a little spiral. Also, we haven't been dressed since Saturday. Pajamas are the outfit of the week. Oh, and lots of hot showers with special baby vapor wash.

I'm not usually one for whining on my blog, but we are all wallowing in self-pity and snot right about now. I cannot remember ever having called in sick to work three days in a row, but I will be doing so momentarily. It took me forty minutes to find the energy to get up and feed my kids dinner. I'm hoping one more day of rest (plus one more day of antibiotics) helps us all feel more human.