Ugh … the evil virus is upon us
We have been doing the whole stomach virus thing now for going on three days. Ugh. I just hate it when the kids get sick, but especially with something so vile as a stomach virus. You just feel so helpless.
It all started early Thursday morning, when Molly and Jamie started throwing up around 4:30 a.m. What a couple of troopers they are. They didn’t even wake us up until 6-something. Maggie, who seems to have gotten the worst of it, started hurling around 9 a.m.
Shortly afterward, Penny followed suit. She kept comforting Maggie throughout the day, who was moaning with stomach cramps, even though Penny felt just as bad. Finally, around 4 p.m., Penny collapsed into the bed and went to sleep.
On the way home, I picked up some Pedia-pops (the colored fruity-freezer pops that put back electrolytes and stuff) and some jello. When I arrived, I could tell everyone was just completely wiped out. Molly had stopped throwing up, Penny was dead in the bed and Maggie just felt awful and exhausted. Penny stirred enough to tell me that she couldn’t comfort Maggie any more and that I was up to bat.
Both Molly and Maggie had gotten into our bed with Penny for comfort. I sat in a chair next to the bed and offered occasional sympathy, support and a retching bowl. Maggie kept asking if the freezer pops were ready. I told her they probably wouldn’t be ready until Friday, since I had just put them in the freezer an hour or so before. She finally went to sleep. During the evening, Penny had to get up several times to purge.
By late Thursday evening, Jamie seemed to be feeling better and was offered a cheeseburger that Sadie brought home after work. Bad idea, I told him. He wasn’t ready for it. Did he listen to the wisdom of his dear father? Well, he IS a 14-year-old boy. He ate it anyway.
Yep, it came back. Sorry, son.
By midnight, Penny, Molly and Maggie had finally all gone to sleep on our bed, so I decided to sleep on the couch, hoping to avoid catching the worst of the virus.
After that grueling Thursday, things seemed to be improve Friday. I went to work again, but then started to feel a bit queasy around 12:30 p.m. so I decided to leave early. I drove home with the window down and kept my face in the breeze, kind of like a dog, which made me feel better.
When I got home, I found out both Molly and Maggie had managed to keep some jello and Pedia-pops down (yes, they were finally frozen!) They certainly seemed a lot more alert. They even ate some chicken noodle soup for lunch.
Penny was in bed, still wiped out from all the fun on Thursday. Jamie told me that he hadn’t thrown up any more past number 21 (he was keeping count, apparently, of every huck and gag.) Since I was feeling a bit better, I started to clean up a bit around the house. Sadie and Kate, so far, were unscathed by the virus. By the end of the day Friday, while everyone was still tired, it appeared that the worst was past.
Today, however, both Molly and Maggie are feeling rotten again. No one has thrown up, but Molly says her “stomach just feels weird” and has had more diarrhea. Maggie has been moaning off and on with a belly ache that seems to come in waves. Maggie is also running a slight fever. Penny has felt better, it seems, but my stomach has been going from feeling nauseous to cramping.
There just isn’t anything worse.
