Sick Ward

Despite all of our efforts and worry, over the weekend the flu claimed a second casualty in our house. Saturday morning I began to fret when Timmy didn't wake me up at our usual time. While I would typically enjoy the gift of sleeping in, I suspected that something more sinister was at play. With Robby dealing with the triple whammy of the flu, ear infections and strep throat, I worried that it was just a matter of time before Timmy was infected.  Unfortunately I was right. When I checked on him I discovered a hot and lethargic little boy.  

I packed him up to head to the doctor when he began to cough and gasp in his car seat. Hearing him wheeze and struggling to breath scared me, so I immediately changed course and headed for the Emergency Room. As soon as I walked through the doors carrying my limp and gasping little bundle we were ushered into the exam rooms. It didn't take long for the diagnosis of the flu to be confirmed. 

With Timmy's compromised immune system, the diagnosis of the flu put us into a full blown panic. We were told to monitor him at all times and to return to the emergency room if his color changed or his breathing became labored. Hearing the discharge information was anything but reassuring! 

Scott spent Saturday afternoon driving from pharmacy to pharmacy in the quest to fill Timmy's prescription. With the flu at epidemic proportions in our area, we felt like we hit the lottery when we finally located the Tamiflu liquid. To his credit, I had no doubts that Scott would have driven across the country to locate the medication if he thought it would help. 
  
With the medication secured, we spent the weekend alternating our attention between the kids. He sat with Robby while I held Timmy and then we switched. We opted to turn our living room into a makeshift hospital room for Timmy. We set up his inflatable toddler bed and blew up the air mattress for me so that I could stay close. (We decided to stay in the living room because I thought it would be easier to transition onto the sofa if Timmy needed to be upright during the night.)

It is hard having a sick child. It is doubly difficult when you are trying to nurse two back to health. Scott and I are both feeling worn down but so far neither of us have come down with the flu. Hopefully we will emerged unscathed from the flu plague. 

I want to extend a heart felt thank you to the staff at Prince William Hospital in Haymarket and to Children's Hospital in Fairfax, VA. The doctors and nurses have been attentive, kind and extremely caring throughout our ordeal.