Swine Flu at-a-glance

Here is how we have spent most of the last two weeks (and this is at the tail end, so this is much prettier than what it looked like MOST of the time):

Thank goodness for Dalton, a good buddy dropped off a cool new book, that he read in one day. Again, by this picture he is almost better. The first few days you couldn't get him out of the fetal position.

Garrett really likes to hand you things. It's his new thing. He will walk around the house, picking random things up, and then running to deliver his urgent package to the nearest person. We bought ourselves fifteen minute increments of peace, by letting him deliver stacks of Dalton's Pokemon cards. Of course, the clean up was torturous. But those fifteen minutes were priceless.

Being sick sucks.

Day 1 Wednesday:
Dalton-102.5 fever, severe headache, chills
Shelby-
Garrett-
Mom-
Dad-
*Doctor diagnoses as "possible Swine Flu" for Dalton with no test.

Day 2 Thursday:
Dalton-Fever, headache, chills, stomachache, sore throat
Shelby-
Garrett
Mom-
Dad-

Day 3 Friday:
Dalton-fever down, severe dry cough, sore throat, lethargic
Shelby-
Garrett-
Mom-
Dad-

Day 4 Saturday:
Dalton-warm, cough, sore throat,
Shelby-slightly lethargic, glossy eyed
Garrett-
Mom-tired
Dad-

Day 5 Sunday:
Dalton-warm, cough, sore throat
Shelby-Fever, cough, sore throat, headache
Garrett-
Mom-warm, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills
Dad-

Day 6 Monday:
Dalton-warm, cough, sore throat
Shelby-fever, vomited, sore throat, dry cough, aches
Garrett-
Mom-warm, severe body aches, chills, fatigue, sore throat, cough
Dad-

Day 7 Tuesday:
Dalton-warm, cough, sore throat
Shelby-sore throat, dry cough, night fever
Garrett-cough, warm
Mom-sore throat, cough, slight body aches
Dad-cough, body aches, chills, fatigue

Day 8 Wednesday:
Dalton-dry cough, sore throat, fatigue
Shelby-103 fever, sore throat, dry cough, fatigue, loss of appetite
Garrett-103 fever, sore throat, cough, fatigue, body pain
Mom-fatigue, sore throat, dry cough
Dad-cough, severe body aches, chills, fatigue, sore throat
*Doctor prescribes Tamiflu for Garrett and Gavin. Both begin twice daily five day regimen.

Night: Baby wakes up hot and miserable. Can't get comfortable. Maybe has aches? In bed with me. Waking every twenty minutes. Won't be comforted or soothed by bottle. Cries in sleep. Is given Tylenol and then Motrin every four hours. Doesn't seem to get rid of the fever. He's just not as hot. At 3:00 AM he falls asleep watching Barney in my arms in the front room. Up again a few hours later.

Day 9 Thursday:
Dalton-still warm, still has cough, throat still hurts, does have more energy. Is bored. Wants to go back to school. Falls asleep twice during the day for a few hours of napping (which he NEVER does).
Shelby-103+ fever, severe dry cough, sore throat, lethargic, loss of appetite
Garrett-103+ fever, cough, lethargic, loss of appetite, discomfort, inability to nap, constant crying (day 2 of Tamiflu)
Mom-fatigue, sore throat, cough
Dad-fatigue, slight cough (day 2 of Tamiflu)

Night: Shelby slept through the night. So did Dalton. Baby was up. Motrin kept him asleep for a few hours.

Day 10 Friday:
Dalton-BETTER!
Shelby-103+ fever, dry cough,
Garrett-103+ fever, cough,
Mom-cough, sore throat
Dad-sore throat

*end of day: Dalton-better (yay), Shelby-coughing without a fever, Garrett-(day 3 of Tamiflu) went to bed without any fever, Mom-no more cough, minor sore throat, Dad-tired, no cough. Could this be the end of it for all of us? I am not holding my breath...but here's to hoping!

Night: Shelby coughed hard throughout the night, even though I gave her a cough suppressant. Baby had a high fever in the night and was up a few times. I EFFING HATE SWINE FLU!

Day 11 Saturday:
Dalton-complained of a stomach ache (but may be unrelated..due to eating too much cake last night).
Shelby-Fever at night, sore throat, cough becoming looser during day, cough worsens at night
Garrett-feverish, loss of appetite
Mom-tired (probably due to lack of sleep)
Dad-better, but tired

Night: All the kids went to bed SO late, because they have been napping in the day, until 4:30 or 5:00 PM. Shelby slept through the night with Tylenol Cold. Garrett had a fever. Woke up once and was crying. Could not be comforted. Had to turn on Barney. Fell back to sleep. Woke up at 7:00AM. Gavin gave him Motrin.

Day 12 Sunday:
Dalton-better
Shelby-mid-grade fever (101), lethargic, wet coughing, loss of appetite
Garrett-mid-grade fever (101), whiny, loss of appetite
Mom-better
Dad-better

Night:Garrett and Shelby in bed at 6:30 PM tonight! Shelby did not eat any lunch or dinner. The baby ate dinner after we gave him some Tylenol. Wonder if their throats are killing them, or if their stomachs hurt?

Day 13 Monday:
Well, I found out what was wrong with Shelby's stomach. At 5:00 AM she woke up vomiting. Nothing in her stomach but liquid. She immediately requested a tuna and tomato sandwich as soon as she had stopped throwing up. Good Lord..when is this over?
Dalton-better..but likes to throw out an occasional cough just to remind us that he is still part of the family
Shelby-104 fever, vomiting, lethargic
Garrett-104 fever, diarrhea, runny nose (he just finished his Tamiflu. Not sure that it did any good. He has pretty much been doped up since the day he caught this thing).
Mom-better, but oh so tired. Did I mention that Garrett was up at midnight, and 3:00 AM? With Shelby throwing up at 5:00 AM, I am so tired.
Gavin-better. Tired too. We need a vacation.

Day 14 Tuesday:
Dalton-better
Shelby-fever gone, occasional cough, irritability (or is that me?)
Garrett-mid-grade fever, runny nose, watery eyes
Mom-better (especially now that my last mid-term is out of the way!)
Dad-better

*Today was the best day yet! More people well than sick. Dalton got to play with his friends for the first time in two weeks. Yay! Shelby is bored to tears. No fever today for her. She is asleep with no coughing...the first time in forever. Baby is still doped up on Tylenol. He wasn't as hot today. Gavin, Dalton and I will cough occasionally. Wonder how long until we don't elicit gasps and stares from people? Hope Dalton has a good first day back at school tomorrow. It's like the first day all over again.

Day 15 Wednesday:

I really wanted to be able to report that it was over. OVER...OVER! But it's not.

Dalton-better...back at school and soccer practice.
Shelby-no fever, cough, ear infection, runny nose
Garrett-no fever, cough, runny nose
Mom-insane
Dad-insane

*Yep, that's right..the Swine Flu is on it's way out, leaving in it's wake secondary infections. Shelby just woke up with a raging ear ache. I was worried that her ear drum was going to burst during the night, so I took her to the all-night Kid's Care, which for some reason was not open tonight, Murphy's Law. So, she is doped up on Motrin. I am hoping she will survive the night. Can this be the end...please?

Day 15 Wednesday:

BETTER! Oh, how I love that word. An occasional cough here and there. Snotty noses from the little kids. But for the most part- BETTER. So happy to be healthy.