H1N1 is a fancy word for swine.
That’s how I explained it to Joel, who was diagnosed with the outlaw virus earlier today.
A medical assistant swabbed his button nose for germies and found some. The germs said oink and earned us an escort out the pediatrician’s side door.
Meanwhile, at home, Tommy languished with his own fever and body aches. He was given the same diagnosis, sight unseen because the boys spent the weekend huddled together, twins in misery. The only reason Joel was seen was because he had his six-year well child checkup today. There wasn’t much well to find, unfortunately.
In typical Joel fashion, he managed to have an amusing exchange with the medical assistant:
Joel: When I grow up, I am going to be a doctor.
MA: Oh, that’s nice. I have a 10th grader and she still doesn’t know what she wants to be. She changes her mind every day.
Joel: Maybe she can do all the jobs she likes. She can go to one job then to the other job, then the next day she can go to a different job.
MA: Maybe.
Joel: Or, she could be a cowboy.
MA: (laughs) Cowgirl?
Joel: Or? She could be one of those people who serves beer. A bartender.
The two boys spent the weekend napping, crying, watching DVDs. The body aches and fever were unbearable, especially for Joel. He hosted 104.9 degree body heat for much of Sunday’s pre-dawn hours and I felt wretched for him. His little shoulders hurt like someone was squeezing them. Ibuprophen and Tylenol helped a little. When he was so, so sad and couldn’t understand what was happening to him, I told him this truth:
Your body has a war inside, with your good germs fighting some bad germs. The war is what is making you feel so terrible right now, but it will be over and your good germs are going to win.
He nodded. The cold washcloth on his head slid off. I put it back. It slid off when he shifted. I put it back. It slid off. I put it back.
The days were easier. Their fevers weren’t so high and they had vintage Goofy cartoons to make them laugh. I let Tommy play games on my iPhone. He also took some pictures of Joel, which I didn’t know about until I was playing with my phone today.
They are on the mend. I think they will be back to school by Wednesday if they have a good, fever-free day tomorrow.
I hope I don’t have to explain what swine means to anyone else.
🙁
So sorry your boys got the dreaded virus. Really hope they feel better soon!
.-= Megan´s last blog ..Mommy Madness in St. Louis =-.
Oh dear! Poor boys, I hope they feel better soon.
I feel so bad for your boys! One of the hardest things about parenting is seeing them so sick and being powerless to make it better. Hoping they have a much better day tomorrow!
.-= Shayne´s last blog ..Me (Post-Workout) =-.
Your poor boys! Hope they are feeling better soon, and I’m glad their bodies were able to fight off the germs from developing into anything more serious.
(PS: thank you for your thoughtful words. Thank you, thank you.)
.-= Stephanie´s last blog ..Week 277: Grandma =-.
Oh get better soon, poor guys – poor you! Lots of love.
.-= se7en´s last blog ..This Week (12 October) At Se7en… =-.
Your poor boys! I hope everybody’s on the mend soon!
.-= Sarah @ BecomingSarah.com´s last blog ..Sarah the Milk Goddess. Not the Sleep Goddess. =-.
Eeeeeee!!! Don’t let any hog farmers hear you say those words! They’ll practically draw and quarter you for using “swine” instead of “H1N1” around here, because people will stop buying pork! However, it seems appropriate for how they feel, to call it that, poor things! Praying for you all!
.-= Chrissy Rudd´s last blog ..Making up for being a bad mommy. =-.
Oh precious ones. Hope that’s the last of the oink in your family!
Steph
.-= Adventures In Babywearing´s last blog ..Babywearing Triathlon: Meet Sara Sophia =-.
Sweet boys. I hope they feel better soon!
.-= Kristin´s last blog ..Saying Goodbye =-.
So so sorry you’ve been hit with the nasty bug… praying that everyone else in your house stays swine free…
.-= Jill´s last blog ..Normal day… =-.
Oh no! I hope they get better soon!! (I know this comment sounds cliche, and if I had your handy list of possible responses, maybe I could have used one of those…) 🙂
.-= The Casual Perfectionist´s last blog ..The preschooler is starting to know too much. =-.
Swine flu stinks. I’m so sorry you’ve got a whiff over there. Poor boys. I’m relieved to hear they are getting over it quickly.
Poor sweeties.
.-= Heth´s last blog ..Another Photo Post. Surprised? =-.
Yikes!
Praying for the boys, hope they are doing better.
.-= Sara Joy´s last blog ..Soundtrack =-.