bodily fluids

DISCLAIMER:
If discourse on puke, poop and/or the combination of the two make you ill, DO NOT READ ON. i'm serious. i am in a no-holds-barred kind of mood.
If discussions on self pity and pathetic Mommy whining turn you off, this is my blob, i mean blog - go away - come back later.

two of my three kids have been sick. One, Sam has run a low grade fever for TWO WEEKS. which means NO SCHOOL. and she is my special needs child. with behaviour issues. and in case i have not mentioned it before (a thousand times) - a fever makes her meaner than a two headed snake with one frog. OMG!!!

we think she has sinus infection. Ear, Nose and Throat Dr tells us to irrigate her sinuses. YOU irrigate her sinuses lady. not me. been there. done that, got the bite marks and bruises to prove it. was going to take her into the office yesterday so they could flush and suck out her sinuses. now doesn't that sound like fun??? but she woke up puking and we decided to put it off till Monday. who ever thought puking would be a really good thing? at least for her.

two, my son, smith has had rota virus. a gastrointestinal disturbance of epic proportions. this basically means that any - and I DO MEAN ANY - fluids or solids you get into him will come out of him - one way or another - by force - immediately, in most cases.

get this - apple juice in the mouth - a sippy cup full. within 30 minutes or less - it has come out the bottom. i have only seen this once before. when i was a little girl and we got those dolls that actually 'drank' bottles and the 'waste' came out the bottom within seconds. yeah, it was just like that.

i have been puked on. peed on. pooped on - once up my sleeve when i was changing him. it got so bad that i would change his diapers and wrap a towel around him so when he did 'go' AGAIN and it dripped out his diaper i wouldn't get as much on me.

my hands are chapped from continuous, frequent and vigorous washings.

every sheet and towel in my house has been washed at least twice this week. and i have a butt-load of sheets and towels.

even spent six hours at the ER on Wednesday to get him IV fluids. As he sat on my lap during triage, i tell the nurse he is lethargic. "Oh this is not lethargic." she says condescendingly. I think to myself - "Lady, he is not holler'n and swinging from the curtains as he usually does. TRUST ME, THIS is lethargic for my child." He literally did not allow me to put him down for three days. yes, i took baths with him and went to the potty with him on my lap. adds new meaning to Mommyitus.

he awoke mean and hungry this morning. always a good sign. but i swear to you he has lost at least 5 pounds - and that's a lot for a three year old that weighs 32 pounds or so... he resembles a child you might see on the Feed The Children posters. and he is weak. he looks like a drunk man when he walks. wobbling from side to side.

but he ate applesauce this morning and few nibbles of crackers and some pedialite. and so far has kept it all.

the pediatrician called (I love this woman!) and she wants to see him this afternoon. so off we go.

and it's the weekend soon. i am sending the healthy one off to the in-laws.
my dad has been here to help. been up with me every night and cleaned up as much puke and poop as i've had splattered on me. one night i slept in the recliner to take care of Smith. my daddy slept on the couch near by to take care of me.

yes, 'mam. could've been worse. could've been a lot worse.


POST NOTE:
i came home this evening from the pediatrician and had a few comments. you folks are just great. but as i reread this entry - it really did not do justice to the week i have had. and it could have been worse. if my dad had not been here - i would have died.

the pediatritian - TODAY - when my son was on the upswing seriously considered admitting him overnight to the hospital. he looks that bad. and if you're wondering why i took him to the ER on Wednesday and the ped on friday - you should know that she is closed on thursday.

he demanded a Happy Meal as we left her office. i drove directly to Mickey D's. he ate half of it. He has been sipping and nibbling ever since. and all of it - so far has stayed on the inside of him as expected.

i cannot express in words how much i love and adore my children. as maddening as they can be - it is quite a wake up call when you have one this sick. my heart goes out to the parents of those children that never will get well.

he just vomited again. more later....