When It Rains...

it pours. And in my case, it torrnados. Things have been a mess. Let me elaborate...

October 15th:
- While having a meeting with E's Regional Center case worker, I notice she has discharge coming from her right ear. I mention it to D when he gets home. Since she had a nasty cold the week before, we are suspicious she has an ear infection coming on. We decide to call the triage line and they say to just call the next morning for a doctor appointment and not to worry too much.

October 16th:
- Now both of her ears are starting to ooze and I spend from 8:00am- 4:30pm trying to have her seen by ANYONE that will take her and just keep being told there nothing until tomorrow. As soon as D gets home from work and can stay home with the other three kids, I call work and tell them what has been going on and set off to the e.r. with her because the discharge is green and increasing in amount. After wasting six long hours at the e.r., they try telling me it is just a viral infection and send us on our way. I am so mad that I could literally punch someone in the face (preferably the "doctor").

October 17th:
- I have an appointment already set for E, but am out of diapers, wipes, and formula and D has a duty weekend so he is at work. So I am forced to go to Target with all four kids and buy what I needed with my discount. The discharge is now on a constant stream out of both ears and she is spiking a fever and I am dragging this poor baby around town with me. I feel like a monster and D meets me at the hospital right as she is being seen by the doctor. No surprise, she has a double ear infection and they put her on oral and ear drop antibiotics. I hate the e.r. at Balboa. We spend the next two weeks fighting this ear infection off. And just as we think have jumped that hurtle and are doing good...

October 29th:
- It is 10:00pm and I can hear one of the kids breathing really hard. When I inspect, it is G and she is pulling a little hard breathing. I say a prayer that she will be brought to me if something is wrong. Ten minutes later, she is in my room and she is burning up. I give her tylenol and motrin combined to douse the fever down and keep her in my bed to keep an eye on her.

October 30th:
- By 6:00 am, G is so feverish that she is shaking too hard to hold her sippy cup of ice water. I repeat the tylenol/motrin and call medical as fast as possible. By this point, she has a 103 temp, coughing, difficulty breathing, snotty nose, and shaking and chills. They get her in within an hour and a half at a remote clinic and we get over there asap. Once seeing her, they take samples for their rapid flu test and line our whole family up (everyone except D was there) and start administering flu shots, both kinds. So, E and Z each get two shots a piece and M and I get flu mist and one shot each. G isn't vaccinated because she is sick and when the test results come back, they say she has H1N1. Yeah, that's right, H1N1. Because of E's immune problems, there is a decision made to treat her with Tamiflu along with G as a precaution. So, I call D and he heads over to medical to be tested in case there is any sign at all he has it. His is negative and there is no vaccine at the clinic yet, so they tell him "don't catch it". LOL! Seriously? Don't catch it? I had no idea it was so easy! Nerds. Anyway, we head over to the Balboa hospital pharmacy and they expedite us after I get ugly about my feverish three year old. I even had to strip her down right there because of how hot she was getting and it worked. They got those meds in record time! We head home to try dealing with the situation.

October 31st:
- G stays home with D while I take the other three to Trunk or Treat at church. I find someone who can take M trick or treating since I have work and D has to be home with the other three kids. G improves slowly as she takes her Tamiflu.

November 1st:
- D takes M, E, and Z to church while I stay home with G and I get ready for work. After everyone is home, I head off to work for my 5:30-9:15 shift. By 6:30, I get a call at work from D that M has a fever of over 102.7 degrees. I am sent straight home once I tell them what is going on and I take her to the Balboa e.r. as soon as I get home. I had D give her fever reducers, so she is actually doing okay when I get her there. We then sit in the e.r. for over five hours and her fever climbs and climbs until I get angry and they take her back. She has full body chills, is coughing, nauseous, and looks miserable. They run a chest x-ray to rule out anything big and when it comes back clean, they send us home without a single flu test or medicine. I'm am spitting fireballs I am so angry.

November 2nd:
- I get M into a "real" doctor and she gives her Tamiflu. Target calls me and lets me know that they have a special policy on families with H1N1 where I don't have to come to work and they will still pay me for my missed shifts. I cried.

November 4th:
- I get a call that D is in the hospital for reasons I won't get into, but it means I am on my own with the kids... and Z is getting a fever. By 11:00 pm, Z's tempurature is 103* and I am on my own with all four kids and no way to get him to a hospital. My kids are all still very contagious so no one can or should come help me with the kids. So I call a friend that I know is up that late, usually from her hours at Target, and she calms me down and tells me ideas to lower his temp. I get a washcloth and wet it with cool water. I wipe Z down for quite some time while I wait for the Tylenol to take affect again until he is cooled down and calm. By the time I go to bed, it is well past 1:00 am.

November 5th:
- I am up by 6:00 am. I get my whole brood to the doctor for Z to be seen and they have to put us in an isolation room so that we aren't around the waiting room area people. I am really feeling like a lepper at this point. The corpman takes three samples from Z's nose and when the results come back, he has H1N1, RSV, and she finds an ear infection. He is really sick. I fill her in on our situation with the three confirmed flu kids and my husband being in the hospital as well and she asks if I will be able to keep going. I am in survival mode and tell her I am going to be just fine. We go to the pharmacy and I again am able to get the meds expedited and go straight home. One friend takes my money and grocery list and buys all my food for the next two weeks and another friend comes over wearing a face mask and gloves and helps me put my groceries away and get a sanitation station set up outside my front door and inside my house. Again, I feel like I am the island of the leppers. Sucks to be me.

November 6th:
- I am surviving. I have been unable so far to even so much as cry, but I have been laughing. Laughing. So weird. I am so weird. I guess whatever gets you through being on house arrest with four sick children and an absent spouse, is going to have to do. I have to say that I have received some serious love and support during this time and so has D. Even though no one can actually come here to help because of the contagiousness and all, certain people have still been so supportive and helpful and concerned. People are even spending visiting hours with D since I can't. All in all, I am in a super scary and crappy situation surrounded by love and support (from a safe distance of course LOL). I guess all in all "this too shall pass". We just need prayers and faith and we will be okay. mantra- we will be okay, we will be okay, we will be okay... ;)