More sickness? Really?!

So because we haven't had enough drama lately Voltorb decided Saturday to come down with some leaking eye problem.  Ok, so it wasn't his choosing.  Most definitely not.  He is the worst of all 4 of them for tolerating medicine, basically he just doesn't.  

Today is Wednesday.  3 weeks ago today was when I first noticed Oshawott's rash.  It's been 21 days, and out of that 21 days, only 4 days of that have been Doctor free days.  

Voltorb asked me why he kept having a tear on Saturday, just from one eye.  I didn't think much of it at the time, just that he might have gotten some dust in it during his soccer game that morning.  Tears around here are certainly not an unusual occurrence.  Coder often jokes about when the day will come that we will have a crying free day.  8 and a half years and counting so far...

On Sunday Oshawott had his party (which I will write about soon), and Voltorb's eye was still leaking and now was red underneath.  Apart from being annoyed at needing to constantly wipe his eye with a tissue it didn't bother him at all.  Later that day we visited the chemist for some advice.  He thought it looked possibly like an allergic reaction, yet it was odd that it was only affecting one eye.  That'd be right I thought, we seem to often have odd things in this family when we get sick.  Whooping cough, Scarlet Fever, Pneumonia 3 times, infection in newborn (another story for another day).

His eye was a bit red and had a small amount of yukkiness so we also considered conjunctivitis and took home some drops.  Just in case it was conjunctivitis he stayed home from school Monday and we went off to the Doctor.  He just thought it was viral and said to continue with the drops.  

By Tuesday afternoon the redness was still there, his eye was slightly swollen, his appetite was poor and his temperature was 40!  I rang Health Direct and went through the symptoms with them, they suggested taking him to the after hours Doctor, or the ER.  Fun fun fun.  I quickly finished making a delicious risotto (tickets on myself? why yes!) and off we went to the Doctor.  

In the waiting room, worried because hates medicine.

Doc was very thorough, checking out all possible causes, and asking alot of questions.  I had a little bit of trouble understanding the explanation, but in layman's terms, he got a 'bug' and it decided to infect his eye and the skin around it.

Voltorb is now taking anti-biotics and we have to keep the fever down, so that means paracetamol and nurofen 24/7.  Three different kinds of medicine? Voltorb's worse nightmare.  Four times a day I have to mix each medicine in nesquik-laced milk, so much so, now I worry about diabetes!

He has opted to lie down with a face washer on his head rather then have the other medicine.  Luckily this has worked, otherwise mean Mummy would re-surface and administer pain via sugary drink.  

He also has to have 2 more days home from school, which he is not happy about either!  So overall, a pretty terrible week for him. 

Related:
Scarlet Fever, part 1
Scarlet Fever, part 2
Scarlet Fever, part 3
Scarlet Fever, part 4
Scarlet Fever, conclusion

50 shades of "green"

Takes a bit to take me down, like an elephant. Mainly because I just can't stop, the boys still need to be cared for, clothed, fed and taxi'd around.  I also have a high pain threshold, which was conveyed to my parents when I was little, after I think, the operation that removed my tonsils.  


Since then it has definitely been proven time and time again.  I fell off a hammock once, at a friends house, landing on broken glass, don't ask me why there was broken glass under the hammock...  I had glass stuck in my knee.  The parents pulled it out and bandaged me up, no worries.  I was playing basketball once, standing on top of a garbage bin (as you do) and I turned to reach for the ball and fell chin first onto concrete.  Blood pouring out of my chin I calmly walked inside to show Mum, off to the doctors for stitches we go!


Then there was the time my (lovely) older sisters dropped a train sleeper on my foot.  I can't remember all of the details, I try to block out those years because they were so evil to me! No really, I'm kidding (mostly). I think I was skating.  I don't know why they did it, or perhaps it was an accident? I do remember I got to sit inside with my foot elevated with ice on it. 


I broke my leg skiing when I was 14.  I was racing my older cousin down The Playground at Fall's Creek (and winning mind you!). The snow coverage that year was less then desirable and one tiny patch of grass was my undoing.  Imagine a cartoon where someone tumbles down a hill collecting snow as they go, that was me.  Though when I stopped my leg was in a rather unnatural position.  The ski was stuck upright in the snow and still attached to my boot and therefore my leg.  I didn't scream or cry, I just said "My Leg, my leg.." so the first skiers on the scene would remove it from the snow and lay it back down the right way.  I got to ride behind a ski doo in one of those capsule like things, and then hanging in it under the chairlift.  To top it off, an ambulance ride down the mountain to Mt Beauty hospital.


I have had four babies, naturally.  Big boys too.  My first labour I was holding off asking for any pain relief.  I didn't want to be a sook.  I figured it would get a whole lot worse, so I had better wait.  Well it didn't, and he was born rather quickly for a first baby, 3 and a half hours.  9lb 9.  


But yesterday the flu hit me hard.  Legoman has had it all week, so I knew someone else would get it, if not all of us.  I tried to keep him away from the other boys, the last thing we need is Oshawott sick.  But it's hard to keep one person isolated in such a small house, can't wait until we get our extensions started.


So yesterday I had to drop Voltorb to school, then Oshawott to his 'Grasshoppers'.  We then went to the shops to grab a few things before picking him up again a couple of hours later.  I had a fever, could feel my face burning up.  I ordered my usual coffee and couldn't drink it, and managed just a few mouthfuls of muffin.  A friend met us there, it's our Friday morning ritual.  Some days there are 6 mums, some days it's just me, depending on schedules.  


She could see I was suffering and offered to pick Voltorb up from school so we wouldn't have to go out again.  I normally would argue that I was ok, I could do it, blah blah.  But I didn't.  I was exhausted.


After getting Oshawott we went home, the older boys watched a movie and Pichu had a nap.  I lay down and slept on and off for an hour and a half.  By 4 o'clock, my temp was 39.7, even after taking panadol an hour before that.  All I could do was lay in bed, face washer on my head.  I did have to get up sometimes, with 3 boys in the house, it's impossible not to.  Legoman was a help, getting up in place of me sometimes.  Oshawott became very self sufficient, getting his own snacks and water.  Pichu became very good at getting into mischief and coming in acting really guilty.


He brought in a custard sachet, he wanted me to feed him with a spoon. I just couldn't get up, so he stood near the bed and I just squirted it into his mouth.  Parenting at it's finest.  They were good mostly, just sitting in bed with me.  There was just the rice spilled on the kitchen floor and the parmasen cheese all over the lounge chair.  

I'm feeling better this morning, just a bit green around the gills.  But if Legoman is anything to go by, it's not over yet.  He still had a temp last night, on day 5.  So I'm crossing everything that the others don't get it, as we  have visitors arriving Wednesday!