OK, I'm sick of this

Last weekend was a sick weekend, with Kiddo having an allergy/cold and J bing sick with food poisoning (or whatever it was) and that was a busy weekend of caring for my girls.  Monday and Tuesday were busy playing catch up on what I needed to do.  To top that off, the AQI (Air Quality Index) was super high.  In the 200s high.  Below 50 is considered passable AQI.  Under 30 is normal and good.  So, bad air is another slow down and concern in the area.

The week, therefore, was slow and I didn’t do much walking and tasking.  

Friday brought better air (84 on the AQI) that wasn’t great, but much better than the 220s-250s we were seeing.  So, I had plans to task.

Only hang up was that Kiddo wasn’t feeling well.  

I know, I know… Kiddo has allergies and a little asthma when that flares.  With bad air- Is it really unexpected?

NO!  And I can see your point.

However, it wasn’t that.  Kiddo woke me at 4am on Friday morning.  It was too quiet and dark in her room.  I restarted her sleep sounds (a white noise selection from Spotify) and turned her nightlights back on.  She complained about her tummy hurting and she’s done that before at night.  Usually, it’s a sip of water or a “let’s try to use to potty” type solution.  Kiddo said she got up to use the bathroom before she came to get me.  So, have a sip of water and nighty night.  She was yawning hard, so I thought I’d solved the problem.

Well, it was 04:35 before I got back to bed.  J’s alarm went off 25 minutes later.  That roused me.  Then, 15 minutes after that, J’s snooze alarm went off.  Then I heard her get up and leave the room to start her day.  Then, about 10 minutes after that, I heard Kiddo again.  It’s gonna be a grumpy/sleepy/tired child day.  Sigh!  But, for now, that’s Mumma’s problem.  She can do cereal and iPad and I’ll be up in an hour.  

Nope!

About 20 minutes later, I am woken by J.  Kiddo had thrown up, but was feeling better and resting.  So, It’s now 05:30ish and I’m getting up.  

It’s decided that Kiddo is not doing school and she can be my buddy today.  

08:30 and Kiddo wakes and comes out of her room.  She’s chipper.  Perky.  And, best of all… She is starving.  Her words, not mine.  Great.  One time weird thing.  She threw up, but whatever it is passed and it’ll be a Kiddo/Dada day.  Awesome.  

Cereal and iPad.  Blankets out of the wash, since that was started at 5:30ish and it’s now 8:30ish.  She’s happy and content and just chilling.  

After this, she wants to play.  So, we play.  She’s fine.  Do you want to run an errand with Dada, Kiddo?  She’s all in, as long as she gets to pick to outfit.  Fine by me and away we go.

I keep checking in.  How’s the stomach Kiddo?  Fine and fine.  Always fine.  Great.

We are two minutes into the errand when… Yup!  She losses it.  All over herself and her mask.  So, for the second time in my life (we had an incident when she was a baby when I needed to change and clean her head to toe after a diaper blowout) I’m stripping my kid down in public and trying my best to clean her and make her warm, safe, comfortable, and to just love her.  

The catch?

She looks at me and with complete sincerity, “You can just take me to a bathroom and clean me up, I feel better now.”

No Kiddo!  We’re going home.  We can rest. 

I felt so small taking her out and having her throw up in public.  Embarrassed, for her and me.  Embarrassed that I thought she was fine to do errands.  Worried.  Anxious.  Love for her and just wanting to take away the sickness.  Proud of her for rolling with it.  Love and pride that she was willing to suck it up and complete the errands.  I really felt everything for her and I wanted to hug her as hard as I could, I wanted to cry for her as well.  She is so brave and stoic sometimes.  From C-Diff to COVID to This, she’s always just accepted illness.  Alone and with J and myself, she can get whinny and sad and cry and hate it.  For Docs, in public, taking meds, and the rest of it, she accepts illness and does a great job to listen, accept, do, or provide info as needed.  I can’t tell you the pride and love for her that I feel for her in this.  How strong and brave she is.  How I’ve seen plenty of adults not handle illness that well and how Kiddo just accepts that she’s sick and she will get better.

Home we went and she complained of being “so tired”.  We got home and I gave her a quick shower.  Partly to clean her, but also to just relax her.  Some warm water, some quiet time at home, and then a nap.  She crashed for an hour.  Then, she was hungry again.

Nope!  I learned that lesson.  To 7-Eleven I go and I grab a Jello and Gatorade.  A quarter bottle of Gatorade and a jello later and she’s happy and content and “still a little hungry, but I don’t want to do Throwing Up again, so maybe I can have some snacks in a bit if I feel good.”  We played, but it was chill.  Sitting on the floor and just doing little things.  After an hour, she was tired again, so I offered her a show.  She was watching a show on the iPad in her room when she came out.  Stomach again.  Two and a half hours post food again.  It felt hurting, like a crampy feeling, from what she was describing.

Then it happened again.  All over the floor this time.  Again, I clean her up.  I give her some children’s pepto that we brought with us.  I get her settled and back to bed and her shows and she once again tells me she’s feeling better.  Then, I get to clean a floor and start another load of laundry.  

After that, we took it easy and just laid about not doing much.  Dinner was broth and a piece of toast.  She didn’t care for just broth and ate the toast.  Start the clock.  2.5 hours.  Wouldn’t you know it, 20:40ish (8:40pm) and she was out of her room complaining of her stomach again.  Lucky for us, no vomiting, but we did give her a little more Gatorade and some love.  She went down and stayed down until 04:30.  J got up with her.

It was sounds and lights again.  

At 08:00, I finally woke.  I got up and bumped into Lil Miss waking.  Her and I chilled.  I made coffee.  She had a few little sips of Gatorade.  We got J about 20 minutes later.  A little cereal was what she asked for and so we gave.  So far we are 3+ hours and she’s lethargic and slow, but doesn’t seem like her stomach is bugging her, so tonight we will have chicken and taters and just a light meal that is stomach friendly.  Thankfully, due to my health concerns and diverticulitis and the colostomy I had for 6 months back in 2018/2019, I still have a list of meals and items that are easy on the stomach for situations like nausea or stomach pain.  So, it will be a light meal weekend and we can just keep our eyes on her.

Poor Kiddo!

Feeling better, though and such a trooper.  She is so brave, she is so selfless, she is so much her.  Even in retelling the story, I feel like I want to cry for her.  For her illness.  Strength.  Bravery.  For being so much and for being so absolutely her.

Let’s go, Kiddo… Yesterday was a bad and sick day.  Today, let’s make it a day of love and putting up Valentine’s Day hearts in the house.  Mumma and I love you.  You are the bravest and best Kiddo we could imagine and then some.  You are going on 6 years old this April and you’ve already endured a life time of illness- especially weird illnesses- and done it all in the time of COVID and global pandemic.  You amaze us, time and again, with how flexible, brave, and courageous you are.  Kiss, love, pigeon!

On a happier note ending this… She was in a spooky mood the other day.  Sppppoooooooookkkkky!!!!!