Asthma & a wonderfully bad-timed stomach flu

Friday was a fun-filled afternoon at Jo's school carnival. It was uber-windy that day but the temperature was unusually nice, so I had no complaints. At least not until Jo freaked me out at 1 a.m. with a cough/wheeze combo that startled me awake & had me scrambling for his breathing machine.

Jo's had respiratory issues most of his life; usually in combination with allergies. It's not something that's usually so sudden, though. There was no warning this time....just a scared kid who could hardly breathe.

I'm not one for taking my kids in to the doc's when I (Dr. Mom) know how to treat most things on my own. But I decided to take advantage of the pediatrician's Saturday hours & take Jo in, towing all the other kids along with me.

He was given a diagnosis of asthma & a script for 2 inhalers (one for me to keep with me when we're out & the other for school). I suspected this would be a diagnosis we'd receive that day but wanted to get something for Jo's school so they would take him seriously when he said he was having trouble breathing. It's been blown off in the past & they need the say-so of a doc (mom's word isn't good enough, apparently).

Sunday morning Dave woke up congested & Hayleah was a snot machine so they both stayed home from church. I had a big casting job up north afterwards & later found out Hayleah had been throwing up throughout the day. That went on throughout the night & in to the next morning. It was a good thing Dave had Monday off because I desperately needed a nap more than I knew at the time.

By Monday evening Jo went running for the bathroom & didn't make it in time. It's not funny but I had to choke back laughter when he went sliding on the floor, through his recent deposit. I didn't do a very good job at not laughing at the semi-comical scene. Maybe it's because I wasn't the one who wound up cleaning it up.

I wasn't so sure Jo was actually sick with the flu. We went out for sushi earlier & Jo made a pig of himself, trying to impress someone I think. I figured he over-ate & was paying the price for it.

By 10 p.m. Jo there's no doubt about whether or not Jo is sick. He's followed by Logan within the hour & Dave right after that. It's been a not-so-fun weekend of laundry & cleaning up other people's messes.

The really sad part is that we had to miss the field trip to Anderson Dairy. Jo's been talking about it for weeks & weeks. I was supposed to chaperone but due to him being sick & my lack of more than one consecutive hour of sleep in the past 2 days, life wasn't going to allow for any fun. Plus they were tie-dying t-shirts for field day & today was the day for Spring Pictures.

I have to say I'm a little proud of myself. I'm usually a total marshmallow when it comes to other people's vomit but I managed to hold it together for the most part. I only had one incident of sympathy-vomit this time!

I'm praying all those sweet kisses Jo layed on me just hours before he showed signs of really being sick don't land me at the mouth of the porcelain god. I'm really hoping that 4 out of 6 people in the house is enough & this flu won't feel the need to claim any more victims. I have a psych consult for a surgical thingy tomorrow I do not want to miss. I can't be throwing up & worming my way around the questions about my sanity....it's too much to focus on at once. I'm not very nice when I'm sick. :P