Geek Habitat

Are you sure it’s only Wednesday?

Apologies if this is disjointed–that’s the only way my brain is working right now!

{NOTE: This was originally posted as an email to family members and became a blog entry at 10 PM to keep everyone up-to-date. As of 10 PM, Justin and Sara are sleeping soundly…knock on wood for a good night for them both.}

Justin got violently ill Monday evening and it forced him to the ER for IV fluids, demerol and anti-nausea medications. He had a horrible Monday night (mine wasn’t so great either, as you might imagine) and he has been home sick since then, slowly recuperating.

Justin is doing better by the day and has not relapsed but is still on a pretty much liquid-only diet and still very tired. He was overly optimistic about possibly returning to work for a half-day, and working from home today didn’t have a chance (see next). He is definitely on the mend, though, so that is the bright spot in all of this. He hasn’t had to take the anti-nausea meds since this morning, which is good because they themselves made him tired.

Unfortunately, just when I thought life was going to slowly return to normal, it took an undesirable and unexpected turn (don’t you hate it when it does that?!)

Sara was doing terrific this morning. She ate a great breakfast, played and rough-housed with me and demanded a WALK! as she likes to do. Justin felt well enough to take care of himself and had regained just enough energy that I knew he wouldn’t be a danger to himself. He encouraged me to get out of the house, and get Sara out as well, so we packed up after noon and headed into the traffic construction nightmare that currently is Blanco Rd. outside our subdivision. Sara was happy in the back seat as we headed for Grandma & Grandpa B’s house and possibly to see Uncle Thomas, there, too.

Next thing I knew, Sara was violently ill, just like Justin, and since I’d just reached 1604&Blanco, I couldn’t even pull over and help her clear all the mess from her neck, hands, clothes, carseat… you get the idea. I immediately raced home, as much as one can race in road construction that’s brought 4 lanes down to one, single lane, with police and pilot crew cars. /sigh

Long story short (too late), Sara has the same thing that forced Justin into the ER on Monday night after work (gastroenteritis; a viral case, apparently? I’m praying I am not next, since I’ve been cleaning up after everyone the past 3 days. I’ll be very happy not to smell, or wear, vomit for awhile after this ordeal.) Sara is only at the beginning of it, per her pediatrician, and after talking at length with him (he is **wonderful** — Dr. Graham Hall), we can expect all the same symptoms in her that Justin’s dealt with and all the same dangers. She is not keeping anything down, including water, and will continue to have that problem. She is thankfully asleep at this very moment (4 PM) and Dr. Hall said it’s fine to let her sleep–desirable in fact, if she would at all. If she were still an infant, it would probably be another story, but she’s a big otherwise healthy almost 2 year old so we have that on our side.

What next?

When she wakes up, Dr. Hall gave us a rehydration method for her (1 teaspoon of water every 10 minutes for the first hour, 2 teaspoons every 10 min/2nd hr, etc.) She will continue to be ill, but this ensures she reabsorbs some water and doesn’t get dehydrated… hopefully. If this is not successful, and she’s still in the same cycle tomorrow around midday or she becomes lethargic/not herself, he instructed us to take her to the ER tomorrow for…you guessed it… IV fluids just like Justin had to receive on Monday.

Pray we go have to go down that route. It’s bad enough that Justin had to go to the ER on Monday… neither of us can imagine having to take her there, but of course we will in a heartbeat if we see she’s not able to hydrate and fight this horrible, awful bug.

That’s our week in a nutshell. I don’t recommend anyone take a ride with us in our Ford Escape Hybrid anytime soon… It’s a biohazard/hot zone at the moment, as is much of the house, even with my spraying Lysol and using Chlorox wipes obsessively to…I thought…avoid anyone else getting sick.

Take care, and I’ll update as I’m able. I’ve had no time until she fell asleep to communicate w/anyone except my mom to request Pedialyte (thank you, Mom!) for Sara & Justin’s checked in with his folks (Grandpa Jack & Grandma Jerry). Justin is also asleep right now, exhausted. I would love to nap but am too wired/too much adrenaline.

Love you all. Appreciate all the help, including just emails of support and concern, we’ve received from family and friends; we are ever-grateful for technology and that so many of our immediate and extended family members live so close.