Round 2

I got a call during the late morning on Monday from Anna's aide.  She said Anna was feeling pretty tired and just wanted to rest instead of going to lunch and recess.  Then she checked Anna's temperature ... 99 degrees and rising.  Bummer.

First, Ethan and I finished our lunch before heading into the bank to meet Matt so we could sign all of the closing papers for refinancing our mortgage.  Then, we went in to get Anna.  By the time we got home, her temperature was 100.5 and still rising.  Tylenol, hydrocortisone, and rest ensued.

By Monday night Anna was positively cheerful, even after the Tylenol had worn off.  We thought that maybe, just maybe, this was all it would be for Anna.

It wasn't.  She woke up feeling a bit crummy on Tuesday morning.  We decided to just take it slow and see how the morning went.  Her fever spiked again around lunchtime.  By that point we had already made the call to cancel Wednesday's MRI and get it rescheduled.  This decision in and of itself required multiple phone calls and emails to rearrange all of the childcare, blood tests, procedures, etc.

Wednesday has been Anna's low point thus far.  She had a fever right as she woke up and it took at least an hour for the Tylenol to kick in completely.

The Tylenol seems to keep the fever and overall yucky feelings at bay, but it's still not a fun virus.  Anna's fever hasn't been as high as Kate's was, but since Anna has a hard time self-regulating her food intake, a virus like this can make her nauseous.  We had anticipated this unfortunate side effect and stocked up on Pedialyte.  Pedialyte and purees seem to be okay for Anna's tummy.  Formula not so much.

We're looking at a second week of having a kid out of school the entire week.  Bummer.

Here's the good things.

Anna's school is awesome.  Not only was it okay for her to stay resting there while Matt and I finished up our paperwork, but everyone was more than willing to get work home for her as soon as they could.  When Anna is feeling okay, we have a good routine of a bit of work first, then a game or other choice activity.

The weather this week is awesome.  Instead of being stuck inside our house all week like we were last week, Ethan and I are just stuck inside our yard.  We have already made use of bubbles, his bike, the plasma car, the sandbox, the tower, the swings, a soccer ball, etc.

Kate is back to normal.  Having gone through this exact same virus with Kate last week, we know pretty much what to expect.  I'm not worried about Anna's health at this point.  Rest and fluids, we can do that.

Anna no longer has a port in place!  The first time her temperature crept above 100.4, I rejoiced that we wouldn't have to head into the ER for antibiotics.  There were so many times in 2014 and 2015 when we just wanted to give her Tylenol and put her to bed; now we can do just that.

I am getting quite a bit of quality one-on-one time with each of our children this March.

This is certainly not easy on any of us right now, but we've been through a lot worse (many different times), so we can get through this, too.