Wednesday, September 9, 2009

This Parenting Gig Ain't for the Faint of Heart

First off, I just noticed that the "T" key on my laptop is being wonky. I always spell check my posts, but I'm perpetually tired, and am not sure I'll catch the errors. So, if something doesn't make sense, see if adding a "T" someplace makes it work better. And I'll try to watch myself.

For the past two weeks, Ken has been fighting some kind of upper respiratory illness. With our luck, it was viral, so there was no way to make him not contagious for Andrea. As a result, I banned him from caring for her, touching her, or even breathing in her general vicinity. He was a good sport about it, and took care of the rest of our lives while I did baby care 24/7. So far, Ken is better, and it looks like Andrea might be OK, so it was worth it. Today's picture is the first one I've been able to take of the two of them since before Ken got sick.



So, over the weekend, we took the kids to Van Saun Park in Paramus (a fun place with playgrounds, a zoo, a carousel, etc. Worth a trip if you're in the area) and then went to my parents' house for supper. Our boys were starting back at school on Tuesday, so this was their last hurrah, pretty much. We had a great time, and Andrea always does better when she's away from home. I think she's tired of the limitation of the concentrator, and prefers to be out and about. Before we left Mom & Dad's, we decided to open a new oxygen tank for the ride home. It's not far, less than 30 miles, but with traffic can take more than an hour, and we didn't want to run short en route.

Once the new tank was opened and the regulator attached, I checked the oxygen flow and the gauge, just to make sure all was functioning. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that the brand new oxygen tank (which had been sealed until 5 minutes ago) was almost empty! Suffice to say, we panicked! Unfortunately, you can't run to CVS and grab some O2. We flew out of the house and I confess, drove like a banshee to get back home. The boys were in the back of the car on baby duty. Every five minutes, I had one of them checking to make sure the cannula was in her nose and her chest was moving. God was with us, and we made it home in once piece. But it was a scary reminder of how dependent we are on the equipment, and how relieved we'll be when it's gone.

As if all this is not enough, we had a scare with "my" son yesterday. He was running a fever on Monday, so we dosed him with Tylenol and let him watch millions of cartoons. Yesterday, which should have been his first day of school, he woke with an even higher fever, and such severe muscle pains he needed to be carried out of bed. (And he has a 6 foot high bunk bed!) I called his doctor, who advised a trip to the emergency room. So, we headed off to the ER, where we spent 4 hours having IV fluids and blood tests. Thankfully, the tests were all negative for serious illness, and the IV fluids made all the difference. However, having hit 40 in May, I'm trying to cling to my still-dark-brown (but thinning) hair. Between the oxygen and the older children, I feel the grays starting to form beneath my scalp. LOL!

"I learned there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead, others come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready, you see. Now my troubles are going to have trouble with me." Dr. Seuss

1 comment:

  1. Love the quote - I think I'm going to adopt it for myself...
    Praying for Beautiful Andrea the Second's non-reliance on the oxygen equipment, and for your family's good health (plus a little peace for yourselves)...
    soo x

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