What was supposed to be the calm before the storm...

We had another week to wait. A week before Patrick's surgery. That week of wait is almost over. That week of waiting hasn't been easy to say the least. It's not enough that we're waiting for Patrick to undergo surgery to remove cancer, but that I have been homebound with a horrible cold. Last Sunday I had a tickle in my throat. Monday, I was hit hard. The pressure caused me to be dizzy and I couldn't keep my eyes open. I felt, as I said before, like a steamroller had plowed over me. For two days, I was a zombie. Then, I developed a cough, but things were getting better, or so I thought.

On Wednesday, Patrick and our oldest were taking a walk to our local hardware store. (It's just four blocks away.) She fell down and bonked her head on the way there. He carried her right home. She was upset and crying, rightly so. We checked her head and iced it. We looked at her pupils. I noticed right away that she seemed lethargic and sleepy, and she was not interested in eating her lunch. I called my older sister, the nurse. She told me that it would be okay for her to go to sleep and have Tylenol. Our babe mentioned her head hurt, so I assumed she had a headache. I gave her the medication, and put her to bed hoping all would be well when she woke up. My sister also recommended that I check her breathing and try to rouse her after a half hour. I did. She seemed fine and went right back to sleep. After her rest, she was still sleepy and wanted to just relax on the couch. Dinnertime came. She was uninterested in eating, but I wanted her to try. I popped her up in her booster and after just a few minutes she vomited all over the table and her lap. Up until this point, I had yet to witness my oldest vomit, so my concern grew tenfold. A second call to my sister revealed that it would probably be wise to have her seen. I packed the girls up and headed to the hospital. My sister met me there to help with our youngest and Patrick was already there working his regular shift.

The nurse collected the basic information and stats, one of which was her temperature. It was slightly elevated. Our girl passed her neuro exam then started wiggling about on the hospital bed acting very uncomfortable, so I scooped her up and put her on my lap. It was then that she started projectile vomiting, covering the floor, two feet of the wall and the bin next to the counter. The doctor came back a bit later and said that ultimately the choice, to have or not have a CT Scan, was up to us. She mentioned that it wasn't going to be her sitting next to the bed all night while she was vomiting wondering if it was due to a virus or the bonk. My sister rocked our youngest to sleep and after a few minutes of debate, we opted for the scan as we have so many things weighing on our mind, we didn't want this to be one of them. Patrick took her to the scan and waited with her. Not ten minutes later, the results came back. Negative. It became apparent that we had fallen victim to an awkwardly, scary coincidence. Who knew she'd catch a virus and hit her head the same day? She was given some anti nausea medication, a popsicle, ibuprofen and acetaminophen. We arrived home at 10 p.m. I transferred my two sleeping girls to their beds and headed to my own.

Half hour later, our oldest was begging for me through the monitor and coughing. I sat at her side trying to comfort her. She was burning up even with medication on board. I once again scooped her up and brought her to bed with me. We were up all night. She was uncomfortable. I was worried and needed to nurse our youngest at one point. Patrick was banished to the guest room as we do not want him to get sick. I think we slept for an hour or two in the early morning. Not too sure. I'm too tired to remember.

This morning, I took our oldest to the doctor because it's Friday. The weekend means a closed doctor's office if things were to get worse, and Monday will be spent at the hospital with Patrick in surgery. It sounds like she has a virus and a cold at the same time. It's not the flu, the nose swab told us so. Monday might reveal what we're working with. Normally, I wouldn't care and I'd ride out this nasty illness, but if Patrick does get sick it would be helpful to know what it is. From talking with the doctor in the E.D. and our pediatrician today, it sounds like this is the nasty illness that is going around.

While putting our youngest to bed tonight, her head felt a little warm. Sure enough, she has a slightly elevated temperature. My already full plate, just received five more helpings of unsettling tuna noodle casserole. My two babies just want to snuggle their mama. A grandma, cousin or auntie just won't do the trick right now. So, I'll scoop them up and just keep swimming.

I was hoping for a calm before the storm. What I got was a roller coaster ride while wearing a pressure vest.