I Know Why I am NOT a Nurse

I know why I am not...and never could be... a nurse!! I don't have the stomach nor the compassion for sick people. I know that sounds cruel even when it is your own kids. Its terrible when you have to take care of your sick kids but you really just want to run and hide so you don't get it yourself!!

I was hard at work with a co-worker helping me on one of the most frustrating reports ever...and just as we were almost threw with it...I get that phone call....the one where you are told "your child has been throwing up and won't stop, please pick her up right away!" This just added to my frustrations of the day...trust me it was one of THOSE days....I was about to go off on all of my co-workers, already missing a meeting to complete this report and now I had to leave work and not even get it finished. On top of that I get this call right at 3:00...when the boys are getting out of school so I needed a quick plan of action. Quickly I called the school and advised them to get word to the boys NOT to get on the bus...I would be there late but I was on my way. I rushed to the school and picked them up first...they were the last car riders there...nothing like that to make you feel like a bad mom! Then off to daycare to pick up my sickly Rylee.

I told the boys to move to the very back in the 3rd row...certainly didn't want all of us sick...moved Rylee's car seat up front...yes I know this is illegal but a 3 year old can't really hold a bag to puke in on her own yet....and rushed in and got my little girl. She was so pitiful, so pale and of course whining for daddy not me. Great...make me feel warm and fuzzy!

So I put up front with me, gave her a bag, had baby wipes handy and we set off for the 25 minute drive home. Could we possibly make it without her getting sick?? Of course not...before I even got on the interstate, I had to pull over quickly....3 yr olds don't give much warning you know...then as most 3 yr olds are she seemed fine after she did her thing...she messed with the radio, heat, opened the glove box (luckily I emptied that one out...most of you know what that means!), opened the console, anything she could reach she messed with!! Then as soon as we turned onto my street she threw up again!!!

So I gave the boys explicit instructions to stay upstairs away from us (of course Jett is having separation anxiety -that is an entire blog post in itself-and wouldn't listen). We laid on the couch while I watched TV and Rylee puked about 5 more times. She begged for milk or juice or kool-aid but all mean ole mommy would give her was water. She finally fell asleep around 5:30 from exhaustion and gave me a mini break!!!

Duffer ran by the pharmacy to pick up some Phenegran we had called in (gotta love that stuff!!) and some Pedialyte. He also brought us home Long John Silvers...which they screwed up royally. They gave us all fish when it was supposed to be half fish and half chicken...ugh!!! How wrong is it to clean up puke all afternoon but still be starving for food?!?!?! Strange but I was...guess because I had only had about 300 calories all day!!! This dieting sucks and I blew it on Long Johns eating about 4 hush puppies and 1 piece of fish! Jeez....

So Rylee did really well "hitting" the trashcan...and I did really well with the timing...haha. For those of you that don't know me well...this is Duffer's job...I stay as far away from puke as I can!!! When I was little and in school...I can remember back in 3rd grade...if a child in class would throw up...it would make me so sick I would go home too! I just can't handle it. Yucko. I can however "manage" if they throw up in the trashcan and all I have to change the bag...pretty much no clean up required but I can't clean up the carpet, bed, couch, etc...just can't. But we did have a couple of accidents last night.

You see poor Rylee had gotten sick so much that she was dry heaving and from all my health courses I am fully aware that anything going down IS going to come back up at this point. Still...I think it is better to give a little water so at least the water will come up instead of dry heaving...that is the worst! So when Duffer got home, we decided to relocate to the upstairs so I was moving Rylee to the upstairs couch. She was watching her favorite TV show, iCarly, and I went to pick her up...I know you are starting to cringe now...she gave me the only warning sign that I get....her hand over her mouth only when I asked if she was gonna be sick she said no (instead of yes like she had been saying). So naive me, proceeded to pick her up...well guess what...she lied. All the water she been drinking was suddenly all over her, me and the couch and floor before I could get her to the trash can. Your first instinct is to be mad but you just can't be mad because they really can't help it...but did that really have to happen just as I was going to eat my dinner????

So after dinner I wanted a creamsicle...why not...I had already consumed 1000+ calories for dinner??? Duffer was ill because he knew Rylee was gonna want one. I caved in and gave her one and he warned me that I would pay for it. Boy was he correct.

So the Phenegren kicked it and she was knocked out in between Duffer and me on the couch. We were surfing around on Facebook checking out pictures of our friends when all of a sudden Rylee made that dreaded noise....all I heard Duffer say was "uh oh". What is so bad is I save myself and my laptop first! The trashcan was right there but I had to save my laptop so I didn't get it in time!! Bad Mommy!!! By the time I set my laptop aside in safety, Rylee had already puked on the back of me, all of herself and the upstairs couch!!!!! So in one day she manages to destroy 4 outfits, 2 couches and 5 towels!!! Jeez...Needless to say she went in the tub after that one and I headed to change and to load the washer!

We successfully made it through the night but I stayed home with her today just in case. She felt warm all last night although I never took her temperature.

Now here is the strange thing...my kids have had several stomach viruses okay. Here is usually how they work...once Davis got it from school, had it one day, Jett got it the next day, Duffer the next and then me the next day. Of course with that one it also went through the kids at daycare from Jett.

Another time a child has had it at daycare and then one of mine has gotten it within one or two days of being in contact of it and it spreads through all of our family.

Now here is how this one happened...Rylee woke up from nap and threw up immediately. By the time I got to daycare, another little girl (Rylee's age) said her stomach hurt but Susan just thought she was saying that. As soon as we left, that little girl began to throw up. About 20 minutes later, the other little girl there (also 3) began throwing up. One of those girls' moms said that the big sister had to be picked up from school because she had started throwing up around the same time but she had been at school all day. The only connection is that all 4 girls had been at daycare on Tuesday and eaten there...because Davis and Jett have also been there everyday and they haven't gotten sick but they never eat there...they are only there before and after school....the other school age girl was there on Tuesday since county schools were out. Also a little boy was there on Tuesday but not yesterday and he started throwing up yesterday around 2:30...the EXACT same time as Rylee! This all makes it seem like it was food poisoning. Susan also eats what the kids eat and says her stomach was upset but not like the kids. This has only affected kids ages 3-6 because the little baby that is 1 ate the same stuff and was also there but hasn't gotten sick. So odd...

Food poisoning is so tricky. Most of us get it weekly and never know it. You know when you go to eat and you go to the bathroom a few times in the afternoon and think "it was just something you ate"...well that was more than likely just a mild case of it. Many food poisonings don't happen immediately or even in the same day...some bacteria need to incubate so you may not get sick until a day or two later. There really is no way to know unless you can test the food ingested or the bacteria from the stomach but usually it is gone by the time people go to the doctor.

Anyway...if none of the rest of us get sick by tomorrow...I am guessing it was something she ate. She just ate some crackers...against her will I might add...she woke up at 5am demanding ice cream!!! The crackers have stayed down and it has been 30 minutes but she has some diarrhea so I am thinking it isn't all out of her system yet. :(