I think we may be dying...

It all started last Tuesday (1/18). After 3 weeks of Hayes being sick, I FINALLY broke down and took him into the Dr.'s office. I had hesitated to go, because I HATE when you get there, pay a co-pay, and the Dr tells you "Oh, it's just a cold..." and then sends you on your way. That's no help at all!! But not at this appointment. After 3 weeks of green boogers, croupy cough & an on again, off again fever, the Dr. came in and announced "Well, he's tested positive for strep." And I quickly replied, "Oh GOOD!!"
Now looking back I know it was the wrong response, what mom wants there baby to have strep? But I was just so excited that these weeks of virus were going to be cured with a antibiotic prescription. So we got Hayes'ers started on his script and with in 24 hours he was a whole new baby. No more boogers or fever.

Little did I know what lied ahead for our family...


Thursday came. We went, as a family, out to the Barrett-Jackson car auction because they were auctioning the car off for Cox Charities and my boys get to go up on the stage as they do it. After the auction was over, RJ didn't look so hot. He told me that he hadn't been feeling well that day. So I felt his head and he was a little feverish. He came home early that evening from the car show and went straight to bed. He woke up in the middle of the night a couple times with a high fever & the chills.

Now, there is one thing you need to know about RJ...he may get a cold here and there, and if you know him, you know he ALWAYS has a headache...but he NEVER gets really sick & he NEVER EVER COMPLAINS. So on Friday morning when he uttered the words "I think I'm dying..." I knew he was really sick.

I took him to Urgent Care, where he was tested for strep. That's of course what we thought it was, since Hayes had been snotting on us for 3 weeks. But that test came back negative. So they tested him for the flu. BAH...I HATE THE FLU!! You can't take an antibiotic and just get over it...no you have to just suffer through till it passes. So RJ came home from the Dr., with no answer from the test (cause it was going to take a few days) and no antibiotics to help him get better. He climbed into bed for the rest of the day.

I felt so bad for him. He was miserable. Burning up with a 103.5 fever but shivering with the chills. I started him on 4 Ibuprofen then 4 Tylenol back and forth, every 2 hours. But he fever persisted. It didn't break till about 8pm Friday night. Just as his fever broke, mine started.

I could go on and on (even more than I already have) with the entire story of how each of us came down with this horrible bug but let me just tell you this, by Sunday our ENTIRE FAMILY (except Hayes who was finishing up his antibiotics from the Tuesday before) had a fever, the chills, body aches with a horrible cough. We were a sight to be seen. All of us were in the family room laying where ever we landed, bundled up in blankets & used Kleenex laying about.

Now, I have had all my kids be sick at the same time before. It's not fun, but it's do-able. And I have been REALLY sick before and had healthy kids, but I have NEVER had our ENTIRE FAMILY, including RJ (who NEVER gets sick) all be down with the same thing at the same time. It wasn't strep, because not one of us had a sore throat. So I assume we had some strain of the flu. My suspisions were confirmed Friday when the Dr. from urgent care, called to tell RJ that his flu test came back positive.

We were all miserable. Our family went on like this until Monday afternoon. That's when I started to get a sore throat as well. I didn't know what to do but I knew that I was NOT going to get strep, on top of whatever flu virus we were already battling. So I emailed a friend, who's hubby is a Dr. & asked her where her hubby worked so we could go see him Tuesday & get this stuff out of our house. Sure enough, she called me right away & had her husband call in percriptions for our ENTIRE family. By Tuesday night we were all on a round of antibiotics & by Thursday morning...I was off the couch...FINALLY!!!

Now I know they say that antibiotics don't help the flu. But they helped whatever horrible virus we had. It was NASTY and I pray that no one I know gets it. Thanks so much to Shauna, for the perscriptions and to other friends and family who brought in meals to us. We seriously wouldn't have eaten if it weren't for them. You never know how much you appreciate health till you are sick like that for a couple days. I am so greatful that I am starting to feel like my old self and pray that that flu/strep/virus/bug/crap doesn't hit our house for a LONG, LONG time!!