Well just in case I am at risk in disappointing anyone by not writing anymore re: our H1N1 experience, I will go ahead and do another entry. :) heehee
First, I just want to take a moment or two to say that the Lord has persevered us through this so well. We had only a few moments of true chaos, which is a lot to say considering we have been so ill and have been caring for 3 very little children. God has held us together and strengthened us in what was so far in our established household the very worst of times. God, in His merciful providence, allowed me to get the least sick so that our home did not completely fall apart. I was able to care for everyone without getting totally burned out. I was even able to keep the house somewhat organized and laundry kept up with, and thanks to my Mom and Dad, we ate just fine! Vegetable beef soup, homemade pasta sauce, and ginger ale were delivered to our doors! We just now have run out of "easy food" and just in time since I feel that I am well enough to get back to meal-making tomorrow. :) The Lord cares for His children. He has blessed us so much through this sickness - that I'm sure many people do not realize. We were given many opportunities to pray with our children. We pray with them regularly during family worship and at mealtimes, but during this trial, our children have seen Ron and I look and act very concerned and worried and then pray together, out loud so that Matthew, Mia and even Kayla witnessed the way our relationship to God should be: in humble reliance upon His grace. We had many chances to talk about being content in all circumstances - even circumstances in which we don't feel well or scary times which we had many of this past week. We should be thankful to and always trusting in God - even when we may feel as though He is overlooking us. He is NEVER overlooking us. He cares, and works everything together for good in the lives of His children. We talked about fear and trust and that when we are afraid, perhaps of taking medicine, we just need to do the right thing and take our medicine, even though we don't want to. We need to trust Mom & Dad AND obey them because God put them as leaders in our household, and all that they do, or have me do, they are doing for my good. When we obey our parents, we are obeying God because He commands us to obey our parents. This reminder helped many times when the kids were squeamish about taking medicine, or about coughing in the middle of the night and panicking. This illness in our family is just one example of the Sovereignty of God. He is in control. Though we lost control several times, He NEVER lost control, and boy did we ever feel His hand on us during this time. :)
So! Today is seven days. We are still quite ill over here. Fevers still for everyone but me. Since the last time I wrote, much has happened, but not all of it I can remember. Beyond the fevers and coughing, there was Matthew's halllucinations. At the time he had a fever of over 105. He was laying in our bed in the middle of the night. This particular night he did not sleep more than a half hour all night. He was laying there, eyes half open, talking at a normal day-time volume, saying things like: "Mia??? Hi Mia." (She was in her own bed in another room.) I said "Matthew, Mia isn't in here." He said half-annoyed, "Yes, she is, she's right there. Mia? What are you doing Mia?" (Sounds funny now, but was scary.) Also, with his eyes wide open, he was saying "What? What did you say? I SAID What did you say?" and I would reply "Matthew, NO ONE is saying anything." He would just keep saying the same thing but faster: "I said What did you SAY? What did you say? What did you SAY???" Then he was claiming to see "slugs" and he was pointing to "leaves" and asking me if I saw them too. He went from mad to a sort-of giggle and then back to being quiet for a little while, and then burst out with some other exclamation and it would wake Ron and I up and we'd start all over again. I mentioned this to the Dr. and he said he was not surprised that with a temp so high he would hallucinate. So! That was interesting.
Mia and Kayla the last few days have been just extremely emotional, and crying almost constantly. I finally came to the conclusion that since Mia came down with this crazy flu first, she should be on her way to feeling better first. That wasn't happening. In fact, she was getting worse. She and Kayla were not sleeping AT ALL. I called the Dr. on Monday morning and made an appointment for Mia and Kayla even though I felt like a complete wacko. (During the time when I took Mia and Kayla to the Dr., God was taking such good care of us! Ron was SOOO sick with a high fever and with some other symptoms which I won't mention, and Matthew was feeling "ok" for the moment. Needless to say, Ron was not in any condition to "babysit" Matthew while I was away with the girls. I explained to him that he would have to pretend that he was a grown-up until I got back. I made him a sandwich (which of course he did not eat) and put it in the fridge and told him that if he was hungry, he could just go get it. I filled his sippy cup, turned a video on for him and left with the girls. Ron was laid up the whole time I was gone but Matthew was as happy as a clam, caring for his Daddy (just checking on him), and sitting watching T.V. and keeping watch over the house! At the girls appointment, they were both so groggy and strange acting, which was a blessing in disguise because had they been feeling any better, it wouldn't have been an easy time with two as little as they are. Additionally, I was so relieved and almost broke down in tears when the Dr. said that both of them had double ear infections caused by all of the drippy noses and sniffing. :( I just was relieved to know that it wasn't just the flu causing their misery, but was something on top of that which could actually be treated! They have been on the antibiotics for 24 hrs. and they are so much better, albeit still carrying fevers around 101 degrees. Things are slowly getting back to normal.
One thing that I learned thru all of this is that fevers don't kill kids. My kids, although they did not eat almost the whole time they were sick, (and still aren't eating, grrr...) drank a very good amount of all different fluids, but did not eat. They kept well hydrated and although they had VERY high fevers, they pulled through just fine. We treated the fevers constantly and they didn't really go down much. They would just get out of the 104-105+ range, and go back to the 102-103+ range. We were concerned about the fevers being dangerous and each time I'd call the Dr. he'd just tell me that a fever is just a reflection of the condition of the body and to not pay attention to the number unless the kids were acting sluggish (to a scary degree), or if they weren't drinking. Now, I am still always going to be concerned about a high fever but at least I'll have that in the back of my mind - that they've been through the worst.
Ron, who was the last to get sick, is still quite sick. He is still getting fevers, and has a horrible, painful cough. We were convinced that he had pneumonia but nope; he visited the Dr. today and he just has the same thing that plagues all of us. Dr. even said that we could keep our plans to leave for FL on the 12th, but we aren't about to do that. We want to be completely back to normal, and well-rested, which I believe we'll still have a hard time achieving in the 9 days we have until we leave. That's how much of a DOOZEY this virus was/is!!!!
I think it goes without saying that we absolutely recommend getting vaccinated. Ron and I both said that we had NEVER been this sick in all our almost 30 years and that we'd both rather have a one or two day bug where we were vomiting etc... than have this swine flu. The body aches, very painful cough, and dehabilitating fevers were mind-boggling to say the very least.
Even though we aren't out of the woods yet, this will be my last "Swine Flu" entry. We sincerely appreciate all the prayers, all of the kind and encouraging words thoughts and deeds from all that were aware of our "condition". Stay tuned to hear about what happens next in the Tumbry family!
And thank you so much for reading my rambling! :) Stay well all.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Swine Flu - Post #2
So here's a quick update. Today was the second full day that the H1N1 virus has been lurking in our home.
Kayla began getting symptoms yesterday afternoon, which include high fever, a very hazy look, and ugly, painful sounding cough. Mia continues to have those same symptoms as well. Today it was very hard to keep the fevers down. The girls were only going like 3-4 hours after a dose of medicine before their fevers were right back to 103 degrees. Kayla after only 3 hours of Motrin woke from her nap and had a 103.6 rectal temperature. I called the Dr. and they said that I should give she and Mia a cool, (lukewarm) bath. I did that. It brought their temp's down to about 101 only. They really were never under 101 all day. The nurse at our pediatricians insisted that as long as I'm following their directions with alternating between Motrin and Tylenol, that things will eventually work themselves out. I keep telling myself what the Dr. told me yesterday which is that the fever usually lasts 2 and a half to 3 days. So if that's true, by the end of tomorrow, Mia will be done with the fever which is the most scary part. But then of course, there's Kayla and Matthew.
I know the Lord will take care of every detail. I'm just doing what I think I should do and what the Dr. says.
Matthew began his symptoms at six this evening. Within ten minutes he went from happy, normal and full-of-energy, to an uncontrollable wheezing cough, and a high fever. He has asthma and therefore is at very high risk for taking this swine flu very, very hard. Ron and I prayed with him multiple times tonight, and it took several attempts to calm him down enough for him to take the Motrin.
So, all the kids are medicated and in bed. We'll see how well they sleep. We're hoping and praying to get some good sleep tonight. Even though I know that the Lord can do anything, I'm sure, given the footprint of this virus so far, that we're in for it tonight. Matthew is just very bad at being sick. He will be the most difficult to deal with by far.
Tomorrow should be interesting. Mia just woke up while I'm writing this. Her lips are all dry and we're trying to get her to drink some fluids. She's eating a popscicle on our bed right now too.
I know I'm next. The kids all had wheezing coughs right before they got the fever, and I've got a painful, wheezing cough right now. I'm expecting this to hit me pretty hard tonight. Ron just started his wheezy cough about an hour ago. This crazy virus moves fast! But I'm almost thankful for that. We are in great need of your prayers. Mostly that the Lord would give us the grace to deal with all of this drama!
Nighty-night. If I'm right about what I'm in for tonight - I'd better get all the sleep I can.
Thanx for reading.
Kayla began getting symptoms yesterday afternoon, which include high fever, a very hazy look, and ugly, painful sounding cough. Mia continues to have those same symptoms as well. Today it was very hard to keep the fevers down. The girls were only going like 3-4 hours after a dose of medicine before their fevers were right back to 103 degrees. Kayla after only 3 hours of Motrin woke from her nap and had a 103.6 rectal temperature. I called the Dr. and they said that I should give she and Mia a cool, (lukewarm) bath. I did that. It brought their temp's down to about 101 only. They really were never under 101 all day. The nurse at our pediatricians insisted that as long as I'm following their directions with alternating between Motrin and Tylenol, that things will eventually work themselves out. I keep telling myself what the Dr. told me yesterday which is that the fever usually lasts 2 and a half to 3 days. So if that's true, by the end of tomorrow, Mia will be done with the fever which is the most scary part. But then of course, there's Kayla and Matthew.
I know the Lord will take care of every detail. I'm just doing what I think I should do and what the Dr. says.
Matthew began his symptoms at six this evening. Within ten minutes he went from happy, normal and full-of-energy, to an uncontrollable wheezing cough, and a high fever. He has asthma and therefore is at very high risk for taking this swine flu very, very hard. Ron and I prayed with him multiple times tonight, and it took several attempts to calm him down enough for him to take the Motrin.
So, all the kids are medicated and in bed. We'll see how well they sleep. We're hoping and praying to get some good sleep tonight. Even though I know that the Lord can do anything, I'm sure, given the footprint of this virus so far, that we're in for it tonight. Matthew is just very bad at being sick. He will be the most difficult to deal with by far.
Tomorrow should be interesting. Mia just woke up while I'm writing this. Her lips are all dry and we're trying to get her to drink some fluids. She's eating a popscicle on our bed right now too.
I know I'm next. The kids all had wheezing coughs right before they got the fever, and I've got a painful, wheezing cough right now. I'm expecting this to hit me pretty hard tonight. Ron just started his wheezy cough about an hour ago. This crazy virus moves fast! But I'm almost thankful for that. We are in great need of your prayers. Mostly that the Lord would give us the grace to deal with all of this drama!
Nighty-night. If I'm right about what I'm in for tonight - I'd better get all the sleep I can.
Thanx for reading.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Swine Flu - Readers Beware!
Yes, you read it correctly! But go ahead and read it again - it's true. I can hardly believe it myself - I think mostly it's because H1N1 has been so blown out of proportion, in my opinion, by the media.
First, let me preface this recollection by saying that it may be hard for some to stomach. :) I'm not writing this to gross anyone out, but as a Mom, I know other Moms may appreciate knowing a little more about this virus.
Last night around midnight, Mia began crying hard, and it was the sort of cry that I knew needed immediate attention. I ran into the kids room, and she had already thrown up in her crib. She was choking and panicking and coughing. I swooped her up as quickly as possible and carried her down the hall to the bathroom. (She made a trail the whole way.) I called for Ron and he got to the scene right away.
Now, a very important fact about this story is that almost exactly four years into Motherhood, this is truly the first time where I have experienced a vomiting child. I thought my first time would be a little more alarming, but nope, instinct kicked in and all I could do was care about Mia, and comforting her. I wasn't focused at all on being thrown-up on.... :)
So, Ron cleaned up the whole mess. Mia was VERY hot. I tried to take her temp. by mouth as she was on my lap. I started and very quickly, the digital reading went to over 102, but then she gagged and got sick one more time. Right after that, we gave her a dose of Motrin and over 30 minutes later, we checked her temperature rectally, and it was still 103 AFTER she had had Motrin in her system for over 30 minutes!!!
After clean-up time, clothes changing, and rocking and sweet-talking, Mia finally fell asleep in our bed. The whole ordeal took about three hours. She woke up at 7am with the exact same fever of 103!! I gave her Motrin right away, which is supposed to cover 7-8 hours, and only 5 hours later, she had the same fever again! I called the Dr. because I was concerned that I couldn't give her another dose of Motrin since it hadn't been 7-8 hrs. yet! The Dr. reminded me of something I did know, that I could give her Tylenol, and alternate between Motrin and Tylenol when I thought it was necessary. The Dr. did say that they would need to see her right away though. She needed a nap. While I changed her diaper, she was shaking like crazy - I couldn't keep her still. I gave her a dose of tylenol and rocked her and she took about an hour nap. (I had to wake her to go to the Dr's at 2:00) Ron came home from work which was great. Originally, my Mom was going to come on her dinner hour and watch Matthew and Kayla, but Ron didn't see the point of subjecting Mom to our germs. A good idea for sure. Especially now that I know it's the swine flu.
The Doctor said that it was 99% sure that it was the swine flu. He said there is no seasonal flu going around in this area at all. Every instance that has been tested has been the H1N1. I asked: "So, is everyone under my roof going to get it?" And he, and the medical student with him half-chuckled and said "Yes." He expects that we'll all get it. Of course, the seasonal flu shots that the kids and Ron got mean absolutely nothing against this bad-boy virus. Fabulous. This virus has a general footprint. It usually lasts about 4 days, the first two and a half or three days with a high fever. Mia has kind of hazy eyes, and has had 2 diapers that seemed to be diarrhea. The Dr. said that what's different with everyone is that not everyone gets diarrhea with this virus, and not everyone gets the vomiting. In fact, some get the fever and nothing else.
I also asked, since we are anticipating our Florida trip, how long a person will be contagious after the symptoms are gone? He said 2-3 days after the symptoms are gone you're no longer contagious. Wow.
Now, by my thinking I say to the Dr.: "So, basically I might as well have Mia go home and open mouth kiss Matthew and Kayla, and Ron and I too since we're all going to get it." He laughed, but he said he didn't think I'd need to - that it was pretty much inevitable that it will hit everybody in our family. I know it sounds a little crazy - but I'd rather get it over with and keep our Florida plans! At the same time though, we may postpone our trip for one week later to give everyone some more time to be completely well and refreshed. It depends on who gets sick and when.
This is just the beginning though. Tomorrow is only day two for Mia. Kayla had a fever when we put them all to bed. (They were all sleeping at 6pm)
Anyway, as far as H1N1, it's not so bad - but having all of us get it, and three of us being kids 4 and under, it will be no fun. We'd appreciate your prayers in this matter! We try to keep a good attitude and joke about all of this. We have to I guess.
Has anybody reading this experienced the swine flu or one of your family members? Share if you feel like it. I know that knowledge is power sometimes in all this craziness of sickness!
First, let me preface this recollection by saying that it may be hard for some to stomach. :) I'm not writing this to gross anyone out, but as a Mom, I know other Moms may appreciate knowing a little more about this virus.
Last night around midnight, Mia began crying hard, and it was the sort of cry that I knew needed immediate attention. I ran into the kids room, and she had already thrown up in her crib. She was choking and panicking and coughing. I swooped her up as quickly as possible and carried her down the hall to the bathroom. (She made a trail the whole way.) I called for Ron and he got to the scene right away.
Now, a very important fact about this story is that almost exactly four years into Motherhood, this is truly the first time where I have experienced a vomiting child. I thought my first time would be a little more alarming, but nope, instinct kicked in and all I could do was care about Mia, and comforting her. I wasn't focused at all on being thrown-up on.... :)
So, Ron cleaned up the whole mess. Mia was VERY hot. I tried to take her temp. by mouth as she was on my lap. I started and very quickly, the digital reading went to over 102, but then she gagged and got sick one more time. Right after that, we gave her a dose of Motrin and over 30 minutes later, we checked her temperature rectally, and it was still 103 AFTER she had had Motrin in her system for over 30 minutes!!!
After clean-up time, clothes changing, and rocking and sweet-talking, Mia finally fell asleep in our bed. The whole ordeal took about three hours. She woke up at 7am with the exact same fever of 103!! I gave her Motrin right away, which is supposed to cover 7-8 hours, and only 5 hours later, she had the same fever again! I called the Dr. because I was concerned that I couldn't give her another dose of Motrin since it hadn't been 7-8 hrs. yet! The Dr. reminded me of something I did know, that I could give her Tylenol, and alternate between Motrin and Tylenol when I thought it was necessary. The Dr. did say that they would need to see her right away though. She needed a nap. While I changed her diaper, she was shaking like crazy - I couldn't keep her still. I gave her a dose of tylenol and rocked her and she took about an hour nap. (I had to wake her to go to the Dr's at 2:00) Ron came home from work which was great. Originally, my Mom was going to come on her dinner hour and watch Matthew and Kayla, but Ron didn't see the point of subjecting Mom to our germs. A good idea for sure. Especially now that I know it's the swine flu.
The Doctor said that it was 99% sure that it was the swine flu. He said there is no seasonal flu going around in this area at all. Every instance that has been tested has been the H1N1. I asked: "So, is everyone under my roof going to get it?" And he, and the medical student with him half-chuckled and said "Yes." He expects that we'll all get it. Of course, the seasonal flu shots that the kids and Ron got mean absolutely nothing against this bad-boy virus. Fabulous. This virus has a general footprint. It usually lasts about 4 days, the first two and a half or three days with a high fever. Mia has kind of hazy eyes, and has had 2 diapers that seemed to be diarrhea. The Dr. said that what's different with everyone is that not everyone gets diarrhea with this virus, and not everyone gets the vomiting. In fact, some get the fever and nothing else.
I also asked, since we are anticipating our Florida trip, how long a person will be contagious after the symptoms are gone? He said 2-3 days after the symptoms are gone you're no longer contagious. Wow.
Now, by my thinking I say to the Dr.: "So, basically I might as well have Mia go home and open mouth kiss Matthew and Kayla, and Ron and I too since we're all going to get it." He laughed, but he said he didn't think I'd need to - that it was pretty much inevitable that it will hit everybody in our family. I know it sounds a little crazy - but I'd rather get it over with and keep our Florida plans! At the same time though, we may postpone our trip for one week later to give everyone some more time to be completely well and refreshed. It depends on who gets sick and when.
This is just the beginning though. Tomorrow is only day two for Mia. Kayla had a fever when we put them all to bed. (They were all sleeping at 6pm)
Anyway, as far as H1N1, it's not so bad - but having all of us get it, and three of us being kids 4 and under, it will be no fun. We'd appreciate your prayers in this matter! We try to keep a good attitude and joke about all of this. We have to I guess.
Has anybody reading this experienced the swine flu or one of your family members? Share if you feel like it. I know that knowledge is power sometimes in all this craziness of sickness!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Florida Trip 2009
On November 12th, we'll be leaving around dinner time to head to Florida! We plan to drive straight through and arrive November 13th, late afternoon. It will be ~ 16-day trip. We'll be leaving to come back home the day after Thanksgiving. We are all so excited! I've been so busy finding clothes for the kids to wear there and digging out their bathing suits all over again. I've been going crazy trying to keep up with housework and laundry too so that we'll be all set to leave and not have to come back to any messes. Things are going very smoothly. All the kids "stuff" is already packed and that is a huge task out of the way! I have made lists upon lists upon lists - the only thing that helps me.
This weekend, I will head to the library and pick up about 20 new books for the trip so the kids will have brand new books to check out to pass some time. Other plans to pass the time are: Listening to/Singing Christmas music and so many other kinds of music including Veggie Tales, Michael Buble, Psalms, and tons of others, drawing on magnetic boards, working on learning flash cards, acting goofy, (that one is very crucial to staying happy), watching a movie or two on the portable DVD player, napping, and probably snacking too. It will be a lot of work keep an almost 4-yr old, a 2-yr old and a 10 month old happy on what could be a ~24hr. trip, but it will be worth all the work if we get there still sane! Right!? I am so thankful that we can go on this trip. It will be a nice treat! We'll be celebrating Matthew Thomas's fourth birthday while we're there too! AND we'll be seeing some family that we haven't seen in a long time!
Well, I'm off to bed now. I plan to blog at least once while in Florida. We'll see how that turns out!
This weekend, I will head to the library and pick up about 20 new books for the trip so the kids will have brand new books to check out to pass some time. Other plans to pass the time are: Listening to/Singing Christmas music and so many other kinds of music including Veggie Tales, Michael Buble, Psalms, and tons of others, drawing on magnetic boards, working on learning flash cards, acting goofy, (that one is very crucial to staying happy), watching a movie or two on the portable DVD player, napping, and probably snacking too. It will be a lot of work keep an almost 4-yr old, a 2-yr old and a 10 month old happy on what could be a ~24hr. trip, but it will be worth all the work if we get there still sane! Right!? I am so thankful that we can go on this trip. It will be a nice treat! We'll be celebrating Matthew Thomas's fourth birthday while we're there too! AND we'll be seeing some family that we haven't seen in a long time!
Well, I'm off to bed now. I plan to blog at least once while in Florida. We'll see how that turns out!
Monday, November 2, 2009
The first ever real Tumbry blog entry!
No one can be more excited about this than me...I have been meaning to start a blog for the longest time and I'm so glad that it's finally happening!!! I have always kept a journal, which is more of a private thing. I will always continue to journal, but I think it's so good for the human spirit to share our lives with others. Especially loved ones. I am a believer in the very simple and although this isn't quite as simple as pen and paper, I will "simply" imagine that I am writing with a fountain pen and ink as I reveal the happenings in the Tumbry family.
Speaking from the Mom's point of view, looking after three little ones is a task that I am so thankful to be able to perform. Staying home with them is both an amazing responsibility and an immeasurable blessing! I also watch another four-yr old, Emily, four days a week. The kids love her and her presence here blesses us additionally! These children teach me daily and I am happy to say that I am delighted to be teaching them daily as well. Motherhood, though it's true, "A Mother's work is never done", is so fulfilling that I couldn't possibly ask to have it one bit better. And then there's that perk of having a loving, hard-working partner with me every step of the way. God has truly blessed me with a man with "a heart of gold." Ron's Mom told me this while we were dating. What a blessing being the wife of a man that fits that description.
So!
I hope to share our joys and hard times that are inevitable in all families and I look forward also to hearing feedback as you are led! I look so forward to using this blog! Oh wait! I AM using it right now! Thank you in advance to our readers!
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