Swine Flu

Being a sweet lil angel! His crib looks like a jail!

"Uhhhh Mom, what is this IN my foot?"




Sick? Who's sick? Such a sweet lil boy! Even when he is hosopitalized.





At the ER in Destin with Mimi.




Holy shit my kid has swine flu!!!!! Yes thats right, you hear all about the swine flu in winter of 2008, but never hear anything about anyone you know actually getting it. Well just wait six months and poof, here we are!! I have no idea how this happened. Yes I am a nurse that works at a hospital, but "right now" doesn't even touch patients (gosh I hate this job). No other employees have shown any signs or symptoms, so how in the world did I catch it? It's a mystery. Last week I packed up Oran and we headed to Destin for a summer vacation. I was so excited! I got the whole family in on this trip. On July 29th around 4ish I wake from a "car-nap". My mother was driving Oran and I to Florida. I tell my mom that I feel fever-ish and sorta outta it. I thought it was just from the car-nap, or too long of a mid-afternoon nap (naps make me feel weird). I shrug it off. I develop a major cough that I also shrug off. After I put Oran to bed around 8ish I too go to sleep. And proceed to sleep 12-14 hours! If you know me thats nothing. I love to sleep. But now that I have a child sleeping more than 8 hours is unheard of. Over the next day my symptoms get worse. Cough from HELL, headache, bodyaches, fever, chills, sweats, all your classic signs. I refuse to go to the doctor, I am on vacation! I eventually muster up the strength to take my nephew to the pool that is just yards away. I knew I was sick when I was sitting in the pool and I developed chills! I was literally chilly in the sun. Not good! The next day everyone arrived. By everyone I mean Tracy, Sarah, Steve, Robert and Jack. They immediately realize I am sick and beg me to seek medical attention. I blow them off. After spending the day sleeping, and coughing and complaining, my family insisted that I go and visit a doctor. (Nurses are the worst patients) I go, I have freaking influenza in August! Yuck. Well my sweet little lamb-chop had also been feeling crummy but I blamed it on teeth, or his ole ear infection. Yeh WRONG! I end up taking him TWO days later to the doctor, yes supermom waited 2 stinkin days!! I am so sorry Oran! Well he was diagnosed with asthma and bacterial pneumonia, yikes! Well by then we had all the fun we could stand. So we loaded up and headed back home after Orans dinner so he could sleep the whole way home. After a few hours in the crib at Mimi's we got back in the car to head for real home, Athens. I am searching for a place to get Oran a breathing machine. I call my doctor to get a written order and to make a follow-up appt. They insisted I come in to get an order. I was a lil annoyed that I couldn't just go get my machine and go HOME. While we are waiting for our appt. Oran starts to wheeze. I have the albuterol just no damn machine. I frantically knock on neighbors doors looking for this stupid thing with NO luck. I realize that Oran is struggling to breathe more the longer I search, so I put him in the car and we go to the ER. This is my stomping grounds. I march in there and tell the triage nurse that I need a breathing treatment until I can make it to the doctors office. I point out his increased effort to breathe along with his diagnoses of pneumonia. but she says he is in no distress and puts me in the waiting room. I was pissed, but acted like a good patient and set in the waiting room just like everyone else. After 45 mins I decide to just go on to the doctors office a bit early. Doctors first words, "He is in respiratory distress!" He was appalled that they did NOTHING at the ER. Oran then gets tested for the Flu and is positive, big shock. Why wasn't he tested in Florida? Heck I dunno, when you're sick things slip right past you. Why did they do a chest x-ray and no flu test? Again I have no idea. Wow this story keeps going in 10 different directions. Blah anywho long story short...we are admitted to the hospital. Everyone entering the room must put on a gown, gloves, eye protection, and TWO masks! It looks like he has something horrible like SWINE FLU!!! Oh wait, he does! (Either I am very tired or still sick because this story sucks. My head is all over the place, not one organized thought anywhere. I'll blame the H1N1 FLU) (Mimi is mentioned nowhere in this post because she was everywhere, meaning she was by my side the ENTIRE time! I love you MOM!)