Sniffles, sneezes, coughs and other goodies

Three weeks into to the new school year and germs have permeated our household. First week (maybe first day) Liam came home with sniffles and a runny nose. It's just the common cold, I mutter to myself. Of course, this cold was passed to everyone else in the family (except for me, knock on wood).

Yesterday, around 4 PM, Liam complains about being exhausted. He says it a few times. Pretty strong word for a first grader.

"Yep, you must be. You had a whole day in school. Now let's finish your homework," I say, not taking his comment seriously.

"Ok, but can I go lay on the sofa and take a break for a few minutes? My stomach hurts too." Liam shuffles to the sofa and pulls a quilt over himself.

Hmmm, I think to myself. Hope he's not getting sick again.

Half an hour later, I check on the little tyke. Feel his forehead...it's warm. Uh oh. Get the thermometer out--99.4 degrees. A little fever. Great.

I put the kids to bed early. Liam's breathing is fast and sounds funny, kind of rattle-y and labored. Gave him some Children's Motrin and kissed him good night. I knew it would be a long night.

One hour later, I hear "Mommy!" I run into his room and he complains, "My tummy hurts!" I grab a trash bag and a towel. Dave grabs a big bowl (metal mixing kind). I'm thinking to myself, It's gotta be the flu and it's definitely going to be a long night. Dave tells Liam that if he has to throw up, please, please try to make it in the bag or bowl or we'll have to change all the sheets and you'll have to sleep on the floor. I lay the towel across the pillow just in case. Good night, Sunshine, try to get some sleep. Usually I take the brunt of these late night calls for Mommy or Daddy but Dave is still up even though he has an important meeting early next morning with his boss Bernie and Amcor Flexibles. He's up through it all as well.
   
Thirty minutes later, I hear "Mommy!" I run again into Liam's room and he is whining and moaning, but not fully awake. The blankets are tousled and his limbs are sticking out every which way. His head is burning up. Thermometer reads 100.3 degrees. I rub his back and he falls back to sleep, sort of.

Five minutes later, I hear a groaning "Mommy!" This time, I equip myself with my pillow and and march down the hall to his room. I decide I'm going to camp out in his room. Every time I fall asleep, I'm awakened by moans and whimpers. He climbs out of bed and lays next to me on the floor. He climbs back in bed. And so forth until around 4 AM. He's moving constantly, and I'm groggily try to soothe him.

It's 4 AM and he finally throws up (twice). He feels instantly better he says. After cleaning him up, I tell him I'm going to take the dog out. Be right back. When I come back, David is in his room, lying next to him and trying to soothe him. I hear him whispering to Liam about watching an endless amount of game shows in the morning since he won't have to go to school. I go back to bed. Dave creeps in ten minutes later and we both sleep until about 6:30 AM when our day begins.

We're going to the doctor this morning at 11:15 AM. Thermometer read 103.1 degrees. Yikes! Flu? Probably. H1N1 Virus? Hope not.

UPDATE (2:24 PM)
Went to the doctor. Since Liam's breathing was fast and labored, he had to get a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. X-rays were clear, thankfully. Next option--influenza! Nurse swabbed the back of his throat to send out to the lab. Results for flu type should be back by Monday. If it is positive for Type A and Type B, they'll send it to the state to test for H1N1. Meanwhile, he'll be taking Tamiflu for five days. He'll also be watching tons of Spongebob, game shows (he seems to like "Lingo"--go figure), eating Pedialyte frozen pops, sleeping and getting spoiled rotten by this writer. And why not? You get to be spoiled when you're sick. That's the cardinal rule.