This has been quite an eventful 6 days in my house.
Wednesday (10/28) - I picked up my daughter from daycare. The teacher said she was fussy all afternoon (note #1 - they should have called me at work, but they didn't). I got her to calm down, but she fussed all the way home. I got her home and checked her temperature. She was burning up, 102.7. I gave her some meds and the fever receded for the time being.
Thursday (10/29) - My daughter slept fairly well, only waking up twice, but her fever returned. We kept her home from daycare and called the pediatrician. They said to watch her and if the fever gets worse to bring her in. Of course, it got worse, and we ended up taking her to see the doctor. After an exam and some tests she was diagnosed with, you guessed, H1N1 (swine flu). Just gravy. However, we did catch it early and the Rx'd Tamiflu which really did cut back the severity of it. We think she got it from daycare, because that is the only place we know there has been a confirmed case of H1N1. But in all honesty, it could have been anywhere.
At that point, my wife and I felt fine. I called my doc to be safe and he said to wait and see if I developed any symptoms.
Friday (10/30) - My daughter was no better, but more importantly, she was no worse. I had a little cough the prior night and some tightness in my chest, but I chalked it up to the weather and the mold in the air as I have allergies. Friday night, I could barely sleep. I was coughing and I sweat my way through three shirts. On Saturday morning, it felt like I had a brick on my chest.
Saturday (10/31) - My daughter was starting to feel much better. The intervals of her fever spikes were getting farther and farther apart. Her little cough was becoming less frequent as well. Meanwhile, I went to the doctor. I told them the events of the past couple of days. They did some tests and took a chest x-ray. Yep, you guessed it. I was Dx'd with H1N1 swine flu as well. On top of that, I had a respiratory infection. The doc Rx'd me two meds.
Sunday (11/1) - Actually feel a little better after only one day of meds. They really helped the cough, but I still had fever spikes. The meds are strong so they can go heavy on your stomach if you know what I mean. Well, they did just that at the worst possible time. My wife went down stairs to the washer machine and yelled for me to come down.
The waste line backed up through the basement toilet and the wash basin that the washing machine drains into. I will spare you the gory details, but I will say that cleaning that up was THE MOST DISGUSTING THING I HAVE EVER DONE. I am not a blood and guts person, they do not bother me. I have been around cadavers, no problem. I gut my own fish when I go fishing, no problem. I had no problem dissecting stuff in science class. However, cleaning up regurgitated crap from the drain is where I draw the line. I felt like Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs.
Here is the kicker. I started to get the waste and water with the shop vac, but it filled. I couldn't finish because I had to empty it. I couldn't empty it because I had to wait for the county to come and clean the sewer clean out in my front yard. (To there credit, there were there 15 minutes after I called.) They pulled two softball sized clumps of roots out of the line courtesy of the big *** oak tree in my front yard.
So, the county left, I emptied the shop vac and went back to work. Two hours later, I was done. It took me two hours because I did not feel well. I had a pretty high fever while I was cleaning it up. Round 1 - I hit it with Clorox cleanup.
Monday (11/2) - My daughter is feeling great, back to her little mischievous self with the smile I could look at all day. I started feeling better this morning with no fever and a little cough. But, you guessed it, my wife doesn't feel well. However, she isn't exhibiting any of hour symptoms. Long story short, she has a sinus infection.
I went to the basement for Round 2 - just plain, good old Clorox Bleach. I mixed about half a bottle of it with just over a gallon of water. Yeah, very strong (they say to mix a cap full with a gallon) . I slopped it all over the affected floor area and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Any floor tiles the still were squooshy, were now squooshy with bleach. I soaked up any pooling water and let the rest of the bleach water air dry. I also cranked up my dehumidifier to help with the moisture.
My wife gets home and says that the bleach smell is too strong and starts freaking out because it can be toxic is small spaces. I say we will shut the vents in our daughter's room and open some windows.
I called this thread "when it rains it pours" because it has been a pretty crappy couple of days. I just needed to vent.
I am not usually a glass half full kind of person, but I am in this situation. I am thankful that we have good jobs with excellent health insurance. I am thankful that we can pay our copays. I am thankful that I still have leave to take from work to take care of our daughter and myself. I am thankful that our illnesses were not worse as I am well aware that they could have been. I am glad we are making a full recovery.
There, weight lifted. I actually feel better.
Wednesday (10/28) - I picked up my daughter from daycare. The teacher said she was fussy all afternoon (note #1 - they should have called me at work, but they didn't). I got her to calm down, but she fussed all the way home. I got her home and checked her temperature. She was burning up, 102.7. I gave her some meds and the fever receded for the time being.
Thursday (10/29) - My daughter slept fairly well, only waking up twice, but her fever returned. We kept her home from daycare and called the pediatrician. They said to watch her and if the fever gets worse to bring her in. Of course, it got worse, and we ended up taking her to see the doctor. After an exam and some tests she was diagnosed with, you guessed, H1N1 (swine flu). Just gravy. However, we did catch it early and the Rx'd Tamiflu which really did cut back the severity of it. We think she got it from daycare, because that is the only place we know there has been a confirmed case of H1N1. But in all honesty, it could have been anywhere.
At that point, my wife and I felt fine. I called my doc to be safe and he said to wait and see if I developed any symptoms.
Friday (10/30) - My daughter was no better, but more importantly, she was no worse. I had a little cough the prior night and some tightness in my chest, but I chalked it up to the weather and the mold in the air as I have allergies. Friday night, I could barely sleep. I was coughing and I sweat my way through three shirts. On Saturday morning, it felt like I had a brick on my chest.
Saturday (10/31) - My daughter was starting to feel much better. The intervals of her fever spikes were getting farther and farther apart. Her little cough was becoming less frequent as well. Meanwhile, I went to the doctor. I told them the events of the past couple of days. They did some tests and took a chest x-ray. Yep, you guessed it. I was Dx'd with H1N1 swine flu as well. On top of that, I had a respiratory infection. The doc Rx'd me two meds.
Sunday (11/1) - Actually feel a little better after only one day of meds. They really helped the cough, but I still had fever spikes. The meds are strong so they can go heavy on your stomach if you know what I mean. Well, they did just that at the worst possible time. My wife went down stairs to the washer machine and yelled for me to come down.
The waste line backed up through the basement toilet and the wash basin that the washing machine drains into. I will spare you the gory details, but I will say that cleaning that up was THE MOST DISGUSTING THING I HAVE EVER DONE. I am not a blood and guts person, they do not bother me. I have been around cadavers, no problem. I gut my own fish when I go fishing, no problem. I had no problem dissecting stuff in science class. However, cleaning up regurgitated crap from the drain is where I draw the line. I felt like Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs.
Here is the kicker. I started to get the waste and water with the shop vac, but it filled. I couldn't finish because I had to empty it. I couldn't empty it because I had to wait for the county to come and clean the sewer clean out in my front yard. (To there credit, there were there 15 minutes after I called.) They pulled two softball sized clumps of roots out of the line courtesy of the big *** oak tree in my front yard.
So, the county left, I emptied the shop vac and went back to work. Two hours later, I was done. It took me two hours because I did not feel well. I had a pretty high fever while I was cleaning it up. Round 1 - I hit it with Clorox cleanup.
Monday (11/2) - My daughter is feeling great, back to her little mischievous self with the smile I could look at all day. I started feeling better this morning with no fever and a little cough. But, you guessed it, my wife doesn't feel well. However, she isn't exhibiting any of hour symptoms. Long story short, she has a sinus infection.
I went to the basement for Round 2 - just plain, good old Clorox Bleach. I mixed about half a bottle of it with just over a gallon of water. Yeah, very strong (they say to mix a cap full with a gallon) . I slopped it all over the affected floor area and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Any floor tiles the still were squooshy, were now squooshy with bleach. I soaked up any pooling water and let the rest of the bleach water air dry. I also cranked up my dehumidifier to help with the moisture.
My wife gets home and says that the bleach smell is too strong and starts freaking out because it can be toxic is small spaces. I say we will shut the vents in our daughter's room and open some windows.
I called this thread "when it rains it pours" because it has been a pretty crappy couple of days. I just needed to vent.
I am not usually a glass half full kind of person, but I am in this situation. I am thankful that we have good jobs with excellent health insurance. I am thankful that we can pay our copays. I am thankful that I still have leave to take from work to take care of our daughter and myself. I am thankful that our illnesses were not worse as I am well aware that they could have been. I am glad we are making a full recovery.
There, weight lifted. I actually feel better.
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I agree with you. This week will be better. I hope you and your family are on the mend and that your mom is doing well.
