Sick, Sick, Sick

I've mentioned this before, but it's proving itself even more true...this is our sickness season.

We made it thru last fall, winter and spring without any sickness. This is remarkable for a house full of active little boys who frequent various playgrounds during flu season. (And, no, we didn't take the flu vaccine.) I'm so grateful for that healthy season, and I guess our time was coming. In July we had some 24 hour viruses that brought weakness and fever. In August we all took turns with the stomach bug. This month so far, Chance has had a sinus and ear infection; Chandler has had a fever virus, and it looks like he has another one now...and Chuck has viral meningitis.

If you are anything like me, that is probably a foreign word. I knew it was a serious sickness, but not sure what it meant. Here's what it's looked like:

Thursday we went to the zoo (blog post to come...eventually), and while there, Chuck said he was getting a headache. Once we got home, he started having fever. By evening he was feeling weak, so he took Tylenol PM and headed to bed, reasoning that he'd overdone it physically at the zoo. I was thinking it may have been the same virus Chandler had had earlier that week.

The next morning, he was still tired, so he slept until noon, then felt fine. This made it look even more like a 24 hour bug. For the next 24 hours he was completely well. But then the next night the fever and headache came back with a vengeance. He suffered through the night, and we headed to the hospital that morning, a bit concerned because the fever wouldn't break with ibuprofen or tylenol. Chuck already researched it and saw the possibility of meningitis. The big question was "is it viral or bacterial?" Viral, while untreatable, is definitely the lesser of the 2 evils. So the ER did the spinal tap and confirmed it's definitely meningitis, but we won't know for 24 hours for sure if it's only viral. Thus, he got to stay in the hospital overnight while they waited for results (and on antibiotics, just in case it was bacterial). We had so many people praying for us, it was very encouraging. Anyhow, by the next evening we had a confirmation that it was only viral and he could go home and finish enduring it. The medication he's on keeps the fever and headaches down, so overall he just feels tired.

The doctor explained that it's an infection that surrounds the spine and goes up into the brain. The outer lining of the brain is inflamed (thus the killer headaches). Stress, dehydration, etc can make it much worse in severity. He said that bacterial, on the other hand, usually occurs in people who already have suppressed immunity (folks with AIDS, cancer, etc), and they usually don't survive bacterial meningitis (gulp). Anyhow, the doctor said he's to take it easy for the next couple of weeks and he'll be fine.

Then the doctor says, "So no chores for the next 6 months." And he winks at Chuck. Uh huh...

On the way home from the hospital, Chuck tries to take that joke and run with it.

"You know the doctor said no chores for the next 6 months, right? Are you going to be ok with that?" (big goofy grin on his face. Nice try, Bucko!)

"Uh, you know that I can't survive without your help for the next 6 months."

Chuck: "But God wouldn't give you more than you could handle, right?!"

*pause*

Me: "Oh yeah...then why did He give me you?" *ba-bum Chi*

At least his humor is still intact. ;)


So, we're at home, and grateful for all the help we've received... Big Daddy and Nana watched the big boys over the weekend, my dear friends, the Jacksons watched Chandler for the day while we went to the hospital, and now Chuck's parents have been here serving us and really lifting our spirits. There's something so calming about a clean house - at least for me (thanks Yvonne!!). We are so blessed.

This really seems like nothing compared to the anguish and frustration some our friends are going through in the wake of Hurricane Ike. I still can't imagine how traumatic it's all been for some folks back in my hometown. We're praying for you all.