Thankful for Meds

What a week! Warning: this post is just a play-by-play of my battle with illnesses this week.

In my last post, I told you all about my breathing treatments. Well...we're still working on those. And now, I'm also taking an antibiotic to help with an ear infection. It seems I can't catch a break!

Mommy noticed I was warm on Tuesday morning when she was getting me ready for school, and sure enough...I was running a fever. She stayed home with me that day and we had a low key day at the house. We made a few Christmas crafts together, watched some movies, snuggled, and slept. Mom and Dad both had Wednesday off for Thanksgiving break. Our plan was to drive over to O'Fallon on Wednesday afternoon, but I just wasn't up to it. I was still running a low fever, and my cough wasn't allowing me to keep a lot down. We decided to have a family day at home and drive over to Grandma and Papa Paul's on Thanksgiving Day. We weren't celebrating Thanksgiving until Saturday anyway, so it wasn't too big of a deal.

Thursday morning, I still felt crummy...but I didn't seem to be any worse, so we decided to hit the road. Unfortunately, I got sick about half way through the trip. It was no fun, but we were all troopers - Dad pulled off on the side of the road, Mom got me all cleaned up, I pretended like it was no big deal, and off we went. We made it to O'Fallon just in time for Aunt Donna's homemade chicken and dumplings. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't feeling up to indulging in one of my favorite meals, but I did have a few bites. Mom had a few bowlfuls. Clearly, her tummy was felling just fine.

Friday, I was at my worst. I woke up feeling awful. I clung to Mommy constantly, fell asleep at 10 a.m. (my nap isn't until 12:30), and ended up puking everywhere (this time, not because of the coughing). I was miserable. And Mommy felt terrible for dragging me all the way across the state of Missouri when I was sick. Dad and I both told Mom to stop worrying (she's always such a worry wart)...so she pulled herself together, and we continued to snuggle and sleep the rest of the day.

Saturday was better. I still wasn't back to normal, but it was definitely an improvement. By the evening, I was even up for the Mac Family Thanksgiving. I chowed down on rice and applesauce (stuck with the B.A.R.T. diet) and had fun exploring the house. It was FULL of people. Most of the family was there (we missed you Aunt Tammy and Nathan!), and several other extended "family" members were there as well. Mom and Dad enjoyed visiting with everyone. It's missing gatherings like this that make it so hard to live so far away.

Our drive back today was uneventful, but long. It seems everyone was using I-70 to get back home. I coughed up a few times, but Mommy got pretty good at catching it so that it didn't make a mess. She says she's thankful for hand sanitizer. I slept a couple of hours, and then we stopped at Chipotle so that I could eat more rice for dinner. Once we were home, Daddy pinned me down so that I would take my breathing treatment (thanks a lot, Aunt Sheri!).

Since I'm no longer running a fever or vomiting, it's back to school I go tomorrow. Mom has a note for my teachers to tell them about my meds and to remind them that my parents are just a phone call away. We're headed back to the doc tomorrow afternoon. It's supposed to be my 18 month wellness check up, but Mommy says that I don't have to get my shots tomorrow. She wants me to be feeling 100% when I get those (I appreciate that!). We're mainly keeping the appointment so that we can follow up about the ear infection.

If you're still reading, thanks for your concern. This week, I was most thankful for my medicines, Mommy's snuggles, and Daddy's ability to make me smile even when I'm feeling crummy.

Hoping this week is better than last!

Love,
Elijah