Bug Catching

Bugs seem to be the theme of late - attacking mosquitoes, bug-catching containers of various sorts, and . . . unfortunately a REALLY annoying virus that Olivia caught (we think at school, from her James and the Giant Peach partner). At first we thought it was just exhaustion, hyperbolized by Uintah Elementary's first official "Fun Run" on Friday morning. I was there as she staggered dramatically through the ribbon at the end of the 2.7 mile route, not suspecting anything at all. However, by Friday evening, it was clearly much more than fatigue.

It is now going into its 8th day, and has consisted of: spiking fevers, persistent coughing (which is why I am still up, yet again), a trip to the doctor, a lovely trip to the ER for breathing treatments, more coughing, the inhaler every four hours, and very little sleep. The result is a mother and nine-year-old daughter who love each other more, and can't stand each other more, depending on the particular moment. I am now extremely grateful I am on break from work from Tanner Dance, and that the kids' dad just arrived from North Carolina (moved, actually, with his wife and their son). I am happy to report that so far - we're still praying - no one else in the family has caught this awful bug. I am also incredibly grateful for my amazing family and all of their on-the-spot help recently.

Tuesday night was a winner in my books for sure. After several days of Olivia not feeling well, the cough finally started getting the better of her. She is my one child who has always seemed to struggle terribly when she gets a cough, which is typically once or twice a year. I felt like we were SO on top of it when I made an appointment at our clinic for her, and the doc prescribed a cough medicine with a bit of codeine (she's barely old enough for it) for sleep. The doc also said they got so backed up testing for the swine flu, that they stopped. However, the current virus going around is apparently more intense than the swine flu and lasts about 7-12 days!!! We've NEVER had that. Anyhow, I felt o.k. about everything after leaving the clinic on Tuesday morning. Then, as evening crept upon us, the coughing and the fevers would not respond to the Tylenol and cough medicine. Olivia claimed at least once that she couldn't breathe (although her oxygen levels remained normal, thankfully).

When I called my mom, she immediately came down to help out. Just before that, Isaac had broken a piece off the downspout near our basement window well, tripping on it after filling up a water balloon at the hose nearby. The thought that went through my head was, "It's going to rain now for sure, so I best get that fixed". That thought was flung to the back burner when moments later, Isaac moved on to riding his bike. I heard a terrible cry from inside where I was scurrying to make beans and toasted cheese sandwiches for dinner (why was I thinking about dinner at a time like this?). The cry was from Isaac, who had, AGAIN, fallen off his bike and scraped his knee up horribly. To add insult to injury, Grace came riding by Isaac on the ground, and fell right on top of him with her bike! Just then, the rain began IN EARNEST. Maybe it didn't start out that way, but it didn't take long before the street seemed like a massive puddle.

Meanwhile, I had called my dad to give Olivia a blessing before she went to the ER. Somehow I had managed to finish making dinner and patch Isaac up somewhere in there too. My dad arrived during the storm, left again to pick up Uncle Ben to help, and then IT OCCURRED TO ME, as I looked out our front window. The downspout is broken!!! The basement is going to flood!!! I immediately called my home teacher (who is, by the way, a saint). I just knew he would be available right then, somehow, and he was. My mom and I were furiously bailing water out of the window well when he showed up with his son and some tools. At this point I was actually laughing, not knowing how else to manage the stress. He not only refastened the spout properly, but reinforced it with screws, while simultaneously entertaining Grace and Isaac who were peering out of the front window. The blessing for Olivia was administered, and the basement DIDN'T flood. It came close, however, completely soaking one towel I had forced against the window downstairs. Phew. If I hadn't decided that Olivia needed a blessing before we left, the basement surely, most definitely, would have flooded. Just one of the blessings of the blessing.

On our way to Primary Children's Hospital, Olivia proclaimed that this was definitely the worst day of her life. She isn't even 10 yet, so it's understandable. My mom drove behind us in her own car, and we barely avoided many gigantic puddles to get Olivia to better breathing. By then I had heard everyone involved, including myself, state "When it rains, it pours". Never before, and probably never again will that statement be more accurate. It was standing room only in the ER by the time we arrived. Among several others with similar symptoms as Olivia's, we met up with one of our previous babysitters, whose foot had been run over by a car in her driveway. There were also two girls with possible appendicitis, talking with one another about their similar symptoms. It was a sight, but we only had to wait about an hour to get a room. The staff were efficient and kind, which resulted in a somewhat peaceful (but yucky, according to Olivia) breathing treatment. My mom even randomly found the EXACT same book my dad had found the last time we were at Primary's with Olivia for her ski accident months ago. It's called My Pet Crocodile and Other Slightly Outrageous Verse (by John Billings). It kept us entertained for a good while. I wonder if it will be there next time. They also got the fever back down to normal by the time we checked out 3 1/2 hours later.

It was nice to not have Olivia 'cooking' any more, for a time. It all seemed perfectly wonderful at one point when Olivia snarfed down - and I mean RAVENOUSLY - an egg-salad sandwich my mom had bought her at the AMAZING cafeteria at Primary Children's. I'm so glad my mom was there, because I can't stand egg-salad sandwiches and wouldn't have thought of it. However, my mom knew Olivia loved them, and it was a very fresh and tasty one, apparently. It was also pretty much the only thing she would eat all day. We then said our farewells to the lovely docs and nurses, got the inhaler prescription, and administered a few puffs of it to make sure we knew what we were doing. Then we headed home around midnight. Thankfully, the other kids were sound asleep. I was sure Olivia would be too within minutes.

How very wrong was I. For, upon settling into her own bed, the coughing flared up into an even greater fit than before. It was another THREE hours before she finally fell asleep, after some praying, singing, a sincere effort at being patient on my part, and finally an administration of the medicine with codeine (not on the menu for the night, but given in desperation after a phone call with the ER nurse). FINALLY, she slept for a few hours. Since then, the fever has been kept at bay somewhat, as well as the coughing. We have enjoyed the excuse to buy Jamba Juice and watch old videos of Olivia as a baby. While Olivia was getting some fresh air outside today, she said she saw the boy from school, who she thinks gave her this illness. He complained that the James and The Giant Peach project at school was difficult without her. She said something like, "Now you know how I felt when you were gone for a week".

I am aware that this isn't so much serious, as it is a test of my patience and poor Olivia's physical endurance. I know that what we are suffering has been mollified by so many tender mercies and specific acts of kindness from others. I know I am weak and that I have much to learn. And I am SO glad that I don't hear coughing at the moment, that the fever has all but subsided. Just before beginning this entry I was down in Olivia's room, turning on her favorite CD, "A Child's Prayer". I don't mean to make this sound like advertising, but this CD is miraculous. It can calm any trouble as far as I am concerned, and has indeed seemed to actually stop several coughing fits. In fact, A Child's Prayer, Brandi Carlile, James Conlee, and (yes, even) The High Uintas have really helped Olivia through this ordeal. She has even asked me to play live guitar music for her and sing. Now that is a compliment from someone who is ill. It is unlikely that you will find The High Uintas on iTunes, but Jill may still have our recordings on a blog somewhere. Jill??

Anyhow, maybe I should go to bed now that all is quiet. Maybe I will stop having strange dreams about being a nurse in a hospital. Maybe the cough will be over before school gets out for the summer on Tuesday! Missing field day and Science Day were tough for Olivia. School may get boring for her at times, but she is now officially grateful for it.

I think I will start a fresh new entry about the more pleasant aspects of our current living situation later, which will include the more wondrous moments of our existence. For now, I think this story is quite enough . . .