The Flu: 2 out of 4--And: He's Back!

Last week, Toby came down with what seemed to be a very, very miserable cold. He ran a low-grade fever, had a dry cough, runny nose and seemed run-down (he took 2-3 hour long naps--and he doesn't nap any longer!) for about four days. I'm not the kind of mom that runs off to the doctor, usually, at the first sign of a runny nose. I did consider it, but then the fever went away so I never took him.

Six days later, on Wednesday, I woke up with full sinuses and a slight runny nose. I didn't feel great, but I didn't feel bad. I thought it might even be allergies. I went about my day, in fact, I enjoyed another day where my pregnancy wasn't slowing me down. Later on that night, Thomas had scouts. I took him and was still just fine. As I drove home, I started to not feel well. I got the boys bathed and off to bed and I realized that every inch of my body ached! I went to bed before 10 PM, and before midnight, I woke up with the chills.

The next morning, I knew I had to get to the doctor. I hurt all over. My nose would not stop running and I had a cough. I felt guilty because I realized that Toby most likely felt this bad, and I never took him to the doctor. I knew with the symptoms and with how fast this came on, it was most likely the flu. Thomas had a late-start morning at school due to parent-teacher conferences, and this was one of those instances where I was so glad that I now have a son who can be pretty self-sufficient and helpful when he needs to be. I was so tired and weak but Thomas poured himself and Toby a bowl of cereal and got them each a drink for breakfast and I stayed in bed an extra hour and a half. We all got dressed and out the door and you better believe that I was the very first patient at the Urgent Care Center in my town! And that is the truth!

The doctor agreed that with my symptoms, it all certainly pointed toward the flu. However, the rapid flu test he gave me came back negative. Although that test is a terribly unreliable test, lots of false negatives. We discussed it and decided to treat it as the flu anyhow and get me started on Tamiflu right away. Apparently, the flu and pregnant women are not a good combination to be had! Tamiflu is an anti-viral that lessens the severity of the flu symptoms and speeds up the duration by 1-2 days. The Tamiflu made me nauseated and hurt my stomach. It says you can take it with or without food, and I took it with food right from the start. But, after two doses, I figured out it needs to be LOTS of food and a full glass of milk and then I'm fine. Two days later, I'm on the mend, but still not great. I ran a few errands this morning and came home out-of-steam. I'm going to try to get some extra rest today and tomorrow.

And where was James during all of this? Well, he was in Vienna, Austria! He left last Saturday and returned Friday night. He had a layover in Frankfurt, Germany, Friday morning, which had me a little nervous because of the two Americans that were killed there only two days before, but he said there was nothing to worry about. He never even left the airport. It's good to have him home.

Until later,

Emily