Wednesday started out as a normal day. I went about my normal routine and at 3 o'clock went to pick up my 10 year old to take her to gymnastics. I watched her walk out of the school but she wasn't smiling or talking to anyone.
She opened the door, plopped down in the passenger's seat and laid her head back. "Mom, I don't feel good. I've been achy all day, my throat hurts and I'm burning up," she groaned.
I reached over and placed my hand on her forehead. She was hot.
"When did you start feeling bad?" I asked.
"This morning," she replied.
"What the heck? Why didn't the nurse call me?"
"I didn't tell my teachers, I didn't want to bother them."
"Well, you have a cell phone. You could have just texted me," I said.
She shrugged, "I didn't want to bother you either."
I was so upset, thinking about my feverish child suffering all day long. Poor thing.
"Listen, if you feel sick EVER - you need to tell someone or call me and I will come get you. That is not bothering anyone."
"But I knew I could make it."
She is tough cookie. Meanwhile, my 12-year old texts me once every 2 weeks like, "My stomach hurts. Can you pick me up?" I fell for that one time. Picked her up from school and then she had the nerve to ask me if I'd take her to Chik-fil-a.
I drive my daughter home and the whole time I'm feeling like a horrible parent because my kid was ill all day and I was just going about my business. Bad Mom Award.
As soon as we got home I took her temperature - 101.2. Not alarmingly high, but high enough. Her baseline temperature is 97.5. It used to freak me out, but apparently some people have lower body temps. She must be some kind of reptilian shape-shifter or something. So even when she has a temp of 99, she presents as more ill than your average person.
I told her to take a shower. I made her a healthy snack and got her some medicine. She crawled into bed and I sat on the edge as she took her medicine. She looked up at me with her glazed eyes, "Thanks so much for taking care of me, mom. I love you so much. Will you lay with me?"
What?!?! Something is wrong with this child she must be REALLY sick. Somebody call 9-11.
She slept for a long time. Her fever went up and down and kept her hydrated and medicated. I took her into the doctor this morning and she tested positive for flu. The doc prescribed her Tamiflu and told me to keep her home and resting until next Monday.
She was supposed to participate gymnastics competition in Savannah on Friday. She had tears in her eyes. "Mom, I really wanted to go and now you wasted all of your money. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. You need to get better, there's no reason to be sorry. Sometimes things like this happen."
Besides, when you are a parent of a middle schooler, you constantly are just throwing money down the toilet. I was more upset that she wasn't going to get to go. She works so hard.
We drove to the pharmacy to drop off her prescription and she asked, "Can we go to Sonic and get corn dogs?"
Really, you have a fever of 102 and are barely holding your head up and you just want to go get corndogs?
"How about a Powerade slushie instead and I'll make you chicken noodle soup when we get home?"
She rested all day and she is in better spirits. Her fever is hanging out around 100. I just went in to check on her and I reached out to feel her forehead. She gave me a dirty look. "Stop trying to touch me, you pervert!"
I would say she's starting to feel better and getting back to her normal self.
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