This wretched virus has hit our family! It all began with our nephew Chance last week showing signs of a simple cold. My sister Michelle, his Mom, had to leave town for business and my parents were out of state for my Aunt's funeral, so we volunteered to let him come stay with us. Since he and Ben attend the same school it seemed the best solution for all and it allowed David the opportunity to help tend the dogs at Mom's when he took the boy's to school and picked them up. Little did we know then what we know now.
Seems Chance has a friend that was exhibiting flu symptoms but did not miss any school, so he spread his germs all over. Chance on the other hand, was only showing signs of a cough and a slight fever, something that we thought was a slight cold. We kept him home from school at Michelle's insistence and called the doctor to see him. His doctor could not get him in until Thursday of last week, so we just kept him home as things got worse. In the meantime, Ben started coughing and having a sore throat, so home he stayed. Since Mom and Dad came home late Wednesday, she agreed to take Chance to the doctor which was a good thing for us as David had become sick on Wednesday and was not going to be able to take him. James and I were feeling great.
Friday rolled around and I was having a nagging cough in the morning but thought nothing of it, so I went to work leaving my sick child and hubby at home. As the day wore on, the body aches, fever and chills started. About 4 pm, Mom called me at work to say they got the results on Chance, "he has swine flu" is all I heard. I knew that this was not good and that what was happening at home and to me was probably the same thing. I left work as fast as I could finish up and get out of there to prevent infecting anyone else. I got home, told James to take David to the VA to get him some help and went inside to work on helping Ben and myself to feel better. You see there isn't much you can do except rest, drink lots of fluids and rest more! But with David's health condition so unstable from the lymphoma it is important that he be seen quickly. He spent over 10 hours there getting IV's and anti-viral meds for swine flu. On Saturday, Ben and I went to University Hospital to confirm if we had it also, which they did.
Since that time, the three of us have been resting, reading, watching tv, playing on the computer, or sleeping. We have been drinking lots of tea, water, grape and orange juice and enjoying the pots of chicken and hamburger soups my mom and sister made for us. Take it from the 3 of us, follow the doctor's orders, rest, rest, drink, drink, rest, rest, and don't go back to work until your fever has been gone without medication control for 24 hours. I hope none of you get this but we already know several of our family members in other states have gotten it. We love you and hope you are well soon. God Bless everyone!!!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
August!
Wow this year is just flying by! It has been a year of major changes for us. Beginning in December 2008 with the move to Aurora, through hard times with Elizabeth, the death of my Uncle Wallace, the death of David's Uncle Leonard, the death of David's Aunt Anna, Elizabeth's graduation, Ben's surgeries, Ben changing schools, living in a camper for 6 months and the move to a new home of our own.
The move to Aurora was tough, afterall, after 14 years in Trinidad we had a solid foundation of friends and "family". The hardest part of moving was leaving our daughter there. She wanted to finish high school, afterall, it was only 5 months until graduation. During the last months of her high school life, things got pretty bad between all of us and her. She turned 18 in January and she wanted to live life on her own. She was living with her boyfriend and his family, they had some major health issues, she was missing her family especially Ben and trying to deal with preparing for graduation. Of course the minute she turned 18, she didn't want anymore comments from us on how she should do anything in her life. She is now an adult and we have to face that reality. Life goes on.....
Ben had the first of two operations to fix a problem with his hips in March. He says it was a great relief to get rid of the pain the excess cartilidge was causing and looked forward to the 2nd surgery in June. He was enjoying the home bound teaching he received while recuperating. He now says school is such a drag. I think some of that is due to the fact he had no summer per sey. He was on crutches most of the summer thereby limiting his mobility to go do things with his friends. I have advised him to get more involved in school activities, it truly helps make the year go by faster.
James has been working most of the time since the move. He decided to take a semester off from college to allow himself time to adjust to the new surroundings and to get his financial aid in place. He began working at Elitch Gardens in April and has continued with good reviews since then. He applied for entrance to Pickens Technical College but was unable to get things moving for the fall semester. Now he says he is going to see about CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) to get the ball rolling towards nursing school. If he gets his CNA, he can work and go to school to get his degree.
I have been working since June for a Liquor store near our home. It is good to have the extra income to help with all the expenses. I have not stopped applying for others positions as being a liquor store clerk is not my career goal...LOL! David is still trying to find work of some kind but with all the health problems with his back and lymphoma it is very hard. He is now going to see about getting his VA status set to unemployable, that should help as it will increase his monthly payment. He has been seeing the orthopedic doctors about his back pain and now they have determined he needs cervical steriod injections. They will give a series of 3, if they do not help then he will need to have fusion surgery on his back. Time will tell.
As I posted earlier we have been dealing with the loss of severl family members. We are also praying for my Aunt Fran who has been so very sick for the longest time. We are thankful for the good health of the rest of the family.
I guess this is all the news for now, God Bless each of you who follow my blog and Bless your families.
The move to Aurora was tough, afterall, after 14 years in Trinidad we had a solid foundation of friends and "family". The hardest part of moving was leaving our daughter there. She wanted to finish high school, afterall, it was only 5 months until graduation. During the last months of her high school life, things got pretty bad between all of us and her. She turned 18 in January and she wanted to live life on her own. She was living with her boyfriend and his family, they had some major health issues, she was missing her family especially Ben and trying to deal with preparing for graduation. Of course the minute she turned 18, she didn't want anymore comments from us on how she should do anything in her life. She is now an adult and we have to face that reality. Life goes on.....
Ben had the first of two operations to fix a problem with his hips in March. He says it was a great relief to get rid of the pain the excess cartilidge was causing and looked forward to the 2nd surgery in June. He was enjoying the home bound teaching he received while recuperating. He now says school is such a drag. I think some of that is due to the fact he had no summer per sey. He was on crutches most of the summer thereby limiting his mobility to go do things with his friends. I have advised him to get more involved in school activities, it truly helps make the year go by faster.
James has been working most of the time since the move. He decided to take a semester off from college to allow himself time to adjust to the new surroundings and to get his financial aid in place. He began working at Elitch Gardens in April and has continued with good reviews since then. He applied for entrance to Pickens Technical College but was unable to get things moving for the fall semester. Now he says he is going to see about CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) to get the ball rolling towards nursing school. If he gets his CNA, he can work and go to school to get his degree.
I have been working since June for a Liquor store near our home. It is good to have the extra income to help with all the expenses. I have not stopped applying for others positions as being a liquor store clerk is not my career goal...LOL! David is still trying to find work of some kind but with all the health problems with his back and lymphoma it is very hard. He is now going to see about getting his VA status set to unemployable, that should help as it will increase his monthly payment. He has been seeing the orthopedic doctors about his back pain and now they have determined he needs cervical steriod injections. They will give a series of 3, if they do not help then he will need to have fusion surgery on his back. Time will tell.
As I posted earlier we have been dealing with the loss of severl family members. We are also praying for my Aunt Fran who has been so very sick for the longest time. We are thankful for the good health of the rest of the family.
I guess this is all the news for now, God Bless each of you who follow my blog and Bless your families.
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