When it rains, it pours

We returned from a week in Arkansas last Saturday (9th?). KB had a blast playing with his cousins all week. He is especially enamored of my younger nephew, BK, who is 6.

Got a phone call from my mom on Monday saying she was returning from the pediatrician's office. Both boys were diagnosed with the flu. Great.

Took KB to the pediatrician on Tuesday for a "JIC" consult. I didn't get any of us the flu shot this year. I highly doubt that getting the shot on Tuesday would have helped given the recent exposure. Moot point anyway as KB had a fever of 100.5 when we were in the office.

Early Wednesday, 1:15ish, KB woke up burning with fever. 102.8. S stayed home with him while I went to work.

Thursday we switched. Friday S stayed home with us because I had started getting sick too.

I really don't know what KB has -- mostly his symptoms are fever, runny nose, croupy cough (which has improved greatly since Wednesday) and some vomiting. His appetite is pretty non-existent. One of the few things he is enthusiastic about is popsicles. He would be happy to eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I would let him.

S was supposed to leave for Manila on Saturday night, but I asked him to consider postponing his trip since both KB and I were sick. He postponed it until today; we dropped him off at SFO a little before 10 this morning. He will be back next Thursday.

I am highly annoyed. I had told him after the last trip that I wanted it to be the last one. These trips are very much under his control. Except for the very first one he made, back in October, 2004, I don't believe anyone has asked him to go back. He always volunteers.

He has left us when I was sick before -- one time I especially remember was KB's first Thanksgiving in 2005. We were at my parents' house in Arkansas and S left directly from there to go to Manila. I guess he figured since I was with my folks, they could help out with KB while I was sick. And they did; my dad was awesome about keeping KB in the mornings so I could get some much-needed rest.

But now, here, we are on our own. My strategy is to sleep as much as possible (i.e. , whenever KB sleeps) and do my best to muddle through.

Oh, and one more item to add to the mix: my dad was admitted to the ICU back home on Saturday morning. He's been having chest pains and a lot of general malaise lately, so Mom finally forced him to see a doctor last week. He was diagnosed with pneumonia as well as some heart weirdness (his heart rate was 167 bpm at the doctor's office!!)

On Saturday, after 3 days of antibiotics, Dad was still feeling pretty rotten, so Mom took him to the ER. After an EKG, he was immediately admitted to the ICU for IV antibiotics. He has some inflammation and fluid around his heart. The doctors are still trying to figure out exactly what is going on.

Dad's not eating and he's throwing up quite a bit (probably from all his meds on an empty stomach) and according to my mom, he is a very crotchety patient.

Still waiting to hear today's update from my mom.

Needless to say, the stress level around here is pretty high.