Down with the Sickness

We've had a few nasty stomach bugs go around our family since Carter started school. This past week Carter came down with the nastiness for the 3rd time since September. Each time it has been varying degrees of terrible, thankfully this time it just meant throwing up once and diarrhea the rest of the time for him. Poor Carter was scared to go to the bathroom by himself so I'd sit with him and then wipe him with a warm, wet washcloth when he was done. Elise never threw up but had the other symptoms for a long time. Then Ty got it and anytime something goes around Ty gets it so much worse than everyone else. He was up all night throwing up and then once he started to feel better he got hit with a second round and was up all night throwing up again. It was terrible. Thankfully Ty is the most pleasant sick person I have ever experienced. He does very little complaining and what he does is all done with a bit of comedy mixed in. He just goes and lays in bed and sleeps all day. When he wants to eat something he gets up and makes it himself, even if I've been in checking on him all day asking him if I can get him anything. Occasionally he'll request some Sprite or Powerade but for the most part he's pretty self sufficient when he's sick. I would definitely help him more if he would allow me, but I'm also glad to have a husband who isn't a wimp like the whole sick husband stereotype goes.

I was the only one awake on Sunday afternoon.

 It was a very quiet afternoon for me.

This time around I never came down with it. My stomach hurt during the whole ordeal but I think that may have been due to smelling the stench of diarrhea pretty much all day long. Anytime the kids get sick, I either get it last or don't get it at all. Elise has come out unscathed once as well. This time I somehow was able to stay healthy despite forgetting about germs and drinking after Carter when he was still sick! I mostly attribute it to the probiotics Ty had me taking once he got sick. It is nice to make it out without getting sick but being the last one to get sick is awful! It means everyone else is better by the time I get sick and most the time means Ty is anxious to get back to work since he had to take some sick days. It also means I spend days wondering when it's going to hit. This time I actually moved my runs around to make sure I got out to run before the illness hit, but it never did! I made sure to eat plenty in the mornings because Ty ended up losing 10 pounds over the course of 3 days and I wanted to make sure I had plenty to fuel my body when the time came. I definitely wish I wasn't always the last one to get sick. Waiting and trying to anticipate when I'm going to get sick is almost worse than just getting sick in the first place! But I am also very thankful that I am able to take care of all my loves and do anything that will help them to feel better, even if it means sitting in fumes for long periods of time! When I put Carter to bed after a long day of him feeling miserable, as I started to walk down the hall he yelled out, "Thank you for helping me feel better, mommy!" His heart is so sweet and I am so lucky to be his momma. When he finally had a solid poo again he was still sitting on the toilet and asked me, "Did you tell daddy the good news?!" He never ceases to make me laugh. I hope all of you are staying healthy! We are getting very serious about hand washing around here in hopes that this will be that last round of "the puking, shitting disease" or "the death virus" both names coined by Ty.