Barf Fest 2006

COUGH COUGH HWAAAUUUGGHGHHHHHHHH!!! SSHLLLLOOORRPRPPPPP!! UUUUUGGGHHHH!!!!! SCHLOOOORRRRPPPPP!!!!!! HACK HACKKKK SCHLOOORRPPPP!!!!!!

This was the fine sound that woke us up at 12:30 this morning. The Bear had come down a short while earlier and was sleeping on the floor to the side of our bed.

"Did you just throw up?"

"Yes." GWAAAUUGHGHHHH!!!! SCCHLOOORRRRPPPPP!!!!!!

"Aim for the blanket!!!!"

Okay, that was pretty graphic, but welcome to our world. The blankets and several towels went into the laundry, the pillow went into a garbage bag and out to the trash. DramaMama cleaned up the excess that made it into the carpet. Daddy got a new pillow and blankets, and a bowl. The Bear got hosed down and changed out of his split-pea soup covered clothes.

Awwww, back to sleep. I wish. I lay awake for 2 hours, because I have this real annoying thing that if I wake up in the night, I have a hard time getting back to sleep.

So about 2 hours passed. COUGH COUGH HWWUUUUAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!

"AW CRAP!!!"

This time I was able to get him into the bathroom in front of the potty. I returned to the scene of the barfing to clean up when he started up again in the bathroom. When I got back to where I could see him, I expected to see him hunched over the potty gutting it into the can. Not our Bear. He was standing up arched back, projectile vomiting into the bathroom.

I made the mistake of hollering, which drew his attention mid-spew, which in turn altered the course of the pea soup. SCHLLLOOOORRPPPPPPP!!!!

It reminded me of some horror movie I saw a clip from.

We finally got him on his knees and hocking like a proper sick child. Drama took bathroom cleaning duty, while I cleaned up the blankets and set them into the washer. The first load was done, so it went into the dryer. I prepared yet another nest for our sick little bear.

Awwww to sleep, perchance to... GWAAAUUUUGHHHHHHHH!!!!!

This time, I got him in the bathroom and in proper chucking position before the flood gates opened. One successful barf-a-rama later, and it was back to bed.

Shortly before I left for work he went at it again, but made it to the bathroom in time.

I'll spare the details of the big orange chunks in it that looked like hunks of cheddar. Oh wait, that was a detail. DOH!

Draggin' me Waggin

By way of an update of sorts, not a lot of progress has been made as to the more serious of my ailments. I think I have kicked the pnuemonia, but still have coughing fits at night. The urgent care doc told me that an enlarged heart makes you cough.

People always told me I had a big heart, but I thought they meant I was a nice, generous kinda guy.

I still am not feeling 100%, but I am better than I was. I still get pooped easily, and I think it is aggravating my dear wifey. We attended our annual breakfast with Santa yesterday, and I ran out of gas about half way through. I missed her family Christmas party because I wasn't feeling well, and pretty much slept from when we got home from breakfast until after 1:00 in the afternoon. I would have slept longer but the phone woke me up. I seriously crashed. DramaMama hasn't said much to me since.

So anyway, I made her dinner last night, and have been cleaning a bit today. We have family coming over for our Christmas party in 2 hours. We all need a vacation. We all need some alone time to feed our souls as it where.

I need to have a nap before the party so I don't be the Grinch again this year.

Sickies-R-Us

Well, I was feelin' so bad, asked my family doctor 'bout what I had,
I said, "Doctor, Doctor, Mister M.D., can you tell me, what's ailing me?"

He said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah"
All you need, all you really need: good druggin'...

If you happened upon DramaMama's post before arriving here, you already know the bulk of what I have to say today.

Both the Bear and I have been diagnosed with Pneumonia. This explains this hacky cough I've had for long time, feeling cruddy most of the time, and lately, a serious lack of energy.

Saturday, DramaMama and I volunteered at the Christmas Tree lot that is raising funds for the high school band program. That went okay, but my back was hurting by the time we left. Upon arriving home, I went out to work in the yard. I ripped out an old shambles of a trellis with vines, and got down on the ground to remove the roots of the vine. I was having trouble breathing when I would lean forward. I managed to get that done.

I then went to the other side of the house and started digging out the root system of a nasty sucker tree thing that sprouted in the place our apple tree used to be. By the time I had the bulk of those roots out I was feeling really dizzy and had to lean against the house for a little while. I was gasping going into the house with a swimmy head. I went and laid down.

That evening, the Bear had a high fever, and DramaMama took him to urgent care. She came home with the diagnosis of pnuemonia, with an asterisk suggesting the possibilty of a condition that I believe is unique to this area called "valley fever" which is a fungal thing. DramaMama took to the internet and read up on it. She told me that its symptoms sounded very much like what has been going on with me. The fever is contracted from the soil here, and since we have been doing extensive yard work lately, that seemed plausible.

So once I returned from church, she shooed me off to urgent care. I thought about taking my book to work on while I waited, but she said that they didn't have to wait. I should have taken my book. Once I was signed in, I asked what the wait would be. The lady told me an hour and a half in and out. HA! I was still working on my nap at that point. I also read the bulk of the most recent Reader's Digest.

It was over 2 hours before I got into a room, but they got to me relatively quickly after that. My doctor was a black woman who was very nice, but looked to be one of those that you wouldn't want to have mad at you. I told her why I was there, and she immediately told me that they cannot diagnose Valley Fever at urgent care, and that I would have to go to my primary care physician. Crap! there's another blown co-pay!

She listened to my lungs and said they sounded tight. She ordered a breathing treatment and a chest x-ray.

So they hooked me up with a unit that looked like a sci-fi smoking machine. Then they took me in for the chest x-ray. They got front and side views. The technician asked me if my wife and son were in recently. I told her they had come in the night before. "You look just like him."

So anyway, the doc came in and listened to my lungs again. Do you smoke? No. Hmmm.

She went away and came back a little while later with another doctor. She listened to my lungs. Do you smoke? No. They went away.

The first doc came back and asked to look at my feet. "Are your feet swollen?"

"No, but sometimes when I come home from work my legs are. You can see the dent where my sock was."

"You're sure you don't smoke?"

"Only secondhand smoke."

She eventually told me that the x-ray showed that I have pnuemonia, and also an enlarged heart.

"What causes that?"

"Lot's of things, but I am thinking it might be a viral infection causing it."

She indicated that this could add to my coughing.

I got another breathing treatment, and they loaded me up with prescriptions, blood work orders, and copies of my x-rays, and sent me packing.

I went right to the pharmacy, and waited while they filled my prescriptions. I got an inhaler, anti-biotics, and cough medicine. That took about a half hour or so.

All in all the trip to the doc was about 5 hours. I was pooped when I got back and crashed on the couch.

DramaMama hit the internet and told me about the enlarged heart condition. It basically means that the heart needed to strengthen in order to get the proper blood flow. This leads to fine things like congestive heart failure, which my dad has.

So now I get to go get vampired, and go to the primary care doc tomorrow to have her review the x-rays.

All I wanted was a nice relaxing weekend. HA! I'm pooped.

Why Teenage Boys Make Lousy Babysitters

Ding Dong

Today, DramaMama, the Bear and I were bell ringers for the Salvation Army at a local Wal-Mart.

It was kind of fun actuall, even though the Bear kept cloking me in the head with the bell. (He was sitting on my shoulders.)

We had a sort of Christmas Carol theme going. The Bear was on my shoulders wearing his leg braces playing the part of Tiny Tim, while I wore my t-Shirt that reads "I've got your 'Bah Humbug' Right Here!"

At one point, we put the apron on the Bear, and set him out there ringing the bell by himself. We were of course only feet away. He got a lot of smiles and donations.

Tomorrow, DramaMama and I will be working a Christmas Tree lot as a fundraiser for our band boosters.