Emily’s Musings

YUCK. Our house has been just YUCK. Hannah got sick . . . the barf kind of sick, and she so thoughtfully shared her sickness with us. David and I both got sick on the same night, and since the little one was still sick, we all bonded by BARFING together. Yes, nothing brings a family closer together than a big barf session. David was forced to take two days off from school, which was not ideal. Hey, when you use sick days, do you really want to be sick when you use them? It was quite the challenge to have the whole family sick, especially for a few days. David and I had the flu, and Hannah had her own special sickness where she didn’t have a fever, she just randomly, sporadically, and completely unannounced, BARFED. Without warning. Anywhere. Everywhere. Even in the throws of my yuckiness, I still felt so bad for Hanza. Often times, she would wake up to the lovely stench and cold yuckines of puke on her face since her body gave her no warning to “WAKE UP! STAND UP AND PUKE OUTSIDE THE CRIB! YOU DON’T WANT THIS ALL OVER YOU!” No, we were not that lucky. After 25 loads of washing sheets and clothes during one week, my washer has certainly earned its keep.

Now the question is HOW did we all get sick? Well, I honestly don’t know since I am “one of those people” who disinfects and sterilizes everything in my house, and everything we touch (or think we might touch). I am “one of those people” who re-washes lent out dishes upon return. How can you be sure they are clean? REALLY clean? What if the dish picked up some nasty germ in the air on the way to being returned? You must consider all these questions, and then you can never be too sure. Unless of course, my sister Jenn returns a dish to you. You can rest assured that it was steam cleaned on your front porch while waiting for you to open the door. She is the ONLY exception to this rule. “Inspect” what you “Expect”, right?

Well, I know how we all got sick.

I decided to take Hanza to the island doctor after she had been barfing for six days. I know this sounds crazy, like I must be some negligent mother who waited SIX WHOLE days to take my kid to the doc, but let’s just remember that I live with a man who is a Medical Student. And no, he is not the expert on everything, but he does do rotations here at the hospital (which doubles as a doctor’s office/first aid station) and he knew there was nothing they could do for her. Plus, everyday, she seemed to be getting better, and we would let out a sigh of relief, and just as we would would run out of breath from sighing, we would hear Hannah puking all over her quiet sleeping self. What a nightmare.

I felt like I should go to the hospital, just to do the right thing, even though I knew they couldn’t do anything for her. As I’m waiting in line at the hospital (yes, first come first serve, no special treatments for barfing in the waiting room) I am literally freaking out at the possible invisible germs, EVERYWHERE! Wishing I had an invisible bubble around Hannah and me, I approached the head nurse and asked how long the wait was going to be. She estimated a couple hours. HELLO! A COUPLE HOURS? With a kid that pukes, anytime, anywhere, a couple hours equals ETERNITY!

I decided to run some errands, which took me to a grocery store that I rarely go to. When Hannah and I walked in, she greeted everyone like she was the Grand Marshall in a parade. Well, you can can imagine what happened next. Store clerks I don’t know and a few customers I do know, came to greet Hannah. She is quite happy with all the attention she seems to attract everywhere she goes, and this was no exception. She waved to everyone and talked about her shoes. I actually forgot she was sick and we were virtually “waiting in line” at the hospital. One of the store employees, WHO I DON’T KNOW, ran up to Hannah and gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek, just missing her mouth! I know how irresistible her cheeks are, and her personality is so enticing, I understand the draw to kiss her, but YOU DO NOT KISS COMPLETE STRANGER’S CHILDREN! This is how she got sick. I know it. Obviously not from this employee, but from many other very “hands on ” onlookers who are smitten with Hannah’s good looks and darling personality. Please, I know the urge to kiss my child, just don’t! From now on, when someone gets too close to Hannah (especially when they are going in for a kiss) I will warn them by saying, “She’s SICK! You don’t want to kiss her.” This is the only way to protect my child from the crazies!

Fortunately, this is were it pays to know people. The head nurse really likes my husband (probably because he is such a handsome and nice guy) so she put my name down on the list and when I returned to the hospital, I was able to waltz on in and see the doc. The doc had no idea what was wrong. She had a virus, and it had to run its course. Thank you doc, for allowing me to PAY you to tell me what my husband told me. Nothing like throwing money out the window, right? Well, I do need to note that health care down here is extremely cheap. Hannah’s visit to the doc, (which was a visit for me too since I got to listen to the baby’s heartbeat again) plus some drugs for Hannah, cost a whopping $23. Yes, you read that right, $23 bucks for the entire visit. You get what you pay for right?

A happy Hannah playing while she is sick.

Still Happy . . .

Um . . . Not so happy. This is right before she barfs . . .

In a rare expression that Hannah does know how to make: SADNESS. Sickness will get to you every time.