It started on the 7th. My husband came home from work saying he feared he was coming down with something. This scared us. Earlier in the year, beginning of June, to be exact, he came down with a severe case of bronchitis and his coughing didn’t let up for a good 6 weeks, with continued bouts for 6 more. With the way his company has been cutting back on sick days, this was not good. We tried to be hopeful – maybe it’s not sickness but just allergies.
Friday the 8th he emailed me from work, stating that he was in fact, sick again.
After he came home that night, he spent the entire weekend feverish and coughing but managed to make it in to work on Monday.
Sunday night my son told me he didn’t feel well and he spent Monday-Wednesday in bed with a fever.
Monday night, I practically coughed up a lung and spent Tuesday-Thursday in bed with a fever.
My poor husband, sick himself, doing his best to take care of the rest of us – and really that’s a first. He was just trying to hold out until his vacation started on Thursday. I can’t think of a time when he was the well one and the rest of us were not. He’s asthmatic, so he always bears the brunt of sicknesses.
Thursday, my daughter went down. She put up a good fight, bless her warrior heart, but this cough and fever had her near tears. She doesn’t do sickness well – I like to think because it’s so foreign to her. We did our best to keep it from her, to stay away from her, no hugs or kisses, etc. I guess short of a haz-mat suit, there was nothing we could do.
This thing hits hard and it hits fast. You practically don’t even have time to wonder what’s going on before you’re curled up in bed, in a shiver then a sweat. You don’t want to eat. (I ended up not eating for over 2 days, pretty much the same with my kids.) At one point, I could feel myself starting to freak out because I let my imagination run away with me. I could hear this sound in my lungs, and in my fever, I imagined it sounded like an army of tiny clicky spiders spinning crinkly webs. Shut UP, Brain!
Pain relief pills help a lot. Menthol cough drops help a lot. Vaporub is a beautiful thing, don’t knock that gem!
Hot showers, lots of water, and even more sleep help a lot.
Heating pads help a lot – those ribs get sore.
I think we’re on the upswing now though. If what I’ve read is any indication, this thing has an average shelf life of 10-14 days. If that holds true, we should be all clear between this coming weekend, and the weekend after.
It’s no fun being sick on Christmas vacation. But I guess in some ways, best to be sick then when you don’t have work or school obligations.
If you’re the praying type, prayers would be greatly appreciated.
And I’ll be praying like crazy that YOU don’t get this thing.
Acute bronchitis | National Institutes of Health
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Family Life, Personal, Family, Sickness
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