So where do I begin? I am almost afraid to continue because I don't want to be judged and I know it is hard to believe that anyone could have as much bad luck as I have had in this Winter season.
I was really looking forward to having a little family vacation. It has been a long time since we ventured out as a family. Money, dogs, conflict of schedules, and whatever else you can think of has always gotten in the way. We planned on going to Disney with the kids, but after many comments from friends, internet research, etc., we knew Spring break was not the time to plan a Disney vacation with a 2 and 5 yr. old. Instead, I agreed to visit hubby's family in KY. We planned on staying with my Brother-in-law in his recently newly purchased house.
We left on Wednesday, and planned to break up the trip by spending the night in a hotel. Everything got off to a good start. We packed up pillows, bedspreads, food and clothes and drove away at about noon. We stopped whenever the kids wanted a break, and drove while they napped. At about 6:30pm, we found a nice place to eat and a great hotel, but the kids wanted to drive some more. After alot of begging, we decided to put the kids in their pj's, and drive while they slept. Both of us were wide awake, and knew that we could get there sometime before midnight. What the heck.
We arrived at about 12:30am KY time, and were greeted and welcomed by my Brother-in-law and his charming partner Linda. The kids were put to bed immediately, while we stayed up too late talking and laughing.
The next day was just as nice. We slept late, and went out for breakfast, planning our day with trips to the railroad museum, and The Old Kentucky Home. Bardstown is a beautiful little town. The houses are big and so southern. Just gorgeous. I could not wait to take alot of pictures. Breakfast ended rather upruptly because Olivia was quite cranky and moody. We decided to bring her home for a nap, to avoid a bad evening. Everyone was coming over for dinner, and we were so looking forward to seeing everyone. His mother is the 13th child, so you can just imagine how many cousins, aunts and uncles there are. I was excited that Nicolas was finally going to meet some of his family. The evening started at 5pm, and just as were talking to the the guests, Olivia threw up all over me. She was acting strange all day, so I should have seen something coming. She did not eat anything either, and Olivia always eats more then my 5yr old.
Needless to say I missed the party and took care of my daughter. Things got worse during the evening. I changed her diaper 15 times, and when she did not have diarrhea, she was busy throwing up. Nothing stayed down, and the fever got worse throughout the night. It was horrible. Everytime she awoke, she screamed in pain. I felt so bad for her, and wished that I could have done more. Here I was in somebody else's house, cleaning sheets, and trying to take care of a sick child. We were up all night.
Friday was not much better, but after a nice bath, and a good nap, she seemed to be in better spirits. I stayed home with her most of the day, and went to see a doctor in the afternoon. She gave us some medicine, told us what to do, and believe it or not the nausea stopped. Her diaper rash was terrible, but I tried every cream available, and nothing was helping. Friday night the family planned a Lobster Fest for us. Again I sent my husband and son, and stayed home to take care of Olivia. She fell asleep at 7pm, and at least I had a relaxing evening. I fell asleep at about 9pm, exhausted from the night before.
I must say that his relatives are so incredibly hospitable and nice. They planned on taking me out to lunch, since I had been stuck in the house for the last two days. Since Olivia seemed to be doing much better, I agreed to go for a short time. His cousin Harriet owns a beautiful interior design shop downtown , and I thoroughly enjoyed the visit. A great lunch, with wonderful company was all I needed to lift my somewhat "depressed" spirits.
Saturday night another party was planned at our house. I was happy that I could attend this one, even though Olivia's lothargic state was weighing heavily on my mind. It did not take long after the party started, when Olivia's nausea started up again. This time, the two nurses in our family quickly reacted and took us to the Emergency room. Her urine showed that Olivia was dehydrated, even though we poured about 3 bottles of pedialyte into her little body within 48 hours. Since she was not keeping anything down, they gave her liquids all night, and sugar water to elevate her sugar counts. It was horrible. This poor little baby has simply gone through enough. I had to leave the room each time they took blood or tried to put the IV in her hand. I just could not bare hearing her scream. My nerves had all they could take, and it just broke my heart that she was so sick. We were allowed to leave the hospital at about 2am. The doctor gave us some new medication, instructions on what to feed her, and we took her home. The doctor was not at all surprised that she had this virus, since it was going around at the moment.
She definitely felt better on Sunday, and was able to walk around and even play alittle with her brother and cousin Corby. I was so happy to see her smiling again, and attempting to eat something. Of course, the good news could not last long, and out came Nicolas complaining about a stomach ache. Yup, it did not take long, and down he went. So, while Olivia started to recover, Nicolas just got worse. Of course, considering his age, it was not as difficult to treat him for the virus as it was her. He drank alot, did not eat anything, and after getting sick twice, it seemed like the worse part was over.
We had planned on visiting his mom on Monday and Tuesday, but I convinced my husband that it was time to go home. Call me selfish, but I had had enough. Olivia was still very weak, and I knew I needed to keep her on a strict diet. Every time she was overstimulated or could smell food, she had thrown up, and since this was not my home, I just felt the urge to get her home and visit our own doctor. I also received a terrible phone call from my mom telling me that my grandmother was dying of cancer. I just could not take anything else. I was depressed, lonely and incredibly tired.
I hated leaving KY. Everyone was nice, and I had been so excited about our little trip that I just wished things had gone differently. I felt guilty about not staying with his mom, so we decided to stop and visit for a few hours. I know how excited she was to see the kids, but I stuck to my guns and demanded we continue on our trip. Nicolas was feeling much better, and no longer had a fever. Olivia on the other hand, slept for most of the drive. She was cranky and we had to stop alot because of her dirty diapers, but we finally made it home at about 10:30pm.
Home sweet home again. Everyone was excited to be home and it showed. The kids were excited to play with their toys, and sleep in their own beds. We ate a nice breakfast together, and I had to calm them down on numerous occasions. Olivia was cranky, and it did not take long before she got sick again. I immediately called the doctor, and off we went.
Our doctor has been with us since Olivia was born. She is fantastic, and I love the entire office staff. You know you have a great doctor when the office staff is always smiling. I had only one question to ask her, and that was "How do I avoid this cra....?" I am so tired of the kids getting sick. I just cannot take another round of this. She told me the same thing as the hospital, you cannot avoid it. If the kids touch anything or go anywhere, they are liable to touch something or breathe something that will spread this virus within 24-48 hours. I washed their hands everywhere we went. I used that germ stuff on their hands, but obviously something beat us to it. The other bad news was that this virus was not going to go away. It would be here for about three weeks, and will come and go until it has left their body. She was obviously right, because although Nicolas felt good for two days, and was already eating solids, the very next day he could keep no food down again.
So, the kids are drinking alot of fluids, eating alot of toast, and yogurt, and taking a strong anti-nausea medication, but both of them seem to be on the road to recovery. Thank goodness. I am so grateful that my husband and me, and the rest of the family too did not get this ugly beast. I would have felt horrible if anyone else had gotten sick. Seriously, I could not have asked for better hosts. Angela and Michael took care of Nicolas all the time, Rose took us to the hospital and helped us to understand everything going on. Linda fed us all the time, and Corby took care of Olivia whenever I left the room. Finally, my brother-in-law Bill supplied us with some great Kentucky Bourbon at the end of the day, when we finally got a 2-minute break (not to mention a wonderful new bed that we slept in). Michael took lots of pictures, because I was unable to get my camcorder out of the box. Everyone was just wonderful. They are a special family and made me feel so welcome.
Kentucky is such a beautiful state, and I enjoy the countryside so much. I just wish we could have seen and done more. I know my hubby was happy that he got to see everyone before he left for Iraq, so considering everything that went wrong, at least one thing went right.
