Germs

This is Why

~ Kara Mills ~ Leave a comment

As the mother of a toddler, not a day goes by where I don’t hear “why?”. Every request is countered with the question, “why?”. Every statement, “why?”. All. The. Time. Of course I get to the point where my only response is “because I said so!” with far too much exasperation in my voice. These last few weeks have made me often wonder “why?”.

For starters, why did the plague hit our house…wait for it…the week of hubs exams?? Because that’s how we roll, that’s why. What fun would exam week be if there was not violent vomiting and explosive diarrhea to share? We’re apparently a loving family, we share everything….even those trifling germs. It hit nana, the toddler, and even hubs (thankfully his was after exams). Then tween 1 went down next, sent home from school merely days after finishing his first ever musical- thank you Jesus for holding that out!

So, that takes us to tween 2. First night parenting solo while hubs is away on a new rotation and he’s got a low grade fever. No biggie right? Get some ibuprofen and lots of water and he’ll be back to new in no time. Well, by 6pm it was clear the fever was lingering and the meds were keeping it at bay. Since asthma is always our first concern with him, I had him sleeping in my room to keep and eye on him. When 10pm rolls around, he’s knocked out, fever is almost nonexistent and I head to bed.

Here’s where it gets crazy. Why did I wake up, out of a dead sleep 2 hours later to check on him?? No noises, he was sound asleep. I felt his head and knew the fever had returned. Upon taking his temp, I knew we had a problem. The first time read 105.0. I couldn’t believe it so it took it again, several times- 103.3, 104.8, 104.4, 105.0. You get the idea. Crazy enough, he woke up, was totally coherent and did not seem phased by the high fever. A trip to the ER, quick triage, and we’re home with a diagnosis of Influenza A.

So, why did I wake up and check on him? Honestly, that’s all God. Some may say a “Mother’s instinct” but I can tell you, this mama was tired and I’m not one to wake and function like that. That was all God.

Why did he not have any side effects from a fever that high? I mean, I would have expected lethargy, confusion or even febrile seizures. Again, that’s God.

Why, with such a severe fever, was his asthma not affected- especially with influenza, which is known to wreak havoc on the respiratory system? If only I could share the crazy roller coaster of a ride we’ve had with his asthma- admits to the hospital, 911 calls, etc.- that would be a memoir on its own. A simple cold has landed him in the hospital for a few days stay. I have 2 reasons: first- you guessed it- God. Second, the flu vaccine. Thank GOD for modern medicine! The vaccine is not meant to prevent influenza, it’s meant to lessenthesymptoms and prevent death from influenza. It worked just as intended with him. I have no doubt that this particular strain could have caused immense turmoil on his lungs. Why do we all get the flu vaccine in our family? Because we want to protect those whose body may not be able to fight against the virus.

Why did I feel it necessary to share all of this info? Because God moved in a way that shook me to my core. He “took the wheel” and allowed me to care for my child. Something about our babies being in distress- whether they know it or not.

So, hug your babies, say a prayer of thanks, and get your flu vaccine! Why? Because I said so! 😉

The Talk

~ Kara Mills ~ 2 Comments

Well, it was bound to happen at some point. Elijah is in fourth grade and I know that they will begin talking about puberty and all of those things that made us blush when we were that age. We’ve always taken a very honest approach with the boys. Meaning, that we would always tell the (age appropriate) truth when they asked questions. When I became pregnant with Asher, there was obviously some interesting discussions. Aden for a long time thought that people got pregnant when they got “married”. So, according to the reproductive guidelines from Aden, hubs and I have been “married” 3 times. We left that alone for the moment.

Tonight was a different story. On our way home from Elijah’s Lego League practice (more info to come on that later), we began talking about bodily fluids that carry disease. Now, I won’t go into great detail on this post- although I’m sure you’re wondering how in the world we got onto that subject. Let’s just say, when you put enough elementary school kids together, there is bound to be at least one kid who picks their nose….and eats it. Like caviar.

Sorry, I had to puke in my mouth for a second. Anyway, I was explaining to Elijah that you can’t just go around sharing finger foods (popcorn, pretzels, chips, etc.) with everyone because it’s a concentrated germ factory in there. Honestly, I may not have been so passionate about it had I not seen the nasal caviar incident, but now, it’s totally on my radar. So, as I was explaining this, he asks me why boogers are a bio-hazard. I explain that there are a number of virus’ and bacteria that are carried in there. He then asks why blood is a bio-hazard. I begin explaining that there are virus’ that can be transferred through blood or bodily fluids that can be harmful to people. Did you catch that? I said bodily fluids. Yeah, I didn’t catch that either, until he asked me what I meant by that. Crap. I wasn’t really prepared to have this discussion on the car ride home from Lego League, while I’m super tired too. So, I thought that if I ask him some questions, maybe I can get an idea of where he is in his understanding and then carefully select how to respond- and then hubs and I can address it with him later on in more detail. Here was the conversation.

Me: “Well Elijah, what do you really know about how a baby is made?”

Elijah: “Yes, God puts the baby in the moms belly and it grows.”

Me: “Yes, I suppose that’s right on a grander scale, but what happens with the mom and dad?”

Elijah: “Oh yeah, that. Well, the dad uses his jelly beans and puts a molecule in the mom and it grows into a baby. When it gets a little bigger, the genetic profile is created to say if it’s a boy or a girl.”

Me: (smiling) “Yup, that’s pretty much it. The bodily fluids are the fluids that help that molecule get into the mom, which is how disease can be spread.”

Elijah: “Ooohhh, that makes sense!”

So, maybe not my best response (remember, I was REALLY tired), but in the end, he seems to have understood what I was trying to say. And, my greater hope, is that he will think twice before sharing finger foods with everyone!