Here We Go Again

Somehow this nasty cold has hit our house again. And I, of course, have gotten the worst of it. Although I'd rather it be me than anyone else. I don't know if it just never completely went away the first time, or if we just caught it again. I thought once you got a cold, your body supposedly developed antibodies against that particular cold, and it wasn't possible to get it again. Don't know where I heard that bunch of bull, but I certainly don't believe it anymore. This has been exactly the same thing that hit me late November. It started out with a sore throat and a headache. Then a little cough came on, and then the cough and congestion got so bad that I forgot all about the sore throat. Now I'm up all night again, hacking my lungs up and fighting for every breath.

I was never a believer in that Airborne stuff, but I've heard people talk about it, so when I was sick in December I figured I'd give it a try. The girls were taking it religiously every morning (thank goodness they thought it was soda and thought it was a "treat"), and they somehow avoided my ailment. I, on the other hand, after getting permission from the doctor, of course, was taking Nyquil religiously every night, hoping for just a couple hours of "real" sleep. This went on for over a month until one night I was finally able to sleep through the night. My symptoms went away, and I took the girls off the Airborne.

We had a good maybe two weeks, and then it started again. This time it came to the girls first. Miss Priss missed a week of preschool, which was completely devastating for some reason. She thought she was being punished, no matter how many times I told her she wasn't. She would beg and beg, "Mom, please! Please give me another chance!" I tried convincing her that I just wasn't allowed to let her go to school when she wasn't feeling well; and that she'd make the other kids sick and that wouldn't be fair. She didn't understand at all.

Then our Devil Child's cough started up. But with her I can never tell what the real culprit is. She's had a chronich cough since birth and was diagnosed with asthma, but she seemed to be growing out of it. Her cough is usually rare, but it is still there every once in a while. But boy, when she gets sick, that cough comes back with a vengence. She sounded so terrible, I couldn't go out in public without people staring when she coughed. I took her in to see her doctor when she started complaining about her ear, and found out she had ear infections in both ears. I felt so bad for her. She was prescribed some antibiotics to clear that up, but knowing her history of yeast infections, I had to start her on an oral treatment at the same time for that. So we're back to Airborne every morning for the kids, Nyquil every night for me, two extra prescriptions for my Devil Child, and anything I can think of during the day to help me feel better. I feel like I live in a pharmacy. My counters are covered with medications. This sucks.

But I must admit, I'm starting to become a believer in the Airborne stuff. The girls each went through about a week of being sick, and now they're fine again. I, on the other hand, am getting worse every day they're getting better. At least I've now been given a prescription for Ambien, so I really can sleep at night. And to top it all off, Mr. Amazing Immune System, Mr. I-can't-believe-how-often-you-guys-are-sick, Mr. I-never-get-sick-like-this, yes, my man, is showing signs of the first stage of this stuff. He's got a sore throat and achey body. It's only a matter of time, my friend, before you'll be right there with me, drinking four doses of Theraflu a day and up at 3 am with no chance of falling back asleep, wondering who in the world decided to aire The Wonderful World of Mathematics and This Old House in the wee hours of the morning. I mean seriously, do they think someone who is awake at 3:00 A.M. is going to be "do-it-yourselfing" their home the next day, or lucid enough to understand ANYTHING beyond basic addition or subtraction? Who are these people kidding?

Shook, honey, for passing this crud along to you. I'd take it back if I could.