There's Something Going Around...

 February has been a big month for illnesses and maladies lately. I think Annie's 5th grade class has been hit hardest, with kids being home sick with flu, strep and lice or any combination of the above. We had a round of lice ourselves a couple weeks ago, our second in four months.  That's a whole other story. Otherwise it's been a chorus of coughs and sniffles for many days.

After keeping Annie home one day with a fever, I made the mistake of sending her the next day when it seemed like the fever was gone, and she said yes when I asked if she felt better. (I may have also been feeling pressure to have her counted present since she'd already missed a couple days due to lice and fever, and it's only the beginning of February.) That day her teacher became concerned and sent her to the nurse, who took her temperature (98.7) and sent her back to class. The next morning I took her to the doctor, where it was confirmed she had influenza A, despite the lack of fever (98.3 that time) or severe symptoms. She may not have had a fever or severe symptoms due to having been vaccinated, but she could still be feeling like crap and spreading the virus to others who are less protected. (As an aside, there is some interesting research out there that that calls 98.6 degrees, long considered the norm, into question. Since I take my temperature every single day, I know 98.6 is too high for me.)

Tim has had plenty of commentary about sickness and everyone's reaction to it. He scoffs at me every time I bring up the one time I got flu right after he left on one of his deployments (not confirmed!), and how miserable I felt for so long. Even once I was "better," I still wasn't really back to myself for several more days. This morning, after he said something minimizing illness, I decided that he should write a book called The Denial Approach to Wellness. The chapters would be as follows:

Chapter 1: You're only sick if you admit you're sick. Never underestimate the power of mind over matter.

Chapter 2: Take a Motrin and drink more water. That's pretty much the solution for everything. But in the slim chance that doesn't work...

Chapter 3: When you feel a scratch in your throat, go to the gym. Show it who's boss.

Chapter 4: Can't get out of bed? That's why God made Dayquil. I have seen him get up out of bed, where he's spent a night with fever and chills, take a Dayquil, and go to work. Apparently, the world stops when he doesn't show up.

I think that's a good start. All he needs to do is flesh out those chapters and maybe add a few more. He thinks there should be one built around the story of how his germphobe rack mate on the ship caught a horrible GI bug, while Tim who touches all the doorknobs was spared. The picture of him inside the jacket should be the same one hanging up at his battalion, which looks typical of these portraits in which no smiling is allowed, and the result is kind of an angry face.

Annie's class needs to get healthy again because they are all scheduled to go on a two-night field trip at the end of this month that eveyone has paid for by now, and it would really be a shame for anyone to have to miss out.

Now I'm off to go take another Motrin and drink a glass of water for whatever the thing is that I'm NOT coming down with.