Lets get sick together marathon

I have to say that the last 2 months must have been the toughest for us since Zac was born. The entire family signed up for a marathon, the lets get sick together marathon! :(

It all started 2 months ago when Hayley brought back the cough and cold bug. She had cough, runny nose and throat infection and was having fever as high as 39.6 over a couple of days which warranted an emergency visit to the 24 hours clinic nearby home one night. Her fever was consistently high especially in the middle of the night so we're constantly up sponging her and checking her temperature. She had no appetite and it was difficult to force food/medicine down her throat. She was basically on fluid for the 5 days.

This time she also passed on the bug to Zac. This was Zac's first time getting unwell since he was born. Zac also had the cough and runny nose. Although Zac didn't get the fever (thank God), his cough were horrible. He's got so much phlegm you could literally hear him wheezing when he breathes. Because the cough was so bad he didn't really get much sleep at night as he was constantly coughing. The child specialist said the phlegm were in his lungs and it would take a while for it to clear. She prescribed antibiotics as well so both my kids were heavily on drugs and antibiotics.

After about a week they were both getting better. Hayley's cough was improving and although Zac was still wheezing slightly, it didn't really disturb him as much. And then it was my turn. I too ended up with throat infection and fever and was out of order for about 3 days. I too had to rely on antibiotics.

As I was on the road to recovery, it was papa's turn. He's got the symptoms and suffered the same fate. Papa's condition was pretty bad. The first antibiotic prescribed by the doctor didn't work and he was still feverish on the 5th day (doctor suggested the dengue test). He went back and asked for a stronger one. Luckily the 2nd one worked.

I thought the nightmare was over when everyone was getting much better and then it started all over again. Sigh......

Hayley's cough and runny nose came back and because Zac have not recovered fully, he contracted it again as well. This time he ended up with the throat infection and his fever soared to 39.7 and his face was all red and shiny and scared the shit out of me. We gave him suppository and it only worked after about an hour! Doctor prescribed with him antibiotics again. He had fever for 3 days and requires lots of sponging and monitoring at night. The strange thing that we found out during his fever bout is that the side with the swelling is hotter than the other side. When we took his ear temperature, the right ear reads 38.5 and the left ear would read 39!

As for me, I got gastritis for the first time and was in pain the entire Sunday despite being on medication. Papa strangely was also feeling unwell on the same Sunday, fever and headache so can you imagine 2 sick adults watching over 2 sick kids?! It was really tough and time passed so slowly. The entire family was sleeping a lot on that Sunday.

It's been a week since the marathon and we're still recovering. Hayley's cough is gone but she's still sniffing slightly. Zac's cough is almost gone but his nose is still runny. Papa's fever is gone but occasionally still gets the headache. I am still on medication for my gastritis and is no longer in pain.

June and July was really tough on us. If I am not mistaken, I think the number of visits to child specialists and clinics in just that 2 months was somewhere between 10 - 15 times. Imagine that!