Last Sunday was Mothers Day. Perhaps, that was the reason why I relived the experience of not knowing the difference between day and night. The last time I have had that experience was when I was taking care of a newborn baby more than five years ago.
No I did not have a third baby, I was not ready to take on that challenge yet. And I do not know if I would ever be that courageous. If anything, last week's experience strengthened my conviction to stop at two. Two was and still is a handful.
Day 1 and 2 - Slow and Steady
It started on Thursday. I received a phone call from the school. My elder boy, P was running high fever. As expected, he needed to stay at home to recuperate for two days.
As P was a mild-manner boy, he was relatively easy to take care and would take his medication as instructed. He usually recovered from illness in a jiffy.
Day 3 - Fast and Furious
I would have expected that his younger brother R will also be down with flu as flu was very contagious. However, I did not think that it would be that bad. The pace of the story was about to turn fast and furious.
It was 10 pm when we made our way to the 24 hour clinic in a hospital as it was a Saturday night and most clinics were closed for the day. My younger boy, R had high fever of around 40 degree celsius. He used to have such high fever when he was younger but the last febrile attack was more than two years ago. So much so that I knew by hard that he would need two different fever medication to bring down the temperature. His elder brother's medicine alone was not enough. However, it was such a long time that our fever medication had past their expiry date untouched.
That night we only managed to reach home at close to midnight and I had to constantly check his temperature on a half hourly interval. When he refused his medication or threw out, I had to sponge him.
Day 4 & 5 - Time Came to a Standstill
This went on for the next two days. He was in a state of delirium that at times, made me demented, in part also due to sleep deprivation. Though there were times whereby I was simply too exhausted and had to yak my husband from his slumberland, it was tough job. Most of the time, he would stir slightly and then fall back to sleep. Positioning the hot potato, R next to him did not work. I needed to raise my voice and my limbs too, to ensure that my call for help did not fall on dreaming ears.
R was so sick that he was totally zonked out and the only time, I woke him up, was for medication. Even so, that was kept to the bare minimum as I used suppository to replace some of his medicine. He had two sets of medicine to be taken at different time intervals.
As for his mother, by Day 5, I was too exhausted and could hardly open my eyes at daybreak. So during the day time, my husband took over as the main caregiver while I caught my forty winks. I only needed to wake up intermittently to tend to R's medication.
Day 6 - The Recovery
His body regained strength slowly from Day 6. His high fever subsided into a minor one. R was no more lethargic but energetic. He was also no more sleeping but leaping around.
Of course, I am one happy mother. And yes, a child's health is the greatest Mothers Day's gift.
To all mothers, a very happy Mothers Day!
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