A Terrible Week Has Passed

And I'm so glad that it's over. SY's suffering peaked on Monday. Luckily Hubby's on duty that day, while I was at work (I'm so glad Hubby's understanding enough to back me up, as my chip just came back, the whole world's waiting for updates and I couldn't take leave then). She whined all day, hardly able to eat as her ulcers started to grow like trees. Hubby needed to give her a koala bear hug all the time to comfort her. When I went back during lunch time, we even discussed if we should ward her instead, since she hardly ate or drank at all. Luckily I managed to persuade her to take something before I went back to work. That needs a lot of psychology talk, and I was so glad that she's willing to accept that (this won't work on SJ).

After work, I quickly air the house immediately, cleaned the bedsheet and washed her clothes. Continued to make her take more food (hubby was unable to get her to drink or eat anything earlier). I was very happy when I finally got her to pass her urine (it's been a whole day!). But not too long later, I felt feverish, and experienced the most painful sore throat in years. I quickly took some paracetamols, and we decided to let SJ stay overnight in MIL's place for that day before she got the virus too.

It was my first night apart from her (minus the one night I went over for my sister's convocation while she's just 3 months old), and I missed her terribly. I needed to express my milk before I slept, as I felt engorged - something which I've never experienced for a long time.

The next morning, we got a call from MIL, saying SJ has already got a fever. So we decided to bring her to see the doctor, but before that I went to check for myself first. I explained that my daughter had HFMD, and asked him if I was also having the same thing. He checked my temperature and it was already 39++, so he told me that mine was H1N1, not HFMD because my fever was so high and I didn't have ulcers. I had a vey badly inflamed throat instead. He went on to give me 2 days MC and told me to monitor my condition, if the fever didn't go down, I'll have to go get treatment for H1N1.

Gosh, I was shocked, but not alarmed. I thought it was funny, and Hubby even laughed when he heard that. Anyway, I took the antibiotics (I hardly took antibiotics before this) and the paracetamol, before bringing the kids to see the doctor. SY was supposed to go back the next day for checkup, but since we're taking SJ there, Hubby thought that we might as well do it together to save us another trip to the hospital later.

The paed couldn't tell if SJ's having HFMD (no sign of spots), but when he checked her throat, he saw a very big ulcer at the back of her throat. So he asked us to proceed with the standard procedure - ECG and blood test. Everything was ok, so we were given the same medications as her Jie Jie and we went home.

Surprisingly, SJ could still eat and drink, so I thought it was not that serious. However, the only setback was she refused to take paracetamol, which explained why her fever could hardly go down. After several attempts of fighting with her, I nearly gave up and thought of warding her since she was feverish all the time. Despite that, she's as strong as a bull, and she even managed to grab the syringe from both of us while we're trying to feed her the medicine. I used force, and she vomitted out everything. It was terrible, and I was really helpless when Hubby went to work the next day, leaving me alone to handle the two kids by myself. Even though MIL was around, she couldn't help much. That was a terrible time for me, especially since my fever haven't really go down - I depended on a 4-hourly paracetamol and antibiotics dosage to keep things under control for myself. If I skipped once, the fever will come again. Luckily by then (Wednesday), SY has recovered and could start eating by herself. So that gave me more room as SJ hardly slept but hang on me 24 by 7. I only got to eat my dinner after Hubby came back from work to relieve me.

Despite all that, SJ was very adventurous and not someone who can give up easily. If SY refused food or drink of any kind due to the ulcers, SJ would ask for water in different cups (she even requested for my cup!), and take a sip. She also asked for food, and tried some here and there. She thought with different cups, or food, it might not be as painful. So, she's tried yoghurt, ice-cream, vitagen, yakult, etc. but never finished any of them. I thought I could breastfeed her, but she refused too. It was painful for her and she cried after she tried one time. So the 2nd time, she would tried to touch my breast, but kept on saying, "Don't want Nen Nen". Still, she'd pull my blouse. I offered her my breast, telling her, "Can see only ar, cannot drink ok". Only when I used this trick, she would want to try, and after awhile, she'll be nursing away, and slowly fell asleep. But that was not for long. After a while, she'd cry, saying "Dun want Nen Nen", and woke up again. I was really helpless then, didn't know how to comfort her, and was very tired and sick myself. Hubby told me it was a good time to wean her off totally, and I shouldn't offer her anymore milk. MIL was the happiest person on earth when I told her SJ refused to nurse.

On Wednesday night, I think she got hungry, and finally she asked me for jelly. I was surprised, and I wondered aloud, "Where should Mommy go find jelly for you at such late hour?" Then I remembered that I told her that the chia seeds were jellies, so I quickly soaked some in the water and let her try. She finished everything! I was so happy then. She didn't cry anymore later :)

The next day, I decided to let her see an ayurvedic practitioner, recommended by a friend. We took her there during lunch time, and from then till 7pm, her fever NEVER came back after she took his medicine (which were purely herbs)! We're both awed by the effectiveness of the treatment. Alas! It was not for long. That night, we had to force down 3 doses of paracetamol to get her fever down. And she's not been sleeping very well too. She complained of the pain (or is it itchiness) from the spots, especially at her buttocks and private area. She had less spots compared to her sister, and they grow in different parts of her body too. Not at the normal place on the hands and legs like her sister, but buttock and private part instead. But amazingly, the next day, she didn't have fever at all, and she's basically fully recovered! I think the ayurvedic herbs does speed things up a bit.

So, SY got it on Saturday, recovered on Wednesday, while SJ got it on Tuesday, and recovered on Friday. What a record. On Saturday, we even attended my brother-in-law's house warming party, and they were eating with full appetite! Praise the Lord!

 
What about me? I'm the slowest to recover. I got it on Monday night, and I only recovered on Sunday. Hmmm..... when I asked Hubby why my immune system was the worst (he was also down with a puss in his throat earlier, without fever and he recovered in a few days only), here was his reply:

"Do you know why people say a mother's sacrifices are much more greater than a father's? That's because when a Father got sick, he could sleep for 24 hours, but when a Mother was sick, she still needed to care for the children and did the house chores".

I couldn't agree more. I was up at 3am in the morning trying to catch up with work, on the 2 days that I was on MC. I couldn't log in at all when SJ was clinging to me like a Koala Bear earlier. And I even had to go back for more medicine (paracetamol and antibiotics) when my fever came back on Thursday night, but my supplies had finished. Sigh.... that's the price one needs to pay for being a mother.