Friday, February 22, Our Week of Woe
Friday, February 22, 2013 at 07:51AM 
Oh hey! Has it been a week already? Dang, time flies, right? I'm going to abandon my normal Five Things format (because counting is still tricky) and fill you in on how miserable things have been around here over the last week. Because I love you all, I won't tell you just how miserable.
So. Where to begin? How about with the last thing I said to Callum as he dashed to the car on his was to go skiing exactly seven days ago. "Don't get hurt." See, here's the thing. A few weeks ago a buddy of his got hurt snowboarding and it made me think. What would we do if Neel got hurt? Our nearest skiing opportunity is three hours away, and since Blanche (our Mini Cooper) doesn't go on the freeway (she's in pre-retirement), we're down to one car when he's gone. If Neel gets hurt, how do I get to him to get him home? But these guys ski every year, they're seasoned pros. It'll all be fine. Right.
So I relished about four hours of alone time before heading to the grocery store. Halfway there, at a long light, I thought, I'll just shoot those guys a quick text to see how it's going and remind them to take pictures. When I picked up my phone there was a missed call from Neel and a text message that read: Please call me. Callum answered the phone, crying. "I got hurt." I had to pull off the road to sit and hear all the details, and once I did I went to the grocery store and, in something of a fog, bought a ton of junk food to treat my boy when he got home.
Here's what happened. On their first run (of course), Neel was a bit ahead when Cal swerved to miss a skier who was moving more slowly in his path. In a narrow part of the trail, his skies hit some rock and down he went. Neel didn't think he saw the accident but realized later that he saw Callum's skies fly off. They tell me you have to hit pretty hard for your skies to fly off. When Cal didn't get up, Neel made his way back up to him and flagged down an attendant. At first look, it was his knee. He must have hit a rock right on the knee cap because his pants were torn, he had a laceration right on the patella and the knee was already starting to swell. In comes the snow patrol (Shep!) and after checking Callum's knee and his wrist, which he only later realized was hurting, they splint him and wisk him off the mountain in something called a dogsled off to the hospital. That's where they were when they called me. So those guys faced the long drive home, with Callum splinted in the back seat. I called the pediatrician and stocked up on junk food.
The knee looks ugliest, but the wrist has been more troubling. No fracture on the X-Ray, but a severe sprain and bruising. He's in a brace for a week. We're lucky. The leg could have been broken in the fall as could have the wrist. Worst was the disappointment of missing skiing. Two tries now, and no luck for my guys.
By Saturday, my upper respiratory cold kicked back in full force. As I thought about writing my Monday post, I was planning to self-flagellate over the fact that I hadn't heeded my own (let's face it, somewhat strident) advice to rest when you start to get sick. I thought the cold was the issue. But by Saturday night, Mr. Norovirus knocked on our door. Ever heard of the Cruise Ship Virus? That's it. Having a husband who is an infectious disease expert can be handy at times like this. I'm going to skim this part, except to say that starting around midnight on Saturday I experienced possibly the worst 36 hours of my life. Here are some things I learned. 1. I don't like ginger ale, except in Pimms, which isn't really appropriate when you're throwing up at 3 AM. 2. There is very little more comforting to me than a hot bath. 3. Ice chips really do help when you're nauseated and scared to drink anything. 4. I have the most amazing husband and son a woman could ask for. I barely remember Sunday, which is good. Neel stayed home on Monday while I continued to sleep.
By Tuesday my tummy had settled down, but my sinus problems were back full force. Slept all day Tuesday. Callum got home from school on Tuesday, and right before dinner he threw up. Around 1 AM, he and I were dozing on the bathroom floor when Neel came in to say, "I have it." Boom. Boom. Boom. Our whole clan, down for the count.
I still took pictures every day. Cheated and used my phone on Sunday and Monday to capture these shots of my faithful nurse Lucy the Beagle. She barely left my side. Neel missed his first work for illness in the ten years we've been here. We both figure we lost about nine pounds. Callum has missed all week of school. I made a cheater chicken noodle soup yesterday (I'll have a recipe next week for you.) and so far none of us are too rocky. Fragile maybe. In the midst of it all Callum accidentally used Neel's toothbrush and then Neel accidentally used Callum's. And somewhere we have a dead animal in the roof or walls of the house. Nice.
Thank you so much to all of you who checked in on me. This is my first time sitting in a chair all week! It was simply beyond me to look at the computer, much less respond to all your wonderful notes. I know you understand. I have never been happier to see a week end in my life. It can only get better from here, right?
Reader Comments (16)
All I am going to say is this...the next time you tell me not to look something up, I absolutely will not. xoxo
Glad you are all on the mend.
Wow! That's a bad week! I'm so sorry. I've heard about that virus. Hopefully you guys are done with illness for a while. xoxo
Oh I wondered where you had got to and figured that Cal's injury was taking up your week, I didn't even think that you could be ill. I feel for you, we were all struck down with the Norovirus at Christmas, and heck does it come on quick, you then feel weak for days. So, do hope you are feeling better now and let's look on the bright side, it's a pretty cheap detox session ;-)
Poor Cal and his injuries too, send him my best wishes for a speedy recovery - I guess no sports for him for a while. Such a shame they missed their little holiday, better luck next year xx
How do you know you have a dead animal in/on the house ???
You're alive!! Yaaay!! I'm so happy you guys are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. What a rotten week it must have been for you guys! Nothing is less fun than being that sick, and while the cold tile of a bathroom floor feels good at first, it's not all that great after hour 2, let alone 36. You guys are champs for pulling through. I felt so helpless so far away, but after hearing the edited version of your symptoms, I probbaly would have stayed away even if I lived in your hood. Though maybe I would have pulled a "ding dong ditch" and left soup on your doorstep. Hopefully since bad things come in 3s you guys are set for quite a while. Let's hope! You have a weekend to look forward to, and yeah, it can only go up from here.
So, so happy you're getting better. babysteps! xoxo
Oh no that's awful. Poor you! I have been wondering about you all week, just assumed it was WP issues.
Hope his injury hasn't put Callum off skiing, that would be shame. Hope he's not in too much pain.
Well as someone who is violently allergic to Chinese food and has also had Salmonella I sympatise. I have ended up in hospitals on drips a few times and have days I barely remember either. Have lost count of the anti-puking injections I've had. It's the worst isn't it? I think I've actually developed a phobia of throwing up now I have a full on panic attack.
So poor all three of you and I really do hope you're feeling better sweetie xx
"ding dong ditch" - brilliant!
Oh, my. That sounds freaking awful. I am SO sorry, Lauren. Sorry for Callum and his injuries and then the horrible virus for you all...misery! I knew it had to be something pretty awful for you to be quiet for so long (that sounded all wrong, but kind of funny, actually) and was starting to get more then a little worried. I am so glad everyone is on the mend and that Callum did not break anything. While breaks may heal faster than severe sprains, it's the bone breaks that plague you when you get older!
When you are all better, give me a ring (I'll pm you on facebook with my phone #) and we will get together for some coffee talk.
xo
Liz
So, other than that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln? Glad you guys are on the mend.
oh my lauren! i was about to call for a wellness check on you guys. i was getting a bit worried! i am so glad that callum is okay but still, that kind of impact can be so hard on your body. then to get the dreaded novovirus on top of that, bluck! no fun, no fun at all. neel is an infectious disease expert? ooooh, that sounds fun. i mean that. i love talking about that kind of stuff. now there's just one more reason i wish we lived closer! we could take walks, have dinner, i could bring you soup when you are sick, we could have lengthy talks about infectious diseases. . .
glad you are getting back to normal and glad you are back here xoxoxoxo
Welcome back, Sweetie! I'm so glad you are all mending. Quite relieved when I saw that instagram pic earlier today. As I mentioned before...this is a week that will live in infamy for your little family. I'm proud of you all for helping each other.
Oh you poor things. I hope you all recover this week. Injury and illness puts such a strain on everything.
Ohh what a horror week, you poor things. I knew something was wrong as you'd disappeared from cyberspace! So glad you're all on the mend now xx
right. it can only get better.
i hate to be pollyanna, but i'm glad cal's leg and wrist are NOT broken.
spring is coming. good health. and oh, usually i want your family to live next door, but i'm happy not to share THAT infectious nasty!
warm, healthy wishes to you all. n
Oh GOD... I was worried when I saw the pictures of Cal and even more worried when we didn't hear from you all week. I'm glad that you all are recovering but sorry to hear about Cal's accident AND the virus. Double whammy! This should mean that you're good for the year though, right??
Ugh, Lauren, what an effing week you all had! I kept checking in here, every day. When I didn't see a post on Monday, then Tuesday, and all your other forms of SM were quiet as well, I knew something wasn't right. Wanting to tread cautiously, I pinged Erin. Thank you for the update. It's SO nice to know that you're seeing some light. I hope Erin is right in that you all have filled your quota for miserableness. Sending you all a ton of love.
@MARIANNE: You were beyond thoughtful to offer to come and mop my bathroom floor, but now at least you see why I didn't want you near us!
@DEBBIE: Thanks my lovely! Miss you! XO
@SAM: I know, I felt SO bad for Cal. I think he would have almost preferred a break since he had to miss the skiing, but we're still going to try to get up there for a day at least.
@ERIN: I haven't seen my neighbors in WEEKS, it feels like, and you're absolutely right about the tile floor!
@ANNIE: Oh, Annie! You totally get what we went through, you poor thing. :(
@LIZ: I'd love to see you! I miss you girl! Let's get together soon, okay?
@DAD: Har, Har, Har
@CHRISTINE: I wish we lived closer too! I'd put a limit on the time you could talk to Neel though, so you and I could hang out! Thank you so much for worrying about us!
@MOM: We *did* try to keep a sense of humor through it all. Although by the end of the weekend, we'd spent *a lot* of time together.
@JANINE: Thanks so much for checking in, and you're right: "strain" is the perfect word. Everything feels harder.
@CATHERINE: We're making our way back! I miss you guys!
@NOREEN: Your comment made me laugh and it made me really happy too! I'd love to be neighbors!
@ROOTH: I'm calling done for the year too, yes. YIKES!
@THERESA: I can feel your love across the miles, dear. Thanks for checking in on us. Miss you all. XOXO
honey! it sounds horrendous.... and the 3 of you sick together, eeek. i hope by the time i've caught up on your post i will read that you are all feeling better. sending you love and hoping you get to take plenty of baths xxx