Let me preface this with the fact that we have no family near by to help us out. We have to do this on our own. And let me also say - it's not just one or two of us that has the flu - it is Chris, me, Carena, Colt and Jonathan. We all have the flu. And when I say "flu" I do not mean a nasty cold, I mean the FLU - fever, aches, chills, congestion, vomiting, sore throats, terrible headaches, the inability to function. And for some of us, it's going on 6 days of this misery.
Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad if there was one functioning adult - but how on earth do two very very sick parents take care of three very very sick children? Here is what I have learned so far about having our entire family sick as dogs and unable to do anything.
- Throw any budget out the window. You are in survival mode. If you can somehow get to the store or drug store, go to the closest one even if it's not the cheapest store. And don't worry about ad matching or trying to figure out what juice is the better buy, just grab stuff and go.
- Use plastic forks, spoons, paper cups, paper plates. Instead of having to run your dishwasher (and then unload the clean dishes) all the time and watching dishes pile up, use disposable tableware.
- Let someone in the outside world know what's going on - and don't sugarcoat it. Just a quick text will do. They will most likely check up on you from time to time and may offer to run to the store for you.
- If you don't have a doggy door, crack open the back door so the dog can come and go as she pleases, saving you from getting up to let her in and out 1,256 times a day.
- Make a medical dosing chart for each person in the family. Life saver. It's as simple as writing down the person's name, time/date, type and dosage of medication and their temperature. This is especially crucial when EVERYONE is sick - no accidentally overdosing someone or not remembering when so-and-so had their last dose or when their next dose is due. It'll also come in handy in case you have to take someone to the doctor's.
- It's not ideal, but you may have to lean on the least sick - even if the least sick is a child. They might have to step it up a bit to help meet everyone's needs. They might need to help pour juice or grab someone's barf bucket.
- Everyone gets a barf bucket. Barf buckets are nice for barf. But, you can also toss used tissues in there too or if the bucket is unused it helps keep drinks/cups steady - especially if you're on a bed or on the couch.
- Make a sick room. Our sick room is the family room. Colt and Carena are sleeping in there. Colt claimed the couch. We dragged Carena's mattress in there. It's nice having them contained to one space so that I'm not running from room to room to room.
- Co-sleep with the sickest. Jonathan is the sickest and so he sleeps with me. I can tend to him easily and quickly at night, really without me having to get out of bed myself.
- Keep all medications super handy and keep them with the medical dosing charts.
- Pray a lot.
- If you need help, ask for it. Take people up on their offers to help.
- Use technology. Text, write emails, etc. to cancel appointments, activities, and responsibilities.
- Don't care that the kids are watching TV 16 hours a day.
