The H1N1/Halloween Connection

Which two things are incompatible? 1) Hot biscuits and fresh honey 2) Tall fruity drinks on a white sandy beach 3) Children with H1N1 and Halloween festivities.

Just in case you couldn't figure it out, the answer is number 3.

Willie spent the two days since my last post on the couch in the living room asleep. At one point Vince woke him and asked, "How are you doing." In pure, beautifully optimistic fashion, Willie responded, "Great." in a raspy whisper that did not contain even a hint of sarcasm. Vince looked at me and then looked back at Willie and shifted into 'medical professional' mode. "Dude! This is not great. What day is today?" After thinking about it and giving the correct answer he admitted he was not great and he took another dose of Ibuprofen. His temperature was 104 and so we took him straight to the clinic.

Here is a part of the story that I find interesting and surreal. I have to ask myself, where are my secret photography skills when the truly odd events occur? At the clinic they tested Willie for the virus. When the test results came back positive a third nurse entered the room. She explained that she was going to have to get another sample to send to the state labs.Willie, with high fever and pain, was sitting on the examination table and when she told him to stand against the wall with his hands behind his back, he looked at her puzzled and then put his hands behind his back.

"No, you need to stand against the wall." She said.

He lumbered his aching body against the wall, put his hands behind his back and she said, "I have to take a sample from your nostrils and I have to go in further than they did last time. When I say cough I want you to cough." Willie was too sick to put up a fight. The nurse then pushed his nose up, in 'little piggy' style, and stuck the swab way back into his first nostril. "Cough" she said, and Willie did. She then did the same thing to the second nostril and then told him to sit back down.

It was like watching any kind of prison film, or what you imagine it would be like to be a POW or something. Willie was too sick to put up a fight. He sat back down immediately. The nurse turned to me and in a more casual tone, back to her friendly 'this is why I became a nurse' way said, "You wouldn't believe how many times people have tried to take a swing at me while I was doing that."

Flash forward to the next day at dinner. Willie is finally starting to feel like eating again. It has been a few days. We dish him up some halibut and carrots but make him stay on the couch. I am experiencing a sense of serenity...everything is going to be OK. Halloween is coming! We've kept Willie away from us enough that no one else is getting sick! Yea! The kids came around the table. Everyone is looking good. Falcom has a bit of a sniffle but... as the meal progressed Falcom came crashing down like a comet falling from the sky. A falling star. In the thirty minutes that passed between sitting to eat and clearing the plates he had gone from happy and well, to achy, coughy, itchy watery eyes and fever.

He was so sick he could not join us in the pumpkin carving. I took this picture in the three minutes he could stand being under the lights sitting up.


The worse part of this for me was the next day when the crying started. The big fat tears "I won't get to wear my dress in the carnival!" It was an entire day of misery. (Misery mostly for me, I think, who was suffering a broken heart listening to her son.) It went on until he called his friend who told him she would miss him. She was darling. Then Marina told him she would bring him a tray of nachos and some treats. Then he was OK.

Marina worked hard at the carnival at the fishing booth. Her friend Abby joined her and they made sure every little kid got the perfect treat. When she got home she gave Falcom his treats and everyone went to bed happy.

The next morning we made the decision to cancel our Halloween Party at Mema's. (Marina has been planning this party for two months.) It was a big difficult decision made easier by three factors: our families illness, the illness of three out of five of our guests, and the news that Mema has caught the virus. Marina was sad until I got a call informing me that Abby had come home from the carnival doing great for about 20 minutes and then dropped like a rock thrown into a pond.

Falcom was sad about the party but happy that he was well enough and fever free for an entire day so that he could go out and trick or treat a little bit. We trick-o-treated for an hour or so driving the kids around to keep a warm environment available. (We trick or treated Mindy and Eric only to find that they too have the flu and Aiden was not going trick or treating!)

If you are reading this and had a child miss out on Trick or Treating fun because of the flu, mark next weekend on your calendar! Next Saturday we are going to have a small parade through town, do a little trick or treating and end with a party at Mema's for all the kids who were out of commission for this holiday weekend!