Yuck

So, after 13 days of sweating, fevers, and coughing, and four separate doctor visits, "they" (as in "the nice doctor at the hospital") discovered I have pneumonia.

Pneumonia stinks.

I can't take care of my children.  It's all I have just to try and nurse Spencer.  "Drink extra fluids," they say -  meaning I have to drink about 20 cups of water a day just to replace what was lost (I'm dehydrated from all the fevering and sweating), to try and kick this misery, and to replenish enough to feed my baby.

Joshua is at school and the middles are at Grandma's house.

I cried when the doctor told me.  Not because I was sad that I am apparently *that sick* (apparently this is worse than I've been giving it credit for), but because I *finally* had an answer...an answer that a few of my friends had been speculating on for days beforehand.  Why the first three doctor visits didn't pick this up, I'm not sure.

I'm thankful to have an answer.

I'm thankful to have medicine that will hopefully help me feel a little more human in a day or two.

I'm thankful that the nurse in radiology was so compassionate.  The triage nurse was miserable and rude, the admitting nurse was abrupt, and the doctor wasn't too interested in giving me the time of day.  But the radiologist?  She came to get me - I was sitting with Graeme and Spencer ('cuz I'd had to feed him so he had to come with me, and since I couldn't care for him myself, Graeme also had to come).  She smiled at Spencer and took me back to x-ray; once we were back there, she said to me, "You look terrible.  It must be hard caring for your little one."

"Yeah."

"How many do you have?"

"Four."

"Oh, honey, I feel so bad for you..."

She must be a mama herself.

(The doctor was a lot nicer to me when he came back with the diagnosis.)

So now, I rest.  I have a bit of coverage for the kids over the next couple of days.  Not 100% coverage, but more than I normally would otherwise have.  I'll take what I can get.

I had signed up a few months ago to ski the Birkie with my friend Mary Jane this coming weekend... well, not the full Birkie, just the shorter Birkie... only 31km... but now I can't do that, obviously.  The nice lady in registrations will send my refund request to the powers that be and see what they can do.

I can't play basketball for a while... part of me only thinks for a week or two, but when I say that, people kind of giggle and tell me it'll be a lot longer than that... really?  I suppose I'll take what I can get, 'cuz right now, even climbing the stairs is a massive undertaking.


Spencer is finally napping.  I'm going to do the same.  I've got 1 1/2 hours till Joshua gets off the bus and storms my door with hugs and kisses.

Seven Quick Takes

Is this supposed to be a Friday thing?  Seven Quick Takes on Friday?

Well, no matter.  It's Monday, so I'm either early or late.

1.  Spencer is a riot.  He randomly burps at the table (from his high chair), then gets this goofy shocked look on his face, then giggles.  That's my boy!!  Totally priceless.

2.  Meaghan has quite the life.  She sat on our friends' countertop in PA with Mike, and suddenly proclaimed, "This is the LIFE!"  She has repeated the same phrase with equal vigour when she has cozied into our bed under our new soft duvet, or sitting beside other friends.  She knows a good thing when she's part of it.  However, it should also be known that she has also said the same thing when passing gas while sitting on the toilet.  (Sorry, Megs...)

3.  Meaghan is the queen of kung-fu ballet.  She performs a great kick (complete with accompanying "Hi-YAH!") and then promptly twirls around and finishes with a perfect ballerina's pose.

4.  Spencer has seven teeth.  The kid is the messiest teether.  None of my other kids had flesh that broke like this.  His gummy flesh just hangs there, swollen, bleeding, and pulverized.  Poor kid.

5.  Dustin and Joshua are starting swimming lessons again tonight.  Dustin is going to be a crocodile, and Joshua is in Red Cross Level 3.

6.  I may be taking some x-country ski lessons in the Fort...?  We'll see.  One thing at a time.

7.  Today I am remembering a little guy whose life on earth was far too short.  Happy 4th birthday, Brennan.  You are a treasure.

Skiing Lessons

Today I took the boys to the Strathcona Wilderness Centre.  It's the annual "Snow Day" - and the day was perfect!!

My knees have still been really sore, but I've been medicating from the inside out AND the outside in, and doing all kinds of therapy.  And I found my old knee brace and put it on also.  My left knee in particular is quite bad, but it was stable enough to enjoy the quick "free" one-hour group lesson today.  All the kids went to one group, and all the adults went to another.  It was probably a good idea, as Dustin was exhausted at the end of it all and would likely have been whining to me half-way through if I'd been around!  Joshua, however, was a rock star and wanted to keep going afterwards.  He's gonna be my ski buddy!!  Dustin is such a little tyke, still, so I totally get that he's going to take a while to get into it.  He did so well, and was pleased that he even won a race!

So I actually did learn a few things in my lesson today!  I'm excited to go out and try skiing again.  And, I'm SUPER thankful that my knees feel much better tonight than they did even this morning!  That's a relief, for sure.  I'm looking forward to my next physio appointment and learning how to "tape" my knees up until they're strong enough to support themselves - the taping itself can be used to re-train muscles and joints, apparently.  I'm intrigued by it!