H1N1 comes to our house.

For weeks I have been chasing my kids around with hand sanitizer and obsessing about taking care of ourselves and getting our rest. My best efforts were thwarted though, when Brayden tested positive for Flu A the first weekend in November. I had been watching the positives at work. They were all kids and I knew it was coming. Brayden has virus induced asthma so I was concerned about him getting a secondary infection. So, I sprung into action, calling the doctor, getting him medicine and taking temperatures around the clock. It was somewhat like the early days with a newborn. Every four hours, checking temps, giving medicine, waiting for the temp to come down, and back to bed. For me, the middle of the night vigil was very lonesome and stressful. When Sophia spiked a temp a few days later, I knew that I was in for a long haul. I hardly slept and neither did the kids. I was obsessed with fevers and listening for wheezes and difficulty breathing. Thankfully, about four days later, the fevers were gone and only the cough remained. That is when I had my meltdown. I had caught what I believed to be a derivative of the flu without the fever and I was exhausted and mad! I worked really hard to keep us well. I paid copays for vaccines and took care of everyone and we still went through it.

The Sunday before the flu, in church the Pastor preached a sermon about David and Goliath and he was asking us what the giants in our lives were in which we have to trust God. I had a hard time thinking about what it was for me but in the midst of this experience, I realized that the giant in my life right now is dealing with the illnesses of my kids. I can't control them, I just have to trust God for the strength and the energy to go through it with them and not be paralyzed with fear about what might happen and just take one temperature at a time while keeping my eyes on God to carry us through.