Giardia

I was looking forward to writing a happy blog entry on Cubby's first birthday but as you can see by my long absence, things did not go as planned.

Cubby's birthday WAS a lot of fun. We went to church and then to the Sea Aquarium. The boys loved the dolphins and whales. Every time one would make a jump Cubby would raise his arms like the trainers and yell "Jump!" or "dolphin!" He chattered happily all afternoon while we looked at manatees and fish. When we pulled out of the parking lot and drove back over the bay to our home, he drifted off into a happy sleep. We ate great Italian food that night and invited the family over to sing Happy Birthday. Cubby and the Bear downed a chocolate cupcake each!

I tucked them into bed, happy, safe and warm.

At 12:30 that night, they woke up with severe vomiting and diarrhea which occurred every half hour. Cubby had never thrown up before, not even once, so the sight of him squirming in pain on my bed broke my heart. The Bear cried almost the entire night while J and I raced around cleaning beds, hosing sheets and taking trips with the boys to the bathroom. The next morning Cubby began to dehydrate quickly, I took him to the hospital and we were admitted for yet another long and sleepless night. The Bear stayed at home, barely eating or drinking. This has continued all week. The boys are miserable with sickness. J and I are overwhelmed with sleep deprivation.

At first we assumed the boys had food poisoning (as did the hospital) but we later found out that the boys contracted a bug. Literally. Those happy splashing dolphins at the aquarium splashed a nice case of Giardia right into my sweet angels' mouths. Now we are inundated with antibiotics and nausea medications which will help kill the bug. Their immune systems are extremely low at the moment and for the next month they will be susceptible to catching nearly everything.

Little Bastard

I hate seeing my boys suffer. We've had very few smiles and giggles this week. No macaroni and cheese dishes, no broccoli forests, no apples with teeny tiny bites taken off the sides, no slippery bathroom tile from rigorous bubble bath fights, no crayons marks on the cabinets, no watering cans abandoned in the garden.

If I could shrink myself down to miniature size I could personally combat those bugs. I would rip off their tentacles and mutilate their appendages with my bare hands. I'll have to content myself with just melting their bodies with a fury of antibiotic.

Giardia sucks.