Tuesday, January 30, 2007

A nebulizer mask filled with puke

JF has apparently caught some kind of stomach bug. He didn't eat much at dinner. Then, in the middle of a Pulmicort nebulizer treatment, he suddenly emptied the contents of his stomach. Into his nebulizer mask. Not a pretty sight.

I wish he would/could tell us, "I feel yucky." Then we would have some advance notice.

Whenever he pukes or has a fever, I say to him, "I feel yucky." With his echolalia, he's compelled to say it back to me. I'm hoping that he'll eventually figure out when he should say it on his own.

We've cleaned him up and put him in bed, with a big bowl next to his mattress. I don't know whether he'll use it, but it can't hurt to have it handy.

Before JF had even finished barfing, AF asked me to stay home with the boy tomorrow.

AF is very busy at work these days. They are converting apartments to condos, and they have four walk-throughs tomorrow. That is, four potential residents want to walk through freshly-painted condos, so AF and his co-workers have to bust their butts to finish getting those condos ready.

Things are a little slower at work for me, so I'll stay home with the boy tomorrow. Then, if JF is still too sick for daycare the next day, we'll split the workday: AF will work four hours in the morning and I'll work four hours in the afternoon. Then in the evening, one of us will probably work another four hours. This is what we do when JF is sick.

7 comments:

Kelly O said...

Oh, man!! Is it bad that this kind of made me laugh? In the way that I laugh when one of my kids barfs down my bra. Really, how do they do that?

Poor little guy, I hope he's feeling better soon.

Mom without a manual said...

Sorry to hear about the bug. Hopefully it will pass quickly. I know what you mean about the words. Even though my son is fairly verbal he doesn't share how he feels.

Feelings are such a taboo topic. We have worked hard to identify the feelings of others by looking at pictures. But he doesn't share his feelings with us...except tears of course. He has learned to say, "I'm sad" when we ask him why he is crying. Sometimes we can follow up on that and find out what made him cry but usually all he'll say is that he's sad. Maybe someday!

Good luck to you and your husband as you shift your schedules! Life is crazy sometime? Scratch that. Life is crazy ALWAYS!

WarriorMom said...

Thank you both, kelly o and mom w/o a manual.

It's okay to laugh. We laugh at ourselves a lot around here.

I guess the autism spectrum makes it hard for kids to explain how they feel. JF seems to think we should already know how he feels!

Sonia Wetzel Photography said...

I understand wanting them to be able to tell us when they feel bad. I recently burst into tears after saying to Bugga, "Tell me what hurts", and realizing that he can't. And the barfing....OH THE BARFING!!! We get NO warning. Just the sound of it coming up over the baby monitor. Sometimes there's a warning gag. OOF.
I think it's great that you can work out your work schedules to accomodate a sick kid.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you need a spa day. I have always wondered what a spa day would be like...but I am too much the guilt queen to take one.
So, instead, pour yourself a cup of tea, and hope for a quiet day.

Kyla said...

I hope you didn't somehow catch it when you were at my blog. Next time you visit, make sure to use some of the complimentary Purell. *lol*

A Nebulizer mask of puke...mmmm...nice visual. *lol* I hope he's feeling better soon!

WarriorMom said...

Thank you to everyone for posting such supportive comments. It brought tears to my eyes. If JF will let me, I'll post an update.

DDM, Maybe Bugga and JF can have a barfing competition someday. From what I've read about danglies, I think Bugga would win!

FWIW, I do need a spa day. I'll be sure to tell my hubby that. (He needs a golf day, too.) I think I will have a cup of tea!

Kyla, I thought about making the same joke about catching the bug online, but I was worrying too much. Thank you for that!