I Heart Minute Clinic

I survived my first experience with being a Mommy with a full-time job and having a sick kid this week. Thank God for Grama and Minute Clinic!

I was on my way to drop off my class at Art, knowing I had my principal and a parent waiting in the office for a conference, when Seven walked past me down the hall carrying a clinic pass.

"What's wrong," I asked him in a panic, immediately trying to figure out how in the world I was going to handle this situation when Daddy is at work and Grama is busy.

"My head hurts and I have a fever and my nose is stopped up and my throat hurts and I can't stop sneezing," he said. Then he sneezed, as if to prove his point.

I told him to go on to the office and I'd be there in a minute. Then I dropped my class with their art teacher, raced to the office, told the parent who sat waiting for me that I'd be right with her, and dashed into the clinic where my son was now crying. The nurse confirmed that he had a fever so I ran to the secretary's phone to call my mom. I didn't think she'd be able to pick him up because she and Dad were supposed to be setting up for a huge vintage car show the next day. Luckily she was in the car (the regular one, not the vintage truck) about two minutes away when I called so she swooped in to pick up the little guy like an avenging grandma angel. By then he was crying harder and telling the nurse that he was going to have to change schools and he didn't want to because he really liked his new school.

???

Maybe it was the fever talking. Anway, I convinced him that he was not going to change schools, kissed his warm little forehead good-bye knowing that Grama would be arriving soon, and left him in the competent hands of the school nurse. So that I could go talk to another parent about HER child. That was weird.

After school Ten and I went to my mom's house to pack up our stuff to head for our "weekend home." Seven was looking pretty puny (complete with that red mark on his cheek that kids get when they've spent the day wiping their nose) but his fever was down since Grama gave him Tylenol. He was supposed to go to a birthday party, but I told him no since he'd left school sick.

By the time we got back to our own home, his fever was up again. To 100.2, to be exact. I piled the kids in the car to head over to CVS to get some medicine and find out what time their Minute Clinic would be opening the next day. To my joyous surprise they were open until 8:00 pm. We got there at 7:40. YAY! The nurse practitioner agreed that he had a sinus infection and gave us a prescription. His brother asked if he was contagious and she said no. Then she told me to give him Sudafed.

Remember a few months ago when I was sick and the doctor at the doc-in-a-box told me NOT to take my beloved Sudafed, but to take Mucinex instead? Well, this lady looked at me like I was crazy when I told her about that. She rolled her eyes and said, "No, give him Sudafed." Well, oooo-kay then.

So I bought tons of Gatorade and the tissues with lotion and aloe, brought him home and drugged him up with both Mucinex and Sudafed (and his antibiotic and saline spray and Vick's vaporub on his chest--hey, I'm not taking any chances) and put him to bed Friday night. Saturday, mid-morning, Ten came stumbling downstairs with his thunderous big-boy gait and said, nasally, "I need allergy medicine. I can't breathe and my nose is stopped up and my head hurts and I can't stop sneezing." Then he sneezed on me. Nice.

This morning his ear hurts and he's doing that asthma cough so we may be planning another trip to CVS before too much longer. After Ten wakes up from his nap. That's right, nap. Which he took all on his own without me even suggesting it. My hyper child chose to sleep, which should give you an idea of how badly he feels right now.

Did I mention that my new insurance kicks in on Monday? Not now, MONDAY! As in, the day after today? We still have Dan's insurance, thank goodness.

Oh, and just to make things interesting, the dog is sick too. She's thrown up four times this weekend, doesn't want to eat, and won't go potty when I walk her on her leash. And did I mention WHY I have to walk her on a leash in the front yard, even though we have a fenced back yard? Well let me tell you. FLEAS!! We've had a pest control company come out and spray the yard twice in the last month but apparently the fleas think the spray is some kind of growth hormone. At least the kids aren't trying to get out there and play since they don't feel well. You know me--always looking for that silver lining.

Oh, and our real estate contract ends tomorrow. More on that later...