The Plague

New York City makes some hearty stomach viruses.  We all, all 5 of us, have it.  So does Lou Lou and my friend, Jen's, son Dane.  We have unknowingly exposed many other people.  I am so hoping that they somehow escape this...it is no fun.
I'll spare you most of the details, but Ellie was up from 8pm to 12am vomiting.  Chris just got her to sleep when Wes started at 12:30am and continued until 6am.  I guess they at least had the courtesy to take turns.  After I wrote the post last night, I realized that my dinner was not settling.  I went to bed right away, with the bucket near me. 

Nate's chemo started at about 11:30pm last night.  This round is 3 different chemo drugs and one of them is a 72 hour infusion, so he will be done at 11:30pm on Thursday.  We have every intention of bringing him home to sleep in his own bed when the infusion ends at 11:30pm.  He has not vomited at all...but still won't eat.  He had half a breakfast bar, a hot dog bun and a few sips of milk today.  It's just not enough.  The kid needs some serious protein after surgery and he won't even drink his beloved milk.  It's so frustrating.  He may be headed for an NG tube.  No one has mentioned it, but I have it in the back of my mind.  It really wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but I know he will hate it and I'm afraid he will yank it.  He just needs to start eating.  It's hard because he never feels like eating a ton until his ANC drops and recovers, which will be a couple weeks from now.  He just doesn't have the stores right now to make it that long.  Tomorrow, I will bring him a smoothie (with protein) from his favorite smoothie place, Paradise Juice, and hope he drinks it right up.

Today, Papa sat with Nate so I could come home to care for Wes and Ellie.  Chris went to work, but was home by 2pm hoping that lack of sleep was making him feel bad...no such luck.  Linde relieved Papa for the afternoon Nater shift and stayed until Papa came back to stay the night with him.  Chris is too sick to stay the night.  I'm feeling a little better and the kids seem to be better, but if one of them happens to throw up in the middle of the night again, Chris is in no shape to take care of them.  Plus, Chris and I shouldn't be spreading the love all over the hospital...it's bad enough that I was there yesterday.  We will keep the kids and Daddy home one more day tomorrow.  Thank goodness, this seems to be a 24 hour thing.  I will go spend the next couple days with Nate and try to get him to eat.  Always looking for the blessings, I spent most of the day snuggling with my big boy, Wes.  Something I don't get to do that often anymore.  His head still smells the same as it did when he was a baby.  Also, Ellie has finally been convinced that walking is the best mode of transportation for her now and is toddling all over the place.  Man, I love these kids!