Somewhere over the rainbow…

Justin’s Down with Influenza A

It’s going to be a rather long post, so it’s more for my own record.

Last Friday, hubby was down with fever, and he left work early. Each time he has a fever, he will sleep without air conditioning, so he tugged in with the kids who sleep without air con after midnight. Yours truly here cannot survive without air-conditioning though.

The next morning, he’s still pretty sick. I prepared an early lunch and got the kids fed and changed. Then, we brought hubby to the hospital for check up. My initial thought was to send the kids to my office and ask the office maid to take care of them, but Justin refused to go. He’s quite sticky to us actually. Thus, all of us tagged along to the hospital, which was so crowded that Saturday afternoon. I even joked to hubby that this private hospital makes good biz huh? LOL!

Anyway, the whole process from seeing the doctor, to taking a jab and get the med from the dispensary to paying the bills took about 3 hours. No joke! We were there for 3 freaking hours! So, Justin might have caught influenza A virus from other patients at the hospital, or from hubby. Hubby was down with high fever over 39.5 deg and I can’t remember what jab he took.

So basically, hubby was just sleeping through the weekend, while I took the kids to classes on Sunday. Between the switching from piano / ballet class to Chinese class, hubby dropped by. He said Justin’s feverish, so he brought him home while I stayed back to wait for Isabelle.

When I got home, the boy was sleeping. He was not himself, and his fever got worse. Actually, we have 2 guys at home with high fever now, and it’s not a pretty Sunday. Justin slept with hubby that night while I was with Isabelle. Hubby took care of him, but his fever didn’t subside even with paracetamol. So, hubby brought him to the pediatrician at the hospital while I went to work. I had a few important customer visits this week, and it’s all planned a week before. We thought he might just catch some viral so he should be fine. Isabelle was at school as usual.

Who knows? Justin really got infected by influenza A virus, after a swab test. I was shocked when I heard that over the phone. I was miles away in another side of the town, so I could only be at the hospital after lunch. Nonetheless, my mind was still working well, and I planned everything despite being quite panic.

Firstly, I asked for SIL to help me with Isabelle. She better spent a night with them than with hubby or me at the hospital. Then, I went back to pack some clothes and necessities and went to pick up Isabelle from school. I sent her to my office maid, and she took care of Isabelle for me. After that, off I went to the hospital to see Justin.

He’s admitted in a twin sharing room because they were out of single room. It’s not a good idea. We requested a single room and got it after someone checked out in the late evening. Hubby went back to pick Isabelle and pack too. After dinner, he sent Isabelle off to SIL.

Justin slept most of the time.

The doctor gave him some stickers and vitamin C to make him feel “better”.

Transferred to single room, and he couldn’t even open his eyes to watch TV.

During those hours, Justin’s temperature didn’t drop much. He was measured at 39.5 – 39.7 deg, and he was str*pped and sponged by the nurses after each measurement. That’s the only time he’s conscious and crying too as he’s in cold. They had to sponge him to bring down the temperature, on top of giving med and drips. However, the lowest he could go was 39.1 deg and it’s not good.

So, the whole night was all about measuring (4 hourly) then sponged, then fed medicine, and all got some rest. Hubby and I took turns to sleep beside him, and I would say both of us didn’t sleep much that night. Nonetheless, I did knock out for a while after the 4am routine and took a nap on the sofa. Really tired jor…

But luckily, the room is quite good. We could take shower (everything is provided, including towels), and help ourselves with lots of coffee and water to stay alert. Coffee is given too, so it’s good enough.

At 8am, the doctor came. His temperature dropped to 38.4 deg, and it’s such a relief. The doctor said that he can go home, but needed to come back a day after for check up again. We were so pleased to hear that! Resting at home is much better than staying at the hospital.

After his temperature subsided slightly, Justin was more alert. He walked around for awhile, but got back to the room after he found out that he couldn’t play at the wooden swing set and slides at the mini playground. He’s still on drip so he couldn’t move much. Hubby even asked him why he walked so small step? This daddy hoh? Thinks his boy can go down from the bed and run already. After not eating for more than 24 hours, can you be back to your usual self and run ah? *slap head*

Walked a bit in the next morning

He didn’t have much appetite but he took a few spoons of porridge. That’s good enough. It would take awhile before he felt like eating again. At least he’s conscious and more alert now. On and off, he took some naps. He was discharged after lunch, and his temperature subsided further. We were so glad!

Then, hubby went to pick up Isabelle from school. This time, we got ourselves a feverish gal. I thought I could at least get some sleep at home but I was up taking care of a feverish gal. But then, her temperature was not too high. I guess her body is fighting the infection gua…

So, both kids are at home today due to self quarantine. Hubby went back to work after resting for so many days. Actually, his colleague was diagnosed with influenza A yesterday, so we suspect that hubby got the virus and passed to our boy.

Anyway, Justin will go for his check up tomorrow, and I think he should be fine by now. It’s Isabelle that I’m monitoring closely. She’s a tougher cookie, and she takes “longer” to get sick. Right now, her fever really not much and she’s fully active and alert. If she has fever tonight, she will be seeing the pediatrician with Justin tomorrow .

Justin’s Soon to be First Public Speaking

Justin’s was selected to represent the kindergarten students to give a speech in English on Mother’s Day. Thailand celebrates Mother’s Day on 12th August, so it falls on next Thursday this year. We were only informed by his teacher about him giving a speech last Friday, and when I heard about that, I thought, oh well, it’s just a simple speech, he should be fine with it.

But when I got home and saw the text, I was like, “OMG, can my 5-year-old do a speech like this?” There are so many words which he is not familiar with, and the text doesn’t sound like what a typical kindergarten kid would say. Besides that, it’s not easy to get my boy to learn his speech in the weekend as he’s fully occupied with play, games, TV, piano class and our usual gai gai.

Anyway, I thought of asking for simpler speech on Monday, but his teacher kept assuring me that Justin can do it. So, ok la…let’s see how.

Surprisingly, our boy can read the text on his own already, but he does pause at words like “significance, sacrifices, affects, presence” and etc. He’s not used to using these words, and I know that he’s trying to break them up and join them by sound. Frankly, I doubt that he understands the meaning for these words at first, but his teacher did explain them to him.

His teacher insisted that Justin would go on stage, in front of all the students from kindergarten up to high school, with teachers and parents, and give the speech without referring to the text. O.o

Besides getting him ready to memorize and recite his speech, my next concern will be stage fright. You know? It’s his first public speaking, and he has not gone on a big stage like this before! Furthermore, his speech is quite tough, even the teachers admit that the speeches given by Year 1 – Year 3 are easier because they will be delivered by Thai students. Justin’s teacher wanted Justin to be “different”.

Since the teacher is soooo confident with our boy, ok la, hubby and I should have some faith in him too. I do have my worries that what if he can’t deliver his speech well, will that affect his confidence in public speaking again? But still, we would never know unless we let him try it out.

The last but not least, I just wanna say, Justin, we are very proud of you. No matter how you do next Thursday, just remember that mommy and daddy are very proud of you being chosen to give the speech. Just do your best and we assure you that we will give you a big pressie!!!!

My Active Justin

Justin is an active boy. His new teachers said that he is smart and he is always the first to finish his work at class. After that, he will be noisy or looking for things to play. Some times, he will be the leader and “influence” the boys to play with him. O.o

So, in order to make him quiet down while waiting for others to finish their work, his teacher made him the class leader, sort of like a monitor. He is in charged of “making his friends quiet and finish their work”, and some times, he gives them the answers. *faint*

The only weakness he has in class is his Thai, which we are fully aware of. That’s why we enroll both kids into extra Thai classes, instead of intense English program after school. They will study until 3.30pm and it’s more convenient for me to pick them up too. If the schedule permits, I might let him join taekwondo, since he already in yellow belt, and enroll Isabelle into painting class. The only problem is both classes are conducted on different days from 3.30 to 4.30pm, and either kid will have to waste an hour at school waiting for their sibling. So, let me think hard about this first….

Yesterday, he asked for permission to go out and play. I told him to be extra careful since his stitches are still fresh, and the wound is yet to heal. Manatau, that boy just went out and grab his bike!!! But he was only cycling in front of our house, and my next-door neighbor said, “Mai jep krap? Mai kuah krap?” (Not painful? Not scare ah?)

You know? It’s the daddy who said he can still go out and cycle, just be careful. Sigh….man….

I made a deal with him that he can go to the playground but not on his bike. So we walked together and he was so happy to be with his friends. I kept nagging on him to run slowly, don’t run is the BEST but my boy tended to be forgetful. Everyone was asking about his wound, and he acted like nothing. O.o

Anyway, he was good. I asked them to go home after 15 minutes, and he obeyed. Previously, he will wait for all to go home then only he’s willing to leave. I’m kind of proud of him for knowing his boundary, but not sure if he remembers it always!

I was quite tired keeping an eye on him every second too, probably burnt more calories than weight loss pills.

He won’t be going to the hospital for dressing today. The next appointment is tomorrow, where the doctor will check if the stitches can be removed. It’s time to get all the Vitamin E and anti scar cream ready…

He’s Getting Well

Justin is feeling much better now, despite complaining that he can’t open his mouth wide when he eats. I am so surprised that he reacts much better than I’ve expected.

He was very good yesterday, didn’t ask to go out and play. So, I spent the evening playing monopoly with him, and of course, I lost to him again. Sigh…Like he said, he’s very good at this game. LOL!

Hopefully, he learned his lesson and will be more careful when he plays. I don’t want to get another heart attack like this, even if being worried can be the best weight loss pill to mommy.

No More Leng Chai

I have so much to blog about but too little time for it. But firstly, I must really jot down what happened yesterday. My boy loves cycling, and he does that almost everyday. He will normally go to his friend’s place at about 5.30pm, and they will go cycling in the garden together. Some times I will follow them, but if Isabelle is not going, or I haven’t done my cooking, he will go on his own. Most kids here go out by themselves in our gated neighborhood, and other parents and security guards offer a watchful eye to all the children.

Frankly, I know that I can’t rely on others, especially accidents can just happen anyway. So yesterday, it did.

I already got dinner prepared by 5pm. FED the kids too. They were too tired since they didn’t have nap at school anymore, and they have swimming classes on Mondays. Seeing how tired they were, I fed the kids, and bathed Isabelle who refused to go out. Justin wanted to go out by 6pm, so I opened the door for him. 5 minutes later, my door bell rang, URGENTLY and at many times.

I came downstairs and got shock to see my next door neighbor trying to tell me something in Thai. Upon hearing the word “roat”, my heart skipped a beat. I thought Justin was hit by a car or what, you know? The imagination just ran wild?

But then, someone brought back his bike, and I ran to the park to look for him. I saw him at the junction, carried by other neighbor, with so much blood on his hands, shirt and face, I almost fainted. At that moment, I felt so guilty of not being by his side when he played. Really feel like the lousiest mother in the world.

I took him over, he was crying of course. I brought him in and gave him a cool compress to stop the blood. My next door neighbors, the guard, and the other neighbors were worried and they were still outside my house. Someone mentioned going to the clinic, and my neighbor offered to go with me. The security guard actually wanted to call the taxi for me, but I could drive. I’m so glad that everyone offered their help, REALLY. I should have called BIL, but I can’t remember HIM at that time. Hubby was stuck in a jam, so he couldn’t make it in time.

Thus, off we went to the clinic, with sleepy Isabelle and my ah gua neighbor. HE IS SO HELPFUL!!!!!! He kept Justin calm while I drove, and he attended to Justin’s blood. I really can’t imagine how to do this alone, with 2 kids, driving to the clinic.

Most clinics were closed, but he told me there should be one further up. We ended up at a small clinic, and he brought Justin in just after I parked my car. The nurses and doctor all came out to attend to his wound, but my boy didn’t cooperate. He was struggling when 3 nurses held him down, and the doctor just did a dressing for him. He confirmed no fracture, but I knew that I should go for X-ray. He said it’s best to go to the hospital too.

The only photo I managed to snap with my phone.

See the busy body meimei at the right corner? She’s so curious with what’s going on.

After paying up, we went back home. Hubby reached home about the same time too. I told him the cut was about 1cm x 3cm and the fresh was exposed, it’s impossible to heal without stitches. After thanking the neighbors, he brought Justin to the private hospital. With hubby’s work permit, the medical fee is not that high as those charged on expats. Anyway, Isabelle and I stayed at home as curfew is still imposed in BKK. Hubby said it’s best we don’t follow.

I kept calling hubby for updates. He said the nurses wrapped Justin up so that he couldn’t move and the doctor fixed 6 stitches to close the wound. OMG, 6 stitches. There is definitely going to be a scar, but it’s at the chin, so maybe not so obvious. *just to stay optimistic*

Anyway, scar is not a big matter. It can be removed by laser.

The funny thing is, my boy came home with stitches, but he acted like nothing happened. Maybe he had cried too much for hours, he really couldn’t cry anymore. I wanted him to stay at home or at office with me, but he insisted on going to school. So, he’s at school now, and I reminded him to be INACTIVE and tell his friends not to touch his wound. I hope that he remembers that. He still needs to go for dressing for a few more days before the stitches can be removed.

So, the money spent on yesterday’s episode can be treated as one of those unique gifts for father’s day, in a couple of weeks. Hubby said “poh coi yau poh xiong”. LOL!