January 22, 2023
First the Big Kid got strep, then I got it, then K-Dog, then Mister and finally BACK to the Big Kid. We had the middle child tested but she either was too early to tell or she just has an incessant cough which won't abate but only when I'm trying to sleep (which is also the only time I can actually escape most days).
Mind you, you can't just go into the doctor's office to get tested for strep and hang out until they hand you a Rx. You have to wait until the clinic has their one, mass testing session of the day, in the parking lot, which you drive through. They hit COVID/STREP/FLU and while the results are rapid tests, you still have to drive home, wait for the results, then come back with your child to be seen by the physician and hope that the Rx is available for same-appointment pickup.
If you're going to make a drive-thru option for testing, then please also just prescribe whatever antibiotic you see fit in your professional opinion so that I can choose whatever pharmacy happens to be closest to my home while I'm running around and trying to work and taking care of other sickos (including myself) and don't bother with the in-person visit because you've SEEN the culture, you don't need to see the visage in front of it. And I don't want to be in an enclosed space with said specimen multiple times during the day because, well, EFF YOU GERMS.
I'm not really complaining about the process but when 4 out of 5 people need to go through the same hoops and I'm in the process of dying myself, I would prefer haste. Or delivery service. Grub-Hub me some penicillin, yo. Grant us a traveling swabsman so my kiddo doesn't turn up the volume on the radio with the same hand she just used to wipe her damn nose.
The kiddos don't take it seriously. They get as close as possible and look directly at you and wait until you're inhaling before point blank coughing moisture into your face. They use the same hand towel even when you've assigned them separate ones. They fondle toothbrushes that belong to someone else for God knows what reason and they drink of whatever container they find sitting on the counter without any worry in the world. I clean, I disinfect, I replace contaminants and yet here we are, with a recurrence, ten more days of dispensing antibiotics, small humans missing school and endless requests for sandwiches and fruit.
The first set of meds we gave the Big Kid upset her stomach so they switched her to something different. The first set did not need to be refrigerated, the second did. Guess who didn't put them into the fridge? Not I, said the fly!! Finally, it wasn't my fault.
Meanwhile, the Middle Kid has had 5 migraines since Christmas Eve. Puking, extreme headache and agony each time. Bringing her back to the doctor to get a referral for an MRI. Need to know if this is something bigger than headaches and once a week is a bit over the damn top.
They called in hospice care for K-Dog's grandpa and he has been mostly unresponsive since Friday. I kept the sick kiddos home while he visited (nightmare) so I didn't get to say good bye properly but I don't know how long he plans to hold on so there still might be time. 100 years old and he's hanging on with all his might.
My truck is three weeks into being at the dealership with transmission issues and when we went to go pick it up yesterday, we didn't make it out of the parking lot before hearing the noise again. Back to the drawing board there. The Bronco Sport isn't so bad but it's not my truck.
I don't want to be here.
I'm not interested. It's too much and I cannot keep up. I don't know at which point you give up or if you just keep plugging away in misery but this is just TOO MUCH.