Sick, Sick, Sick …

Perhaps the change of season (it’s a mild autumn/fall here in Dubai, with lovely breezy evenings, around 25C), or perhaps just a lot of “bugs” in the air, but we’re all pretty sick at the moment, ‘cept for Angela of course, who just mumbles something ’bout “Mom’s can’t get sick” and heads off to take one of “us boys” to the doctor …

Luke had his 4 month checkup last week Thursday – The Pead’ was very happy with his growth, and said gave Angela the green light to introducing more solids … Luke just LOVES his cereals, which he was getting once a day ’till then, and now has a more solid meal than milk three times a day – My personal favourite is Puree Fruit Yougurt. However since the inoculations on the same day his nose has been running and blocked, and when he started having a “wet” cough on Saturday it was off to the Doc’ again on Sunday: The diagnosis, “bronchiolitis” but the “labs” showed not a Resporitory Tract Infection. (Thank the Lord for that)
Angela actually had a double appointment on Sunday – Joining her and Luke was “My-one-nose-is-broken-Nathan” (It was just blocked, but to Nathan this means it’s broken). He just had a bit of bronchitis, not serious enough for Anti-biotics (‘nother answer to prayer there) but justified some regular cold and flu med’s for the next few days, in particular an expectorant to clear his chest and post-nasal drip.

While all this was happening I’ve extended now into my second week of constant sinus pain (mostly spend in bed at home, unable to do much else than sleep, but I’ve had three or four days when it lightened up enough for me to goto work/church) – Women who suffer from the same sinus pains say they’re not as bad as giving child-birth, but after two weeks of constant, throbbing, “center of forehead and checks agony” I’m willing to take that bet …

I’ve been twice to see our Family Doctor (a great South African, Dr Bernhard Fischer) – Dubai is the kinda place where you don”t get too many doctors like the kind Ang’ and I grew up knowing; who explain things to you clearly and don”t make you feel like a patient, but rather a partner in your health … However, after my last visit on Thursday (and a follow up call from the Doc’ on Sunday) he had me head off to an imaging clinic for a CT-scan of my sinuses, and subsequently I took the results to an Ear-Nose-and-Throat specialist today. Verdict: No operation (yet) but the ENT prescribed some steroids to eleviate what he identified as “Vacuum Head-aches” …

So me and my “hoover-face-pains” are going to sleep now, praying tomorrow will be a better day, as Angela exhausted from her mothering and nursing sleeps soundly, while I heard Nathan slightly restless from his blocked nose sleep deeply enough not to be disturbed by Luke’s occasional cough into the night …