It's been a tough week. Freddy got poorly on Thursday night complaining that he couldn't 'swallow the water in his mouth'. That was the start of a horrendous virus that has only just started to abate. Freddy's throat has been so swollen up that his breathing seems to stall when he is asleep, resulting in me waking up to his silent stillness with a start and having to shake him, whereby he'd gasp in a lungful of air with a loud snort. Very scary. He also developed a horrible rash, which I deduced was viral, but still worried me nevertheless. And he ran a high temperature for five days straight. I decided to take him to the doctor's just to make sure I wasn't being under cautious, but they confirmed my DIY diagnosis of it being a virus.
My poor little boy was in a right state. It is only yesterday that he started to play and ask for food, so he is on the mend. But he still has no voice, talking in nothing more than a tiny whisper.
He has been very philosophical about being poorly. He said there were 'bad guys' inside him that were making him ill and the 'good guy superheroes' were trying to 'defeat them'. This made the administering of two hourly Calpol/Ibuprofren medicines much easier, as I could tell him it was energy giving fuel for the good guys to give them the power to fend off the bad guys. It made him far more receptive to taking it, even with a swollen throat that made swallowing very painful for him.
Enduring five nights of very broken sleep, consoling a child who is screaming a croaking, gaspy cry at 4am, has been really hard on me. I really am getting too old for all nighters! But I was happy to sit downstairs with my poorly boy propped up on my chest, watching Cartoonito in the early hours, because I knew I was comforting him and keeping him safe.
Hopefully he is now over the worst and well on his way to being his usual self. I'm going to try taking him to school tomorrow. I think he'll be OK, albeit with a very little voice!
