Thursday, March 27, 2008

Projectile

Our planned trip to the zoo yesterday didn't quite happen. Bad weather and illness swept the best laid plans of mice and men clean off the table and into the waste paper bin...

Tom started projectile vomitting during the afternoon. Quite spectacular geysers of slimey milk that coated him, Karen, me, the sofa and the rugs on the carpet... This coupled with the voluminous amount of Tom's bedding and clothes that have been regularly saturated with yellow nappy porridge over the last few days has meant that the washing machine has constantly been on the go since Saturday and the whole house smells like a nursery laundry room. Not fun.

We got an appointment to see an emergency doctor at the hospital last night to get Tom checked over. Thanfully by then the vomitting had stopped. The doctor was great but wasn't overly concerned. Thankfully all of our efforts to keep Tom hydrated have paid off - no signs of dehydration. The doctor said a couple of vomitting episodes are fine but if it becomes constant then that will be a cause for concern. Other than prescribing some Dialarite there was little else he could do. The virus needs to run its course so Tom can build up a resistance to it. It could take a week. It could take 10 days. Worse can scenario: it could take up to 3 weeks.

Karen and I are shattered. To make it worse Ben and I have also come down with dodgy stomachs this morning so my return to work has been (un)regrettably postponed until Monday. I'm desperately hoping that the situation will have improved by then.

God knows we all need a break...

11 comments:

Old Cheeser said...

Oh dear. At the risk of sounding frivlous I hope Tom hasn't been possessed by the spirit of Satan/Linda Blair...heard any strange noises in the attic recently?!

Sorry you've all been feeling under the weather but if I was you I'd relish the extra time off work!

per.pri said...

Oh no Steve! I really hope you all get better soon, and poor little Tom. But at least it helps build up his immune system, it may be unpleasant, but this kind of exposure is good for him in the long run.

Get plenty of rest. Hope you get well soon.

:)

Anonymous said...

Oh gosh, this is terrible. You have my absolute sympathy. I remember how awful it is to have an ill baby and be tired and under the weather yourself and have mountains of washing to deal with. Poor poor you.

I hope he improves soon. I'm sure he will.

Big hugs to you all
Gina
x

Inchy said...

Well Steve, if it makes you feel better, my projectile colon has returned and I'm off work again, so it's not exactly a bed of roses up north either.

Get some kip.

Steve said...

Hi OC, all quiet in the attic so far thankfully and Tom head hasn't spun even once! It is nice to be home but furstrating to be so debilated at the same time!

Hi Per.pri - that's more of less what the doctor said actually - all we can do is let it run its course so that Tom builds up his own immunity to it. Once consolation is that he'll have utterly no memory of how miserable the last few days have been!

Gina, simply thanks! Tom is showing signs of improvement though I'm reluctant to tempt fate by being too confident about it. He has been eating like a good 'un today though - indication of a returning appetite; plus his poo rate has (fingers crossed) begun to slow down... I really hope that he's turned a corner and has begun a recovery.

Inchy, you get some kip too mate. A projectile colon sounds terrible - surely an ejector seat by any other name? Hope you're feeling better soon!

MommyHeadache said...

Oh darling, darling [hugs], I feel for you. My daughter Sausage projectile vomited every day the first year (i mean just like milk spitting up but like fountains of it) so I know what it's like when everything reeks of cheese.

Steve said...

Hi Emma - Sausage? What a great name! Every day - oh my God. How on earth did you cope? Suddenly I don't feel half so bad... thank you!

Daisy said...

i am off till monday myself...started getting sick over the weekend and yesterday it kicked my ass...i couldn't do another thing but sleep...barely made it home from work at noon...green tea with honey...that is all i know at this point...

Steve said...

So sorry to hear that Daisy - though the green tea and honey sounds a good remedy and very soothing. Rest up over the weekend - hope you feel better soon. As for Tom, we're hoping he's begun a recovery. He ate like a pig yesterday - almost constantly. A sure sign of how hungry he is, poor thing.

-eve- said...

I know it's been a few days since this post (have been at home for the weekend; just arrived back at uni), so am hoping you're all feeling better... congrats on keeping Tom well-hydrated! That's the mainstay of treating AGE (acute gastroenteritis), which is what i presume Tom has ..

Steve said...

Thank you Eve, yesterday was the first day in over a week that Tom was in any way back to normal - he has a touch of colic at night but other than that he's feeding and more importantly poohing properly again. We're all shattered but feel a bit more human again now... I may even be able to face going back to work tomorrow! Gulp!