Caroline’s fever began Sunday morning. Just started out of nowhere, really, reaching around 102 and accompanied by a cough and sniffles. We figured it was a cold. Nevertheless I stayed up the night with her, with her on the living room couch and me sitting nearby and working and monitoring her fluctuating temperature and trying to keep it low. Slept maybe an hour until Kath came down to relieve me at 6:30 AM.
By Monday morning it was no better. We made a doctor’s appointment for 4:15. By noon her fever spiked to 104 and wasn’t coming down. I called the doctor and told her we were coming in right then and not waiting.
Some weeks ago we had Caroline get the standard flu shot and made an appointment some weeks later to get the H1N1 vaccination due to the Doctor not having the vaccination yet in the office and not having it much before thanksgiving from what they were told at the office also the two vaccinations had to be separated by a couple of weeks. So she got the one and was scheduled to get the other at the beginning of December.
She’s been diagnosed with swine flu so we canceled the December appointment.
To make things even more exciting, drug stores are running out of the medicine that’s prescribed for it. Two CVSs were out of it completely; the third is prepping it but they’re backordered so far that even though I went in at 3:30 PM, it won’t be ready until after 8 PM. So I’m working with the medications at hand to keep her fever down (plus a few other tricks I know) and waiting for the pharmacy to call and say the medicine’s ready for pick up.
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UPDATED 12:58 AM Tuesday: Finally got my hands on the medicine. Caroline took the first dose of the medicine at 8:30 PM. Rapid results. Temperature is now at normal levels and her skin is cool to the touch. She is sleeping soundly and breathing normally. Will stay up with her through the night, though, and monitor her condition through the night. Too worried that her condition could change on a dime; want to make sure her fever doesn’t start to spike or that her breathing becomes labored. She’s sleeping on the living room couch and I’m sitting nearby. Good time to catch up on stuff on the DVR.
UPDATED 5:33 AM Tuesday: Brain fried by fourth hour of “Brothers and Sisters.” Check her temperature. 100.2. Dammit. She was normal an hour ago.
UPDATED 5:55 AM Tuesday: She woke up. I gave her Motrin and rubbed her limbs, back and front with Isopropyl rubbing alcohol. As the alcohol evaporates it takes some of the excessive temperature with it. It’s less invasive and uncomfortable than damp towels. Put “Brothers and Sisters” back on. Kitty (Calista Flockhart) is watching brother-in-law, the guy who’s married to her gay brother, ogling the body of a swimming visiting Frenchman who is the lover of her sister. Earlier she was undergoing kemo to battle her lymphoma. Trying to find the point to all this. Ah: Found it. It put Caroline back to sleep.
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