Swine Flu

Jake couldn't stop "cheesin" for the pictures!
Even when he's sick, he's a character!

And a cutie!
He must be sick, though....all he wanted for dinner was "peas."



So a couple of months ago when this swine flu made the headlines, I remember thinking "whatever...it'll never happen here." And then I got to work that weekend, and anybody that had some semblance of a cough was put on airborne precautions (mask, gown, gloves, etc). "A little extreme, isn't this?"...I might have said to my co-workers. And then when my mom suggested keeping Jake out of Mother's Day Out because of potential exposure to swine flu, I laughed in her face. All of this has come back to bite me....Jake went to the pediatrician today and "probably" has the swine flu.



I won't reveal where he might have been exposed, but it was not malicious in any way, and I am completely fine with that. Afterall, I probably bring home nastier things from the hospital! (Hello MRSA!) Anyways, Jake was a little "off" last night and this morning, but I thought he was just exhausted from our busy weekend...I sure was. So I took him to school...bad mama! His teacher, who happens to be a nurse, informed me when I picked him up that Jake wasn't "quite himself" and seemed warm; I took one look at him and immediately called the pediatrician.



We got to the doctors' office and were quickly taken back to a room. I could hear them whispering about us outside the room; it was awful. Anyways, Jake had a fever of 101.2 and his throat looked "pretty bad." (On a happy note, he did weigh in at a whopping 29 lbs 2 oz!) Long story short, due to our exposure, Jake's symptoms, and the fact that it isn't flu season, the pediatrician said he had to report the case to the CDC as "probable swine flu." They aren't sending specimens to the CDC any more unless you are hospitalized, so we will never know for sure. Jake was prescribed Tamiflu and has to be quarantined for a while.



Jake seems to be doing better than I ever expected (see pics above); he definitely gets to looking pretty bad when he is febrile or if it is time for Tylenol/Motrin, but other than that, he is doing pretty well. I am starting to feel pretty achy, so only time will tell if swine flu is in my future. I sure hope not, though, it's hard enough taking care of my sick child when I'm well! And poor Tyson, he's been ordered by the UAB trainer not to come home...crazy huh? Heaven forbid we be the cause for the UAB Football team to come down with swine flu! I don't think he'll be able to stay away, though...he hasn't seen Jake in a whole week! Oh, fun times in the Summers' house!