Tag Archives: cold

The Insanity of Sickness & Christmas

Leave a reply

Oh how it royally bites to be sick on a holiday. Especially when you’re the one cooking THE MEAL and it’s your first time at the helm for such a big event. I somehow managed to hold it all together and pulled off an awesome Christmas Lunch of (get this) Roast Beef Tenderloin with Beef Mushroom Sauce, Carrot Souffle, Green Bean Bundles, Creamed Corn, and Yorkshire Pudding. I baked a Scripture Cake the night before in honor of the man of the day, Jesus.

Yet once I stopped moving frantically about in the kitchen and sat down, my body realized the rush was over and apparently gave itself permission to implode.

My left hip? Out of alignment for the better part of the afternoon and evening. Only heat and a whopping dose of Tylenol and Ibuprofen cleared that up. And thank goodness it did because I was unable to bear weight on my left side without almost collapsing and crying outloud.

My head and chest? Obscenely Congested. Tylenol Cold did nothing for me. Ended up making a Walgreens run at 10p last night for myself and for Cameron. I got Severe Cold Meds and Nasal Spray. He got a little Flowing Vapors desk thingy by Triaminic. (Have I mentioned Charlotte’s sick too?)

All of this started last Friday when Alli was coughing slightly. The cough got worse and by Sunday evening I was at the ER with her. First thing I did when we got ushered back to a room? Turned on the NY Giants game! (Thank GOD they won!) She had to get a strep swab, flu swab (which is a nasal swab and not an easy thing to watch), take some ibuprofen and tylenol, get some chest x-rays, get said x-rays done again, and finally ended up with a diagnosis of Possible Pneumonia. She was given antibiotics there and we were sent home with a prescription. Half an hour after she took the antibiotics she threw up. Repeated this again in the morning when we tried to give Motrin. Off to the ped’s office with a feverish uncooperative toddler in tow.

Much of this past week has been spent in a headlock with Alli to get her to take her meds and trying to conserve the tissue use because her nose has been running a freakishly long marathon. We’re all coughing (except for Chris) and today has found me in bed for the better part of it – I’ve been awake a couple of times but not very long. I’m due to take some more medicine here shortly (I think – how bad is that!) and am ready to crawl back into bed and rest. I just can’t take being awake anymore. My head is pouding, my voice has apparently bought the last ticket to Clarksville, and this cough and congestion is driving me insane.

And for the record, Chris has been absolutely awesome today. He’s really taken the reigns and let me pass out. I can’t even begin to express how much that has meant to me!

So forgive me if I haven’t posted much the past week or don’t post much for the next few days. I’m taking my own advice and doing some much needed self-care.

Life… it happens!

Leave a reply

What a weekend!

Chris hurt his ankle on Friday.

Alli, Charlotte, and I are sick.

Cameron is teething.

Chris tore ligaments in his ankle and is on crutches. Alli has Bronchitis and can’t return to school until Wednesday, Charlotte has the beginnings of Bronchitis, and well, I guess I’ve got the same thing.

I can hardly hear due to congestion. I’ve been going to bed every night around eight or nine for the past few nights. Hopefully things will start looking up as the girls get started on some meds and I get rid of my congestion. I’m tired.

On a more positive note, the kids and I went to the local zoo on Saturday. We had a blast and saw all of the animals except for the turkeys and the bears. We also went and saw Sanford Stadium – the girls were SO excited to see where the Georgia Bulldogs play!

Hopefully I’ll be able to get this blog back on track in the next couple of weeks but for now please bear with me as our family recovers!

(prayers would be GREATLY appreciated as well!)

Did You Know?

Leave a reply

Here’s a brief section from a research article regarding the Chinese Postpartum or puerperium period and traditions that are commonly practiced. You can read the entire article here.

The postpartum period, or puerperium, starts about an hour after the delivery of the placenta and includes the following six weeks [1]. By six weeks after delivery, most of the changes of pregnancy, labor, and delivery have resolved and the body has reverted to the nonpregnant state [1,2]. The postpartum period is a very special phase in the life of a woman. Her body needs to heal and recover from pregnancy and childbirth. A good postpartum care and well balanced diet during puerperal period is very important for the health of a woman.

According to Chinese traditions, the first 30 or 40 days postpartum is recognized as a special time period for behaviour restrictions and a state for convalescence. This period is called ‘sitting month’ or ‘doing the month’. Based on Chinese traditional medicine, postpartum women are in a ‘weak’ state because of ‘Qi’ deficiency and blood loss [3]. Their body can be easily attacked by ‘heat’ or ‘cold ‘, which may cause some health problems like dizziness, headache, backache and arthragia in the month or in later years. Therefore, Chinese women are advised to follow a specific set of food choices and health care practices. For example, the puerperal women should stay inside and not go outdoors; all windows in the room should be sealed well to avoid wind. Bathing and hair washing should be restricted to prevent possible headache and body pain in later years. Foods such as fruits, vegetables, soybean products and cold drinks which are considered ‘cold’ should be avoided [4,5]. In contrast, foods such as brown sugar, fish, chicken and pig’s trotter which are considered ‘hot’ should be encouraged [5]. It is believed that if a woman does not observe these restrictions, she may suffer a poor health at her later life. These traditional postnatal believes and practices are often passed down from senior females in the family to the younger generations [4].