We had planned it for weeks. It was to be a romantic date night away from the kids for the first time in 4 months. We were looking forward to having a yummy Korean dinner, complete with maracoons for dessert. We would have time to look at each other’s eyes and have meaningful conversations.
But instead, we spent our 9th wedding anniversary catching vomit, cleaning up poo, feeding medication, and visiting the hospital. The scariest of all was watching Amy go into another febrile fit, her second one since last December.
This time, she was conscious throughout. She was lying on my lap, having already developed a fever. We had already given her medication, but, in hindsight, we should have administered medication sooner. Her temperature shot up to 39 in less than an hour. I knew something was not quite right when I sponged her down with cold water, because the normal Amy would have screamed and protested.
I started asking her some questions that normally excited her, but there was no response at all. She looked like she was in a daze. I told the hubby that we should go to the emergency then, and as he was calling for a cab, Amy started to convulse.
Although my mind knew what to do (lay her on her side, check the time of the beginning and end of the fit, and wait till it’s over), my heart raced and I wanted to cry. It never gets easier to see your child go into febrile convulsions no matter how prepared you are.
Just as her fits ended, the cab arrived, and the hubby quickly carried Amy off. Alistair was sleeping, so I told the hubby to go first with Amy, and not wait for me to get Alistair ready. I texted him all the important information I thought he would need to tell the nurses and doctors, and then, I cried.
All the worst case scenarios were playing in my mind. What caused her vomiting? Was it food poisoning? Would it be serious? Was the fever too high? Would it damage her brain?
A few minutes later, my friend came over to take Alistair and me to the hospital, and by the time I saw Amy, she was already doing better although she was tired and weak. When the doctor tried to check her throat, she started screaming and crying, and we were all relieved – the usual Amy has returned.
Her fever will come and go over the next few days, so we will have to keep monitoring her and make sure that the temperature does not go up too high. The comfort that I got from the doctor and nurses is that 1) febrile fits are completely normal and quite common; 2) it will not affect Amy in any way; 3) she will grow out of it when she’s about 5-6 years old; 4) she might or might not get it any more; 5) I did everything right.
The rest of the day was just busy and exhausting because we had to constantly take her temperature and clean up after her (vomiting and diarrhoea), while also taking care of little Alistair.
Throughout this, I am so thankful for the hubby. He still had to work from home, so he still had to answer calls and do his work, but he was there to clean Amy up and take care of her. He also sacrificed sleep throughout the night because he kept waking up to check her temperature and administer medication, while I was handling Alistair. Not only that, but he also cooked dinner and washed the dishes and did the laundry. Like, whatttttt!
Even though there were no romantic dates, nothing made me feel lovey-dovey more. 9 years on, and I am still thankful that I married him. There’s no other man that I would love to clean up vomit and poo with.
I love you my dear honey bunny. You’re the best hubby and father. May we be able to celebrate our anniversary in a more romantic manner next year!
Love,
Natalie