I'm going to steal Judith's words, and say that I have had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. I know from reading the book (and real life in general) that some weeks are just like that. The week was a perfect storm of illnesses mixed with a buildup of work stress. The result was almost no running, which generally didn't do much to help my foul disposition or my stress level.
Rather than the normal 7 day week, this week was 10 days. It all started when I picked up a crying Kaylee from school last Friday. Ten minutes prior to my arrival, she started having an earache. She cried the next four hours, threw up, then fell asleep. Saturday the doctor confirmed that Miss Kaylee had an ear infection. The next couple days Nick and I generally felt under the weather, but it was Monday that Emily came down with what we are assuming was the norovirus. It started with diarrhea, accompanied by severe abdominal cramping, then came the vomit. This little three year old was sick from Monday through Friday. Her episodes were spread far enough apart that she was able to take in enough fluids, and so she's mostly recovered. While Emily was playing with the norovirus, Nick came down with the regular flu. Fever for four days, blah, blah, blah. This would have been fine, maybe, if we didn't have some big deadlines at work. Even the couple days that Nick stayed home, he had to work.
Friday came, and now Nick had an earache, and yes, a bulging ear drum and ear infection. BUT Emily was recovering! We thought, that maybe, just maybe, we were out of the woods, but alas it was not to be. Saturday morning Kaylee started throwing up. Kaylee throw up is dangerous. She's been to the emergency room more than once due to dehydration associated with throwing up. She is one of those people that can't seem to stop once she starts. Her vomit episodes devolved into a cycle of every 20 minutes on the clock. After 12 hours of that, it was time to go to the emergency room. I know, 12 hours of throwing up doesn't sound like a lot, but it's hard to convey how ridiculous it is to throw up, literally, every 20 minutes for 12 hours.
Her blood work showed that she was dehydrated enough to warrant an IV, two bags of fluid, and an anti-nausea drug. By around 2:00 am, we were home again. Sunday morning Emily, who peacefully slept at home during the ER visit, was ready for pancakes at 6:00 am. To which I said, OK, OK...Nick was still in bad shape, and having trouble figuring out if he felt sick from a stomach bug, or from his migraine.
Yes, it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week...some weeks are just like that...even in Austria. There were a few bright spots to the week though. Kaylee was so brave at the hospital. They brought in this HUGE male nurse or orderly to help hold her down in case she struggled with the IV. I almost had a heart attack, but not only was he completely awesome with Kaylee, Kaylee was also simply amazing. She didn't move, say a word, or cry throughout the whole process. When the experience was all said and done she told me they did a good job.
Now it's Monday evening, and it's almost like that week never happened. The kids are completely recovered. Nick is still struggling a bit. It's hard to breath easy though, I'm left wondering if last week was a foreshadowing of what the next week will hold for me. And if that's the case, it does not look pretty. I have washed my hands so often that they are cracked, I've disinfected every single surface, washed all clothes, and dishwashered every dish, but it's almost inevitable. It's just a matter of time...I hate throw up...
Of course, all this grossness has meant almost no running. I do feel out of sorts not having run for almost a week. And it's almost comical how the week prior to all this, I was thinking, maybe just, just maybe I do have a 3:05 in me for Boston this year. Now I'm not sure. I'm not complaining or whining, I'm just being realistic. I know one week of training doesn't define the whole training cycle, but you know how it is, there always seems to be something. And even while I'm doing my best to run from the norovirus, I have this awful feeling it will find me.
Right now I'm glad the kids are doing better, hoping the norovirus doesn't find me, and looking forward to getingt back to our regular routine. :)
