Cooties, germs and illness, oh my!

My poor Biscuit just can't seem to stay well. We found out yesterday that he has strep throat.

Jeff and I went to my parents' house Friday after work to bring him back home. Saturday, I got to take prom pictures of my niece and her boyfriend at a really pretty garden. Biscuit was playing around and seemed to be fine. But about 2:30 a.m., Mama came to mine and Jeff's bedroom door and called me.

"I think he has a fever," she said.

I have to back up and say that despite the fact that I was a Girl Scout for years and years, I was not prepared.

As Jeff and I pulled into the restaurant parking lot to pass off Biscuit to my parents, I looked at Jeff with my mouth open.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I did not pack a single toiletry for that child," I told him. "When I was in the shower this morning, I was thinking, 'After he comes in here to brush his teeth, I'll pack up his toothbrush, toothpaste, allergy medicine and the rest of his stuff.' But he tricked me by getting ready all by himself in the upstairs bathroom. And I never thought twice about his getting-ready stuff."

After telling Mama what was going on, she said, "He has a toothbrush, shampoo and soap at the house."

There was a grocery store and a pharmacy near the restaurant, so between the two, we got the rest of what he needed.

The thing is, though, I usually pack acetaminophen and ibuprofen just in case, especially when he's going to be there a little over a week.

So when he woke up with the fever, there was nothing in the house to help him.

My parents live on the backside of nowhere, so the closest 24-hour store is 20 minutes away. So guess what happened about 2:45 a.m.? And of course Mama made me wake up Jeff because of course I couldn't drive 20 minutes away and go to into a store at that hour because of course someone will knock me in the head!

We got the medicine and got back as soon as we could. We dosed up Biscuit, and Mama sent Jeff and me back to bed because she knew we had to drive home Sunday.

Biscuit was in the best spirits he could be Sunday morning, then my brother and his family came over to eat lunch after church. His oldest daughter was sick, too.

We drove the 2 1/2 hours home Sunday evening, and by the time we got home, Biscuit's temperature was back up. It was 104.

My sister-in-law took my niece to the doctor Monday, and they said whatever she had was viral. So naturally, we assumed the same was true of Biscuit. We figured that it would run its course.

But it didn't.

When he got up Tuesday morning, he still had a fever. So we got him a doctor's appointment. I went in to work Tuesday, and Jeff said he could work from home and take Biscuit to his doctor's appointment.

Jeff said they spent a good bit of time with the nurse. She asked a bunch of questions and swabbed his throat. Then they waited a little while.

When the doctor came in, she said, "It's strep. I'll send in a prescription." And that was that.

Jeff said it was probably the shortest time he had ever spent with a doctor in an appointment.

So Biscuit has strep throat this week, the flu two weeks ago and strep two weeks before that. It's crazy!

I'll be glad when I have a healthy Biscuit!