Winter Flu

We have had a very lousy winter when it comes to the flu. Three times (October, November, January) we have had the gastro-intestinal flu go through the household. Evan somehow miraculously avoided getting sick. We are very thankful for that. Lincoln had a mild, mild case one time. Jake I believe had the gastro-intestinal flu four times. He was the first and last case one round. Anyway, it's been ridiculous how many times we've had the bug go through the house. The flu shot does not protect against gastro-intestinal flu.

Now a new virus has arrived: the winter flu bug. Even though a number of family members have had the flu shot, they were not protected from this particular flu variant. Bentley got the flu just days after being inoculated and he certainly did not have a mild case. He started out with a cough and then gained an earache. He was feeling better and then he relapsed and had an earache in his other ear. His cough has been going strong for at least two weeks. Jake acquired the virus next. He has a cough, a nasty runny nose, and an earache, too. 

Then Lincoln and Evan became sick. Lincoln has a fever (as high as 104.7), a horrible cough that interrupts his naps, and a nonstop runny nose. He wants to be held a lot especially by daddy. Evan has a very wet, rattley cough which is particularly worrisome given his young age. So far he has not had a high fever like Lincoln. Kara, Matt and the little ones have had three (or more) rough nights and tonight looks to be no different. 

So far Viva only has a mild cough. As usual she's the toughest one for a virus to attack. I'm not sure what the health status of us adults is. None of us are as hard hit as the four boys, that's for sure. Since flu germs are rampant in our house, I'm downing Airborne and hoping to stay healthy enough to continue helping take care of the little ones. All the children are quite pathetic and cranky in their illness. We adults need extra patience which is hard to come by when you don't get enough sleep.