Reflections & Ramblings: Volume Sixteen

Micah is a casualty to those pesky preschool germs.

I.

Micah had his first Valentine’s Day celebration at school yesterday. He came home with a bag of Valentine’s and candy. He and Sarah eagerly looked through his bag of goodies to see what he got. I so wish I could have been a fly on the wall at school yesterday. It’s sometimes hard not getting to be there to experience some of these things with him.

II.

Micah has been healthy pretty much his whole life. No ear infections. Maybe three or so colds in three and a half years. Ezra has definitely been sick more times than Micah. But with preschool comes germs, and it seems that Micah has gotten his first preschool related sickness.

A couple nights ago he started to develop a bit of a cough, and we hoped it would go away, but it progressively has gotten worse. He wasn’t sick enough not to go to school yesterday for his Valentine’s Day party, but by the evening he clearly wasn’t doing too well. Lots of congestion. A rough sounding cough. He went to bed, but was up soon thereafter communicating to me that he couldn’t stay asleep and that he wasn’t feeling very well. Sarah went to work last night, so I realized that I was probably in for a long night.

So Micah chilled with me on the futon in our basement as we watched the Democratic debate together. But even that couldn’t put him to sleep.

Later in bed with me at about 1:00 am, he kept tossing and turning and coughing. I reached over and could feel that he was extremely warm and had a fever. And sure enough, he was burning up – at 103.8 degrees. I helped cool him off, got him lots of liquids, and some tylenol. An hour later, his fever started to go down and was well enough to fall back asleep.

He tossed and turned throughout the night, but stayed asleep for the most part. But of course I was wide awake despite being tired, and I didn’t get to sleep until after 3:00 am. And also tossed and turned due to Micah’s restlessness.

But, these are the sorts of nights that come with parenting. And somehow, when they have come up for me in my three and a half short years of being a dad, the energy and strength to deal with the needs of my kids has generally not been an issue. I’m not saying it’s fun by any means, but when someone you love is not feeling well or needs something – it’s amazing how your own cares and needs kind of go out the window. What’s a couple hours of sleep lost if my son needs medicine, my comfort, and snuggles? Although, I’m not sure what parents did before smartphones. Smartphones definitely help make things easier.

III.

There was no school for Micah to miss today, so that works out ok for him. He can stay home and get some rest and not miss out on anything.

He was also supposed to have his kidney test done today to make sure they are functioning as they are supposed to. Kidney issues are one of the more common physical issues for kids with Kabuki syndrome. But it looks like we will have to postpone because of Micah not feeling well.

IV.

Last night was one of those nights where I realize that I really do take the health of our children for granted way too often. Long nights like last night have been very rare for us. For other parents, and especially other parents with kids that have genetic syndromes like Kabuki syndrome, long and tireless nights are not uncommon.

Also, another evening where I wonder how parents of lots of kids or twins do it. One kid I can handle. It’s not fun. But I can do it. More than one? That sounds incredibly hard.

Or single parents. You know, where they have to take of their kids at night and still go to work in the morning. At least I can kind of lounge about in a haze today while I try to keep the kids entertained and busy. I don’t even have to change out of my pajamas if I don’t want to.

Shout out to all the single parents out there – and to the families with twins or multiple kids under the age of four. Respect! ✌️