A Prayer

While most of us are reveling in the festive spirit and worrying over inconsequential things like whether the home looks impressive enough for guests, like how to churn out the dishes for reunion dinner or even what to wear to make a fashion statement while visiting; i want to stop my very own trivial quibbling for a moment and say a prayer for someone.

Many of us know Charmaine, the feisty girl battling neuroblastoma. The girl and her long suffering mother whose story touched us all.

I do not particularly enjoy reading the blog chronicling her battle with her cancer, because it makes me so utterly sad and i cant stop thinking about her for the next couple of days.

However, i was reading someone else' blog today and that person wrote an update about her. Feeling curious and hopeful that perhaps there might be a chance of a happy ending for her, i started to read about her latest developments.

And the prognosis doesnt sound optimistic, the cancer's back.
I come away with feelings of misery, despair, unfairness, indignance and overall hopelessness again.
The pain i feel for this little girl is so real that she might have been a close friend or relative's daughter.

As Charmaine's mum puts it, all she really wants is to lead a normal life.
All she wants is to "go to work like everyone else, fret about the stressful life in Singapore, stress over my kids' education and complain that money is never enough."
Issues that all of us go on and on about every single day, moaning about our lives like its the end of the world.

I want to hang my head with shame for whenever my own kids are sick, i whinge and whine and think that im suffering just because i dont get a couple of nights' proper sleep. And here is this brave mummy who stays by her daughter's side day after day, night after night taking each setback and triumph with strength and grace.

I dont know if ill have her strength if i was in her situation. Looking at my kids playing together happily without a care in this world brings a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes.
They have been given this simple gift of health and it has suddenly become so precious to me because here is this little girl, denied the same gift and the experience of the pure, unadulterated joy of enjoying the world through innocent and pain free eyes.

Tonight, i thank you dear Lord, for my children's health and vow that i will not sweat the small stuff anymore.

Whenever im going to yell at Terelle for not learning to read properly, ill think of the fact that all Charmaine wants is to go to school.

When i find myself losing my temper when they dont behave, ill think of how much Cynthia wants Charmaine to simply be cheeky and have the energy to goof around.

And whenever i get upset with my kids not eating properly/watching too much tv/being tardy at bedtime/making a mess/fighting and basically just being kids, ill remember that all Cynthia wants is for Charmaine to be able to do all of that.

And i hope i will be able to find it in me to stop for a minute, calm down and just hug them both a little tighter and thank you again Lord, for giving them to me as they are, above everything else.

And so, i say a prayer for this little family tonight, that perhaps, just perhaps, the night is really the darkest just before dawn.

Dear Heavenly Father, i would truly give up all my creature comforts, just so that this little girl can have a decent shot at life, a life of health and happiness that all of us take for granted.

Please hear my prayer tonight, Lord.

Amen.

Our "romantic" getaway

We are jinxed - by our kids.

What was supposed to be a romantic hotel stay to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary in June got postphoned 3 times cos all of us took turns to fall sick.

Finally the room was booked over the past weekend and hubby and i were looking forward to spending some quality time together - at last...

And then....

The morning we were supposed to leave for our staycation, Terelle woke up with red, itchy and watery eyes.

Alarm bells rang in my head.

That's it, I thought, there goes our weekend plans. AGAIN!

As she had no other symptoms, Hubby dropped her off at school as usual, only to have her form teacher call me an hour later ordering us to take her home, cos her itchy eyes were bothering her.

We quickly brought her to the gp who diagnosed conjunctivitis and prescribed eye drops.

Time check 1145am.

We still had time to get her sorted out before we set off to check in at 2pm.

Optimistic, we brought her home, administered the eye drops, put her down for her nap and waited for Sis to arrive so we could scram.

To our dismay, she woke up screaming half an hour later, complaining that both her ears were painful. I figured it might be an ear infection so we rushed to the pd immediately cos the gp was by now closed.

Sure enough, pd diagnosed it to be an ear and eye nfection and we were sent home with one eye drop, one eye lotion, ear drops and an anti viral medicine.

By now, our friend was getting increasingly whiny and clingy, it was as if she knew we were going to sneak off!

We were only able to extricate ourselves at 6pm, and checked in at the hotel downtown at 645pm. The idyllic afternoon of shopping, movie and eating that i envisioned just went up in smoke.

We felt uneasy leaving the poor sick gal at home so after a hurried dinner, we drove home again to check on her. Went through the bedtime routines, administered the truckload of meds, gave instructions to helper, sis and dad to call us if her condition worsens in the middle of the night; we finally went back to our supposed "sanctuary" at close to midnight.

Luckily there was a 24 hr TCC nearby to offer some grub and comfort to 2 weary souls.

Comfort food at 2am

It was pretty fun sitting by the sidewalk and gawking at the trannies doing their rounds near Shaw Towers - some of these man chicks were really hot!

The next day, we were determined to enjoy ourselves for a bit.

After repeated phonecalls home, we were satisfied that the kids were still alive without us, so we headed out for a nice dimsum brunch and a leisurely look see at the new ION orchard.

It was EXTREMELY liberating traipsing around town without having to negotiate escalators, staircases and throngs of people with 2 strollers and 2 demanding kids!

That night we had a nice peaceful dinner with the Liews and caught up with old friends over supper.

It was bliss - no schedules to follow, no whiny, demanding kids, no frazzled nerves. It was just us back to pre-kids days, having fun and hanging out with our friends.

Us as we were in the past, not us as parents, as we have inadvertently become.

And although the kids were fine without us at home,

(Thane actually slept through the night without waking up to nurse!

He went without breastmilk for 1.5 days!

Terelle's condition didnt worsen!

Both ate well, slept well and didnt miss us one bit!)

we came back the next morning to fetch them back to the hotel.

Having dinner on the toilet while keeping an eye on the kids in the bath

Can parenthood be more diligent than this?

So there you are, our so called romantic getaway.

We firmly believe we are jinxed. Cos everytime we set up something fun for ourselves or just go out for a couple of hours' break, we'll come back to some calamity involving the kids. Or are we such bad parents that we do not deserve breaks at all?

Hubby thinks this is what transpires between the kids whenever they sense we are going off somewhere without them.

Terelle: Hey pipsqueak! Mummy and Daddy are sneaking off tomorrow.

Thane: Har...does it mean we have to make ourselves sick again?

Terelle: Ya lah, of cos! So isit ur turn or my turn this time?

Thane: Your turn lah! The last time u made me lick the raw meat and i had gastroenteritis for a week!

Terelle: OK OK...so what shall i come down withthis time? Flu? Fever? Baluku on head?

*Out comes a spinner on which is written a myriad of illnesses and injuries. They spin it*

Terelle: Awww man! Conjunctivitis?? Damn its uncomfortable you know!

*Proceeds to touch the toilet and rub her eyes*

Thane: *sniggering* And u think having diarrhea for a week is comfortable??

Plausible, dont you think?

As i write this, im so missing my lazy, hazy saturday already. I really wonder when we can have another break...a proper, guilt free, incident free one...

Sigh...

Kids if you are able to read this now, its payback time!!

The stubborn bug saga

As i write this post, i really hope im seeing the end of this particularly feisty bug that has been plaguing my family for the past month and a half.

It all started with Thane.

He came down with a fever on the day of our wedding anniversary, which was 15th June, a Monday.

Having a nice buffet lunch, oblivious to the "battle" we had to fight soon

After a nice day out together, we came home to my mum in law's house to find him burning up. We gave him paracetamol and a cool bath and thought nothing much of it, cos her house is a furnace and we concluded he was probably suffering from mild heat stroke and dehydration.

We started to get worried when his fever yo-yoed up and down, registering highs of 38.5degrees over the next 2 days. To make matters worse, he had 6 teeth erupting at the same time and his appetite was almost zilch.

As there were no other symptoms, i was beginning to worry it could be a urinary tract infection so I brought him to the pd on Wednesday just to get him checked out.

Turned out it was a throat infection and after 3 doses of her prescribed antibiotic, his fever subsided.

Here they are, full of energy, despite being sick

By the way, the toddler bed will always be put in the living room for us to nurse whichever kid that is sick. One, for isolation purposes and two, temperature taking and sponging throughout the nite is less disruptive to those who are sleeping, if it were to be done downstairs.

So the toddler bed was a permanent fixture in our living room for close to 2 weeks when the kids took turns to use it.

Thinking that the worst was over, we went for Thane's weekly LNT class on Friday and even met up with the entire family on Saturday to celebrate Fathers' Day.

To our dismay, his fever came back on Sunday and by evening, it even reached a high of 39.5 degrees. He also had 4 bouts of diarrhea that day.

By then hubby was starting to get frantic cos he was so afraid of witnessing a replay of Terelle's fit when she had high fever 2 years ago. So we inserted a suppository and quickly rushed to kkh to get him checked out.

At the hospital, his fever began to subside and the doctor diagnosed him to be having viral gastroenteritis. She said it was a different bug from the one in his throat and all we had to do was manage the fever and watch for dehydration from the diarrhea.

Thankfully, everything cleared after another 2 days.

But then Terelle was next.

She started to develop a fever of 38degrees on Tuesday and similarly, it yo-yoed up and down over the next 2 days.

Having an ice popsicle treat to bring down her fever

Surprisingly that was about it.

She had no other symptoms and was hale and hearty again in just 2 days. And through it all she was her usual self, bouncing off the walls and inciting Baby Bone to mischief even though she was burning up.

Here she is, teaching him to do something cheeky as usual

He hero worships her and will copy whatever she does

So it was time to celebrate!

The kids were happy and healthy once more!

Time to head out again cos they had been stuck at home the past 2 weeks!

Modelling Yiyi's sunglasses at a dessert shop just before heading to the indoor playground

And here we are enjoying a nice steamboat dinner sans kids, to replenish all the lost energy during those sleepless nights taking care of the kids

How wrong we were!

That night, it was my turn to succumb to the bug. I started to feel lousy right after the steamboat and woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and chills. My throat also felt as though there were bits of glass in it and swallowing was pure torture.

That was Sunday.

My fever only hovered around 38degrees but i felt like i had been hit by a truck. I marvelled at how the kids could still prance around the house when they registered higher temperatures than I did.

Went to the doc the next day but could only take mild med cos i am still breastfeeding Thane. By Wednesday, my fever still had not subsided, my throat was killing me and i had frequent bouts of diarrhea too. I felt so nauseous and bloated and could hardly sleep, i was feeling that uncomfortable. I couldnt take it any more and went back to the doc to beg for stronger med and some antibiotics.

Thursday came and went and i wasnt any better. Thankfully, the mum of one of Terelle's classmates volunteered to help me send and fetch her to school. I was so weak i could hardly stand. All i could manage to do was drag myself from the bed to the toilet and back again.

Hubby had to leave for a business trip on Friday and i was still burning. I was also getting frustrated and helpless that i couldnt shake the darn bug. This was one of the rare times i was so sick!

My fever only finally subsided on Saturday and by Sunday, i was 80% back to normal. 7 feverish, comatosa days! Well i lost some weight in the process...only good thing that came out of it. *grin*

But that wasnt the end.
Hubby left for his business trip already nursing a sore throat. He came back on Sunday and by Monday, it was his turn to burn up. The doc only gave him a 3 day course of antibiotics but after the 3rd day, all his symptoms abated so he thought he had fully recovered.

Alas the nasty bug fought back with a vengeance and by that sunday, he had chills and a fever again, in addition to a chesty cough which left him breathless.

A 2nd visit to a different doc, some new med and 3 days later, still no improvement. In fact he seemed to have deteriorated, with his phlegm showing streaks of blood.*gasp*

A 3rd visit to the original doc returned a dire prognosis - bronchitis, the bug was now ravaging his lungs. She prescribed a stronger antibiotic and warned him that if he got any worse, he would have to go to the hospital to be treated for pneumonia.

And so, as i write this, he has already been on the new course of antibiotics for a week and is due for a review tomorrow. Hopefully he is finally on the mend.

Conclusion: Same bug, different manifestation...and Terelle is the strongest of us all?

Flu bug

She has succumbed. After 7 long months of being in the pink of health, she has finally succumbed to a flu bug. In fact Im surprised that she hasnt fallen sick in such a long time! *touch wood!!!*

It all started with a little, intermittent cough that slowly developed into a runny nose and watery eyes. But that was as bad as it got. She skipped school for a day and i knocked her out with medicine from the GP. After an extremely long nap of 4.5hrs, she was 80% back to normal.

I am so relieved and thank God that her health is so much better now. Never again would i want a repeat of how sick she was when Baby Bone was just a month old. (Read my post on "Things will only get better")

This is a cinch. This doesnt make me a wreck. This I can handle.