Flu-like behavior

It's Ronnie here, guest-posting as Natalie and Mandy are away from home and computer tonight, just in time for me to get home from two weeks in Canada.

Mandy and Natalie are hanging out at All Children's Hospital tonight. Mandy's showing some "flu-like symptoms," three words that have been typed by an awful lot of people over the last several weeks.

Mandy woke up Saturday morning vomiting. No big deal; kids get upset stomachs and stuff all the time, and even Mandy's allowed an upset stomach every once in a while. I got my update on that situation before I took off this morning from Vancouver.

I had a connection in Denver; she had vomited again, but was restful, and most importantly, not feverish. Still no big deal; Zofran and Ativan were doing their jobs to calm her tummy.

By the time I landed in Tampa, well, it was a big deal, because now there was a fever, going up and going up fast. When I made my "Honey, I'm home" call, Mandy and Natalie were already in St. Petersburg.

The fever has apparently peaked at 103. Rapid flu tests are showing negative, but rapid flu tests are notoriously inaccurate. Counts and such are pointing the general direction of something, well, flu-like. Tylenol has joined Zofran and Ativan to keep Mandy comfortable.

We'll find out more in the morning, when the real flu tests come back. Mandy's going to stay overnight, because it's a long ride to the hospital, and we want to make sure that fever stays down before she comes home. Whether it's flu or merely "flu-like," we want it go away.