What a week! Or Two! Going on Three Now!

It has been a bit crazy around here as of late.  It started 2 weeks ago with vomiting.  Anything that starts with vomiting is not a good story.  A was struck down first.  She was such a trooper though.  Seriously, that girl is TOUGH.  She was playing at the table and would feel sick.  She'd stop and be sick in her barf-bowl then go right back to playing like nothing happened.  Like I said, tough.
Roy was next and being the tough guy he is, he was pretty sure he would die.  Seriously, the groaning and moping.  Good thing he doesn't get sick very often!  From there it made the rounds through the family over the course of the week.  One great round of misery.
By Wednesday, we thought we were done.  K hadn't been sick and neither had C which is a little like waiting for someone to shoot you.  You're pretty sure they're going to shoot but it hasn't happened yet and maybe it won't but if it does its going to be awful but you're starting to hope and. . .
Also, D had been feeling poorly on Saturday before A got sick so we were just figuring he'd managed to avoid the vomiting but had already been sick.
So we made it though the week.  Everyone went to school on Wednesday and Thursday.  We were breathing a sigh of relief- checked that off our list of annual experiences when Friday morning at 2 a.m. D came in my room to tell me he'd just been sick.  Swell.  Not done.
So we did the sick day Friday only, D just kept being sick.  For everyone else it lasted a few hours before dissolving into a stupor of sleepy blechness.  Not for D.  He was miserable.  And he was making me miserable too with the addition of life threateningly bad flatulence.  I was pretty sure something inside him had died and was coming out though the air.  C and I opened all the windows, turned out the blower for the furnace and locked ourselves in the toyroom downstairs.  I only hoped D would make it out alive!
By Saturday morning D seemed to be feeling better but was still weak.  He lounged around all morning.  It was a sunny day.  Roy and I decided the kids needed to go to a park so we loaded them up.  By the time D was loading, he was doubled over holding his right side and complaining of his stomach hurting. I grabbed his insurance cards just in case.  At the park, I called the 24-hour nurse hotline to speak to a nurse.  I didn't want to be that mom, you know, the one who rushes her kid to the ER for twinges.  But I didn't want to be the other that mom, you know, the one who doesn't take her kid to the ER when he's having serious medical trouble.  It would be so great if kids came with a little meter on their chests with an arrow that points to the level of intervention needed.

Anyway, since there's no meter Roy and I discussed it and decided to take D to the ER.
Once there, my job became: keep D from panicking and don't tell him the remedy for appendicitis.  His symptoms were all classic appendicitis so I was pretty sure we were either dealing with that or bad gas pains.  After an ultrasound the consensus was probably appendicitis but the next step was a blood test and transfer to a children's hospital with access to pediatric surgeons. The DR gave D an anti-anxiety medicine which made my number one job easier.  Roy came to the ER after taking care of things at home and started talking about surgery which made my number two job harder.  Luckily the anti-anxiety med made it so D didn't really care.  He'd had pain meds earlier and now life was to be lived on a cloud!
To make a long story long, D transfered to the hospital and I stayed the night on a super-uncomfortable couch/bed.  Neither of us slept well and the morning brought sunshine and surgery.
Roy and I were together while D was in surgery.  Afterwards we stayed with him until he was feeling better and ready for a nap.  Then we came home and had dinner with the kids before taking everyone down to visit.  Turns out while we were gone, D had been visited by a clown who left some fun toys behind and our home teachers who left a fun book.
D was a trooper and has recovered beautifully.  His surgery was laparoscopic so his biggest complaints have been belly-button pain where the DRs put the camera in and shoulder pain which is apparently normal and has to do with nerve irritation in his abdomen. He spent another night in the hospital (by himself - mama gotta sleep! ) and came home Monday morning after proving he would eat and drink enough to sustain life without his IV.
On the way home from the hospital, K threw up in the van.  This just leaves C-baby.  It's been a week since anyone puked though.  So maybe there's hope?  Unfortunately, C has a terrible miserable cold that involves much oozing of the eyes and nose, fever, and a lovely cough.  Life continues to be a party up in here!
They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Please oh please!!!