Flu. Proper, real, bona-fide Flu.

and I have it

and it sucks

BIG TIME.

It started on the 28th, with an itchy throat and a spiky temperature, but nothing major and I thought it was just the tail end of a cold I had had before Christmas, but then it hit me full on. Truly truly I have never, ever, in my life felt so poorly. My temperature was 103, and I was a coughing, stomach cramping, up-chucking, trotting, sore throat'y, aching, dizzy, sweating, delirious mess. Niiice.
I have had flu before and said then I never ever wanted to feel that bad again, but I got it again and badly. I even had a moment where I was half asleep with a high temp and semi-dreaming that there was a chinese takeaway on my bedside table!! I was truly convinced there was curry, rice and prawn crackers on there and couldn't quite work out where it had gone when I properly woke up. Weird....

It is only today, the 4th, that I have begun to feel a tiny bit better and I think that's got a lot to do with the fact I am dosed up to the eyeballs on Day Nurse. Jeez, that stuff ROCKS. Cold & Flu capsules ain't got nothing on this chunky bottle of fabness. I am floating around on a cloud of haziness with no pain, whatsoever. It tastes, like, AWFUL, and it is this thick, viscous, yellow liquid that sticks to the inside of your mouth and takes some getting down, but it works! It does make you a bit 'duhhh, what, sorry, who', but hey, that's usually me on a good day anyway! The Night Nurse like a dream too - pardon the pun! Although it un-nerves me slightly that you can buy something so potently 'knock out' over the counter. I took it last night at 8pm and I had to be dragged out of bed at 8 this morning by The Bloke who was off to work. I had slept through the usual din of everyone getting up and ready for school and work. That is some serious stuff!

I had thought that Oscar was getting it too and his temp shot up to 104 (ERK!) but it subsided after 24 hours thank goodness. Liam has decamped to my Mum's for the duration though, he didn't have his flu jab until yesterday and because of the Pulmonary Hypertension, he is classed as extremely high risk so that's the last thing he needs! Although I am now panicking that he has picked it up before I knew I had it and when I was contagious. I am missing him heaps but he says he doesn't want to come home because he is being spoilt rotten over there *rolls eyes*. He says he is going to come and wave at me through the window later though, just in case I forget what he looks like. Daft boy.

I am feeling slightly more human today. Although the tiredness, cough and sore throat are still hideous, at least I can get out of bed and move about, rather than whimpering in a rather pathetic manner even when I just had to get out of bed to drag myself to the toilet, then spending half an hour shivering when I got back into bed *urggh the horrors*

I hear people all the time moaning that they have 'the flu', and yet are going about their normal everyday business with the odd sniff and sneeze, and I have been guilty of that in the past. I was told that to tell the difference between the common cold and the flu is to ask yourself this; If you can see a suitcase of money lying in the road outside what would you do? If you had a common cold you would quite happily run out and get it. If you had the flu, then you just couldn't, no matter how much you wanted to......

It's been a funny old year.

Apologies for complete and total lack of any blogging. Around a week after I started this blog, all hell broke loose and the whole family was turned upside down when my eldest - Liam - was taken into hospital with a suspected hole in the heart. That turned out not to be so, and we were told he had Pulmonary Hypertension, a very very rare, life threatening heart & lung condition. We spent a month in a specialist unit in Sheffield, some of it in Intensive Care and watching your child fight tooth and nail for his life is not something I want to repeat. Ever. He has surpassed everyones expectations though, including the Doctors and to go from being told (on my middle son's birthday of all days) that we were going to lose him, to him being home and going out running and biking, is more than I dared hope for. He still has a long way to go, it is an incurable condition (for now anyway, who knows what cures will come in the future) but he is here, right here, right now, and that is what matters.


I won't be sad to see the back of 2010, I hasn't been the best of years. Nearly losing Liam kind of put paid to being able to say 'Yay! What a fabulous year, bring on the next!'. BUT, it could have been much much MUCH worse and my first born - all 6 feet, 4 (and a quarter) inches of him, is still here, alive and very much kicking and that, my readers, makes my heart sing. So, it is not all bad. Yes, it could be better, of course it could. I don't know anyone that would say their lives couldn't be improved upon, but I am thankful for my little lot and I count my blessings every single day. You just have to, dont you.

Anyway, enough with the maudlin.....



I adore this time of year and I think this Christmas will be an emotional one. I love making the house look festive, with my mahoosive tree in the corner and all the windowsills looking pretty. Oscar really 'gets it' this year too and is SO excited! Santa came round the streets on a sleigh last night and his face was just pure excitement and awe. My heart nearly burst! He is not a well chappie at the moment, full of a ridiculous amount of snot and horribly sore, itchy eyes. He is needing lots of Mummy cuddles and snuggles on the sofa. So, that is where I am off to. I have a date under a blanket with a feverish 2 year old and an episode of Fireman Sam.....