Guilty, Guilty, Guilty

I know, I know, it LOOKS like a totally innocent face. But the face you're seeing there is none other than The Carrier.

Let me 'splain...

So, I am completely susceptible to strep throat. Seriously, if I LOOK at someone who has it, I'm catching it. But, since I'm not in schools all the time anymore, I haven't had it in a long time. Well, a couple of weeks ago, I started feeling yucky. Itchy eyes, nose and throat. Since the weather had been nice, I figured it was just allergies. After all, I couldn't be getting sick- it was going to be a three day weekend (President's Day) and we were headed to IL to visit Grandma & Grandpa. By Thursday morning, though, I had a fever of 102 and couldn't swallow without serious pain. So, off to the doctor I went. Yep, sure enough, it was strep. Trip cancelled, everyone disappointed, -2 sick days, not cool.

But, after a few more days, I felt better (Thank God for antibiotics). We postponed our trip to IL until this past weekend (not 3 days, but better than nothing). Life was looking up... UNTIL... last Wednesday Josh had a fever and called in sick to work. He has NEVER had strep in his life, and I've been done with my antibiotics for 4 days, so I'm totally not contagious anymore- he didn't catch it from me. At church that night, Charlie and Josh both look awful- Charlie went home early. The next day, Josh feels worse, so off to the doctor he goes... yep, STREP AGAIN. Meanwhile, Thursday morning I got a pounding headache and a sore throat, itchy eyes & nose again. I've been off antibiotics for 4 days... incubation period for strep is 2-4 days... totally susceptible...

So I started to think... I wasn't contagious anymore... Josh is highly resistant to strep... Josh, Charlie and I only "share" one thing-> ELENA! Typhoid Elena strikes again! So off to the doctor I drug her. They explained to me that it was "highly unlikely" that she could be carrying the strep bug and passing it to all of us, but they'd swab her if I really wanted them to (thanks for making me feel like the totally overreacting mom).

Well, I did really want them to. And, guess what... I was right! Miss Elena tested positive for strep, even though she'd been racing around the living room like a maniac the night before, obviously feeling A-OK. As Mom's friend, Sherry, put it: "So she's as happy as a kid dancing in a box while all the grownups around her feel like crap." (In case you've never had strep, it's pretty much awful. You're pretty sure you'd rather just die than even lay there. It's so beyond a sore throat it's amazing.)

Anyway, the ending of the story is that EVERYONE in our house (and Charlie) got on antibiotics before we went to visit Grandpa. And, Typhoid Elena has struck again! So, I don't know if this means she'll always be a carrier (and never get it, which would be wonderful for her, and really suck for me, since she'd pass it to me all the time) or if she didn't get sick because she's so young (under 2 they usually don't get strep). Guess time will tell!

So, that's my excuse for not having posted in awhile- everyone in my house has been feeling horrible... except for The Carrier, of course. Hopefully, I'll have time to post this weekend about our Service & Ski trip to KC, and the trip to IL to visit Grandma & Grandpa!