Everyone is down with some unknown sickness. (And by "everyone" I mean my grandparents and my mom.) I don't know if it's flu or a cold or something else. Grandpa has something totally different from whatever my mom and grandmother are suffering from. I think grandpa just has a cold, but even a simple cold can knock him for a loop. He can be down for a month or more. My mom and grandmother, on the other hand, have some respiratory thing that started with endless violent coughing fits which led to heaving and/or vomiting. And it hit fast: my mom was up at their house Friday morning, and while grandpa was sick in bed, grandma was still up feeling fine. However, when I called Grandma yesterday morning to see if they needed anything from the store, she sounded dreadful, and told me she'd been coughing almost non-stopsince Friday afternoon. That's how quickly it hit her: just about three hours!

Anyway, after getting a short list of things my grandparents needed, Mom and I went Christmas shopping at Wal-mart and the Target center yesterday afternoon. We were successful in getting everything on our list, and although we had a pretty good time, mom spent most of the time coughing like she was trying to bring up a lung. By the evening, all that coughing led to heaving, and she spent all day today in bed. Gah!

It's really very nerve-wracking. Coughing as violently as my mom and grandmother are is very hard on the heart, and neither of them have a very strong heart. Neither does my grandfather, for that matter. Illnesses are very, very hard on all of them, and there's nothing anyone can do but let whatever-it-is run its course, and hope they don't suffer any permanent physical damage, or die.

And, so, I split my time between my house and my grandparent's house (thank God they live so close!). Every few hours or so, I would run up to my grandparent's house to deliver 7-up, Gatorade and corn flakes, or bring in their paper, or pick up their mail, or check to make sure they were still breathing, and then I'd run home, and pop my head in my mom's room to see if she needed anything, and make sure she was still alive as well. Not only was it stressful, it was exhausting, and not sleeping well at night didn't help much. Mom's coughing and vomiting all Saturday night/Sunday morning woke me up each and every time, and I stayed awake listening to make sure she was okay, and made it back to bed without falling down. Because you see, my grandfather fell down in the middle of the night Friday. He was trying to get out of bed, and his legs suddenly went out from under him. (He told me on the phone he was standing up and just suddenly couldn't feel them anymore, and he went down. That frightened me more than I care to admit, but since he seems fine, now, I've promised myself I'll stop worrying about it.) He injured one of his fingers in the fall, though whether or not it's broken has yet to be determined. (My grandfather hates going to the doctor, and refuses to go to the hospital. He says he wants to die in his own home. There are days when I'm very grateful my mom wants to go into a nursing home! ) Rather than calling us to come help, grandma helped him back into bed herself. She ended up straining something, which certainly didn't help her situation much.

And, so, I have slept very little this weekend, and I've been worrying and running around a lot. I went out to buy groceries this morning, and spent quite a bit of time running from store to store searching for fudge. (I agreed to bring fudge to the Tree-Trimming party, and I was really hoping to find some already made, rather than having to make it myself. No such luck, however. Stupid grocery workers strike!) I had planned on putting up Christmas decorations this afternoon while watching football games, but ended up laying on the couch trying not to fall asleep during the totally awesome 49ers game. By the time they reached 40 points, I gave up and took a nap.

Everyone keeps saying they hope I don't come down with it, but no one hopes that more than me! I already mentioned the Tree Trimming party at work tomorrow evening, and then this coming Saturday is our Big Holiday Blast; something I certainly do not want to miss!

The only good news to end this weekend is that this last time I ran up to my grandparents, they were both awake and coherant, and although grandpa still couldn't get out of bed, grandma was up and sort-of about. We chatted for awhile at the kitchen table, and I was relieved to hear they'd both been able to eat something that day, then I returned home, checked on my mom, made fudge for the party, and watched "The Wizard of Oz." I was doing okay until I started choking on my own spit (something I tend to do with embarrassing frequency), and had a five minute long coughing fit which concluded in a brief puking session. (By the way, I'm sorry I'm being so gross today. It's just that gross things are happeneing.) That really messed me up! Now my throat is sore, and I have a painful, raspy, wheezing cough. Grr!

I am not getting sick! I am telling you right now! I absolutely refuse! So, blah! I'm taking a Cold-Eeze, a Sucrets 8-hour cough suppressant, and I'm going to bed. Hopefully things will be better in the morning.

For what it's worth,
Hez

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