Strep Throat Strikes Again

But this time it's me. I haven't gone to the doctor yet for the rapid test. I'm waiting for the magic hour when the operators are on the phones and I can call. I've been waiting since about 3am...then 4am...5:30...6:15...7:20. Fitful night sleep to say the least. I suspected strep yesterday and looked up the symptoms on WebMd: Sudden sore throat, aching muscles, fever. Check, check and check.

I haven't had strep throat since I was a kid. I don't remember how bad I felt then. I just remember one time when I was in 3rd grade and I was out for a week. My sister came down with Chicken Pox at the same time, so as I was recovering from strep, I then got "the Pox" and was out of school for another 3 weeks.

Looking back on that time, from the perspective of a mother, I really admire my Mom. She had 3 children home all day, sick and miserable. My sister who had Chicken Pox first also developed an infection that they suspected could be Reye's Syndrome, so my parents were very scared. After I came down with Chicken Pox then my baby sister came down with it too. My Mom probably had a good 2 months of sick children to contend with.

It makes me embarrassed to whine about the 3 weeks that this has been going on. I don't remember my mother ever complaining. It's not say she didn't. I just don't remember it. This gives me hope that perhaps my children will remember the love and care I gave to them and not my impatience and frustrations or worries about using up too much sick time and would I have to take some leave without pay. Those are worries kids do not need heaped upon their shoulders.

So perhaps my coming down with Strep is an opportunity to walk in their shoes for a mile and realize how uncomfortable it is being sick. When I told my daughter that I thought I was coming down with this, she asked me what my symptoms were. She began to compare, "Oh my legs didn't hurt like that. My throat did hurt like that...I couldn't swallow anything." It was also more than likely inevitable that I would get this infection because it seemed to be a rather virulent strain that swept through the whole house. But what is life about if I don't take the time to learn something from every experience. Maybe next time my kids are sick, I will be a little more sympathetic and compassionate because I am marking this day of misery in my head.