Saturday, May 28, 2022

 Saturday, May 28, 2022

I had a terrible night's sleep. Shivani told me yesterday that the Tesla power walls should never go down to zero or up to 100. It shortens their life span. Here I bought them partially so we could survive off-grid if we had to. Now, I find out that nothing I've done will work; so much for the best-laid plans of mice and men. I was feeling very out of control. Too many unresolved issues and too many issues that I .have no control over, such as the current political and economic situation. Then, of course, is the strain of dealing with the loss of Mike and all that it means to me. As I've said before, full grief has only hit recently. Oh, what fun! I was up a good part of the night dealing with things that could go wrong and how I had made bad decisions. Then I fell asleep again. I am a good sleeper.  

      We noticed a red spot on his left temple when Sidney woke up. Later we saw a smaller one on his right temple. Even later, Shivani noticed a blister on his ear. He had been okay when he awoke. Sid came out of the bedroom, and I gave him a waffle with maple syrup, a breakfast standard. Shivani commented that he was unusually whiny and felt warm later in the morning. I didn't have a digital thermometer. I contacted Mei and Peter first. They had one, but it wasn't accurate. I texted Adam to ask him if he had one. No response. I walked over there. I knocked, but there was no response. He must be home because the truck was there. He must be up because he had a one-year-old. I finally heard him moving about. He said wait a moment; Maybe I did wake him up. Oh, dear. He had a digital forehead thermometer. I took it home. 

     Sidney had a temperature of 100.5. What was going on? She considered taking him to urgent care but decided to call the Kaiser advice nurse first. When she heard 'blisters,' she immediately said, "Have you considered monkeypox?" Now, that created some fun moments. The nurse arranged for a doctor to call Shivani. I got on the phone with Lutz, who had examined Sidney's bumps when he walked with me last night. He thought they were from spider bites. He had texted me, suggesting blister bugs. I called him and shared our concern about monkeypox. He said not. First off, the fever preceded the breakout. While that was the usual pattern, Shivani had read it could be the other way around. Lutz also said monkeypox blisters are filled with pus. Sidney's blister was filled with fluid. It couldn't be monkeypox. That reassured us. Then the doctor called; she laughed at the idea it was monkeypox. There were only two cases in northern California. One was someone who had traveled to an area where it was spreading. The other person got it from the first person. The likelihood that Sid had been exposed to monkeypox was zero.     

     The next challenge was getting children's Tylenol, Benadryl, and apple juice. I started calling around. Mei and Peter weren't home. I called Adam. He had some. I went over and got it. He said he was about to take his one-year-old for a drive to put him asleep for his nap. Would it be okay to drop off a bunch of toys?   

   Besides the concern for Sid, Shivani and I were concerned about me. If Sid had something contagious and I got it, the operation would be off. Shivani and I both donned masks. We relaxed when we felt sure Sid's problems were from insect bites. Whatever Sid had, he was sick. He was running a temperature, and he felt lousy. Every time Shivani left the bedroom, he called for her to return. She was a prisoner. The poor kid felt miserable. Shivani wasn't doing much better. The worry knocked her for a loop. 

    Alexandra called Shivani. She was so sorry. She broke her wrist yesterday while roller skating. She thought she could still take care of Sid. Her mom was concerned both for her and Sid. She was afraid Alexandra would do more harm to her wrist with a sudden move. She planned to be here with Alexandra to watch out for her and Sid.   

     Besides the excitement here in Hawaii, there was drama in Seattle. My niece Karin gave birth to her second child on the 22nd. Mother and baby were fine. Since they knew already that her three-year-old had the flu, the mother, baby, and grandmother stayed in an attached building to avoid contact. Then Dad came down with the flu. Both the three-year-old and dad were tested; they had influenza b. The doctor advised the mom to vacate the premises altogether. Mom and Dad rented a three-room BnB.  Mom and Grandma packed up all the baby's equipment and decamped. Mom has a two-day-old infant and a sick three-year-old she couldn't have contact with two days after giving birth. Thank God Grandma was there to help, and Dad was a hands-on kind of guy.  

    Next, Mom started running a fever. It seems like it's mastitis and nothing else. Can you imagine a world where mastitis is compared favorably to another ailment? Mom was running a fever of 101. She went off to see the doctor.  

    I watched a California Christmas. It was in the vein of a Hallmark special. It was predictable and sappy. However, the cast was lovely, except for one character who must have had no previous acting experience. I have no idea how she got cast.