I’ve been sick with strep throat for a few days now. More than just a cold – this was full on fever, chills, body aches, headaches and a sore throat. All I wanted to do was lay down in bed and stay there for a day or two. But of course I couldn’t. I’m a mom.
Moms can’t call in sick. Well, I did call in sick to the day job, but I couldn’t call in sick to my kids. At first I thought I just had a cold and tried to lay low while still being mom. After the second day of being sick and feeling worse than ever, I made an appointment with the doctor.
Did you know it only takes about 5 minutes to diagnose strep? Actually my nurse must have had a sixth sense, since she came to get me in the waiting room wearing a mask. They swabbed my throat and not 10 minutes later the doctor was prescribing antibiotics…and telling me how contagious I was. For 24 hours.
Actually, how contagious I was for 24 MORE hours. That means I had been hugging and kissing and (horrors) sharing a drink with my kids while I was contagious with strep! My only two comforts were that I only had to get through 24 hours of being strictly off-limits to my kids and knowing that I would be hyper-vigilant in looking for signs of strep in them. The incubation period is about 3-5 days by the way (thanks Web MD).
To be completely honest, a secret, tiny part of me was kind of excited to have a sure-fire excuse to be kid-free for 24 hours. That excitement was quickly wiped out. My husband was home that day (thank goodness!), but our house isn’t that large. I could hear all the whining, and all the crying, and all the “I want MOMMMMMM!”s from the rest of the house. I quickly realized this was not a vacation.
I was stuck in the bedroom the entire time. Every time I ventured out, would start a new round of tears and complaints. My poor husband. But I was miserable physically and emotionally. It was a very long 24 hours.
The next day I was feeling better and I was counting down the minutes to be “germ free.” I spent the evening disinfecting the house from top to bottom and washing clothes and sheets in hot, hot water. All while trying to recuperate, because I still felt awful.
I’ll know by the end of the weekend if my kids will be safe from this sickness. My biggest fear is that they get sick too. Wish us luck!