No Words

Due to my husband's and my horrible planning/cooperation skills, we had a weird Sunday last weekend. Somehow, Ailin ended up at her grandma's house from about 6pm to 10pm so we could get our grocery shopping done. It turned out that Yusuke also needed (more) clothes and a new pair of shoes. And, in between that, we needed to eat, so we did stop for a bite. By the time, we picked up Ailin, it was late and she was already sleeping. We all felt so bad...even her grandma was like "if I had the day off tomorrow, I would just let her sleep here."

So, OF COURSE, the next morning, she woke up with a cough and a slight fever. I am sure part of the reason is that she finally caught the colds Yusuke and I were both suffering from for the past couple weeks, but we should have been more careful.

Since her fever hadn't hit the limit (37.5 degrees C or above means that one cannot attend daycare!), I took her in anyway. But, about an hour after I arrived at work, I got the dreaded phone call to come and pick her up since her temperature had spiked. I did go and get her, but I had some things to finish up at work, and couldn't be there for another hour or so. (Mama's Bad #1)

At home, she seemed rather genki and her temperature seemed to be normal. I even took her and Max outside for a walk to see the cherry blossoms. (Mama's Bad #2)

The next morning, she had a slight fever again, but since neither of us were able to stay home that day, we took her in anyway. Ailin was not in the greatest mood, but trust me, I have seen worse. I didn't hear from the daycare all day long and went to pick her up at the usual time. (My usual time is supposed to be 4:30pm, but I always end up staying later at work and don't pick her up til 5 or 5:30. (Mama's Bad #3)

Her teacher explained that Ailin's temperature had gone up and down all day long. They kept her inside and took her temperature frequently. She ate normally and for the most part, was in a good mood. They didn't bother to call me because her temp kept going up and down, but that might be a sign of influenza. She explained that a few other kids had come down with influenza, so perhaps I should get her checked out by a doctor.

Okay, I hate taking Ailin to the dr. We always get the exact same medication, which she refuses to take. The dr never spends more than 3 minutes with us, and basically diagnoses her with the same thing each time no matter what the symptoms are. I have thought about switching doctors, but there are not that many choices around here. My other choices (slim) are so crowded with patients that you are bound to catch something in the waiting room. And, they make you wait FOREVER. Plus, this dr seems close to retiring...you never know, the old bat might hang on until she is 90! But, she seems to be priming her son to take over the practice. He works there on Fridays, and he is definitely easier to deal with (and nice to look at.)

So, needless to say, I didn't take her to the dr. Instead, I double checked the 2008/09 symptoms for influenza and convinced myself that she does NOT have it. Aside from that, she was vaccinated against it in December. She doesn't seem fatigued and usually plays happily. She is talking as usual. And, her cough is not a dry cough...it's like mine - phlegmy. This morning, I decided to take it easy and not rush her. I wanted to make sure her temperature didn't spike at some point.

It didn't, so I took her in about 45 min later than usual. I did not receive any phone calls from the day care today, so I figured all was well. I was planning to pick her up earlier than usual so that her dinnertime/bedtime routine would start earlier and then I could put her to bed early. As usual though, I did get caught up with something at work and couldn't leave quite as early as I wanted to. I also needed to stop at the store and get the groceries for the rest of the week.

Just when I got to the store, I received a call from her teacher. It was 4pm. She explained that Ailin's temperature had been up and down all day and could I come and pick her up ASAP. I told her I would finish the shopping and go pick her up. (Mama's Bad #4)

When I walked in the entrance of the daycare, an office worker came out to say that the PRINCIPAL of the daycare wanted to have a word with me and she ushered me into the office. This old woman (who needs a cane or assistance to walk around) stood up at her desk and reamed me out for bringing Ailin to daycare despite her condition and spiking temperature. She went on and on about how these are indications that something is wrong with her so I should at least have her examined by a doctor. Also, she said that if Ailin is contagious, other mothers will complain about it and that causes a lot of problems for her. She yelled at me for a good five minutes, in front of her office staff.

Well, part of me (the American part of me) thought, "How dare you speak to me like that!" To be fair, for the past 2 days, they had not called me to tell me about the spiking temperatures during the day. I only found out at the end of both days. And, I guess the Flu vaccine doesn't count for much.

The other part of me (The Mother part) was just embarrassed. I don't want to show my face there tomorrow.

I did attempt to take her to the doctor right after that, but it was closed.