I guess that I didn’t have Swine Flu after all. I had all the symptoms without the fever. It raged through me for two days and then it was gone but not without affecting Axel. After reading my last post I realized that it sounds negligent for me to have my boys cuddled up to me when I was sick. What I didn’t point out is that it is close to impossible to keep little ones away from their mothers, sick or not.

My little nurturer must not have washed his hands carefully enough after trying to nurse his mommy back to health and he went down hard over the weekend, which happened to be Wade and my eleventh year anniversary.

I had it all arranged, my good friend Suzanne was going to take all three boys for a sleepover and Wade and I were going to bike up to Ashcroft, where we got married. We were going to lay low after that, since I was still recovering, and go see the film, (500) Days of Summer which was playing at the Crystal Theatre in Carbondale, our favorite place to watch films.

Wade came down to my office and sang happy anniversary to me in his heightened caffeinated state. I tend to ignore him when he is amped up on coffee but this was our anniversary after all and so I gave him a lustful look and promised intimacy just as soon as I finished completing my Children’s Picture Book.

We were about to open up our presents and cards when Axel appeared at the top of the stairs looking frail and spent from a night of coughing. His breathing was belabored and he was fading fast. Wade and I exchanged knowing glances and switched gears.

Axel and I rushed to the doctors before they closed. They gave Axel a mask and we watched the Doctor rush in and out of tiny rooms shouting out, “flu swab in room 3”. We were put in our own little room for an hour and a half and read the measly selection of childrens books that they supplied while dousing our hands with antibacterial soap after every page. Normally I remember to bring our own book but was unprepared this time.

As parents we become very adept at changing our mindsets and expectations. It didn’t matter to me that it was once again the most beautiful day of the year. It didn’t even matter that I had lost yet another day alone with my husband. What mattered the most was that my child was ill and I needed to do all that I could to make him better.

The next day I ran into my neighbor who once was told by a psychic that she was a healer and this I believe. I thought I was doing all that I could to help Axel with home made chicken noodle soup, humidifiers, Slippery Elm tea, salt spray and gargling salt water at night but there is always more one can do.

My neighbor truly understands the healing value of foods, herbs and oils and she loaned me a book that she uses as her bible when her children get sick titled, Gentle Healing for Baby and Child by Master Herbalist Andrea Candee with David Andrusia. The other book that came recommended to me was Healing Healthy: A Guide to Self-Healing for Everyone by Linda Page.

It is a desperate feeling to be a parent with an ailing child and now that Axel is on the mend I intend to thoroughly read these books and delve into the world of natural healing with oils and healthy food.

As for Wade and I, I guess we’ll take a rain check!