The Domino Effect

Friday the 16th was an unusual day at Ye Olde Academy. Since the next day was to be one of the various entrance exams, only morning classes were scheduled. The students had to clear the junior and senior high buildings by early afternoon so we could set everything up for the exams. It looked to be a fairly easy day, and it was a given that I'd be able to go home early for a change.

As it turned out, it was even easier, and I got to go home even earlier, than I'd expected. My son woke up in the morning looking languid and flushed and complaining of chills. We checked his temperature and found it to be 38.8 degrees Centigrade (101.8 Fahrenheit). A flu has been going around recently, and a couple of my son's classmates had already been down with it, so we feared the worst. I went ahead and called the school, explained the situation, and told them I'd be coming late. I then rushed to the Namegata General Hospital (the only "real" hospital in our area), made an appointment, and came back home to relax a bit while waiting.

My son and I wound up arriving a few minutes late for his appointment, found out that we'd been skipped, and were then made to wait for about two and a half hours before we could see a doctor. The doctor said it was too early to tell whether it was the flu or not, especially since my son wasn't showing any symptoms besides a fever and runny nose. We were given a one-day prescription, told to come back the next day if he got any worse, and sent on our way. I brought my son home and sent him straight to bed. It was already too late for my morning classes, so I just grabbed a kip, waited for others to come home, and then headed off to the school to take my turn at "day duty" (which actually meant taking a quick patrol of the campus and then locking up when everyone was gone).

On Saturday my son's fever was already pretty much gone, and he was raring to go. That was a good thing, because not only was I on duty at the school all day because of the entrance exams, but my daughter was also there taking the exam. (Yes, she's that age now.) My wife was also there so she could cart my daughter to and from the school. That just left my son with my father-in-law, who was out of the house doing whatever most of the day. He was fine, though, and by evening his fever was completely gone.

So naturally my daughter got sick on Sunday. Her bug seemed milder than my son's, since her temperature was hovering just a little over 37.3 degrees C (99 degrees F) all day. However, at night it shot up to 38.6 degrees C (101.5 degrees F). This morning (Monday) it got up to 39.4 C (102.9 F). My wife took her to the hospital, where the doctor prescribed her a whole pile of medicine. I was able to come home in the afternoon since there was a staff meeting to discuss the exam results; since my daughter was an examinee, rules forbade my being there. The problem is that her fever is still in the high 38s even now, meaning she'll be home sick tomorrow too. Since my wife took the day off today, I guess it's my turn. I'm sure my daughter isn't very happy right now, but at least I'm getting a couple of extra days off...with nothing to do!

Maybe it's just what the doctor ordered, a little off-time windfall...except for the fact that my schedule is now totally screwed up. I could also do without the flu right now, thank you!