My same little man is slowly recovering from another – or possibly the same – virus which hit him a few weeks ago.

He really had a tough time on Saturday and was really violently sick. As a mom, it is a horrible thing to witness, as one feels so very helpless. By yesterday the vomiting had stopped but he still had diarrhea. He spent most of yesterday sleeping. Today as I am typing this blog entry he has fallen asleep. He is still washed out but it definitely looks as though he is getting better.

With the demand on our NHS and A&E depts, I’m sure I’m not alone in that we spend part of that first day of sickness deliberating whether or not to drive our sick child to either a walk-in centre or emergency room. I have linked here to the NHS Choices website which gives some guidance on what to look for and when it is necessary to send your child to A&E when they have more than two days of vomiting.

But basically, the main thing I had to do over the last few days was to keep a close eye on him. Another thing to not take for granted is to sanitise any shared surfaces in your home. As a single mum, I cannot afford to miss any time off work (as I do not get paid), plus any other siblings in the house can mean that the virus remains in your home to re-infect the little ones. So from quite early on, I maintained a routine of wiping down door handles, and surfaces with anti-bacterial wipes. the bathroom surfaces and floor in particular has had to have a complete clean through every time my little one was ill or had an accident. Another thing is to make sure that everyone in the family had their own separate towel. I’ve just remembered that I have to wash the guest towel!

As for him, on Saturday, I had to make sure that he remained hydrated as he point blank refused food. I had to ring the new NHS direct helpline (111) and was told that products like dioralyte was good for him to have in regular sips after each loss of fluids. On speaking with someone there, I felt better at managing his sickness at home. He didn’t have a rash on his body, a high temperature nor did he have any blood in his vomit and stool. The service was excellent in firstly reassuring me as to the care that I was doing.

The most difficult area is the issue of work tomorrow. If I go off the above website, then he cannot return to nursery until Wednesday because, he had a runny tummy in the night and we need 48 hours of no sickness and diarrhea before a child can return to school/nursery. So “thanks alot” to those parents who sent their kid(s) into school to where my little one got sick! I need to go in or else not get paid, but at the same time, my kids comes first. I am in a position again to not have any other family member to look after him while I go in but at the same time I have a work deadline to meet no later than Wednesday. It’s times like this when I realise that I need a vocation where I can work from home.

So as my little one sleeps, I will capitalise on his recharge to update this blog, and complete the items ready for work (either to send in by email and stay home or that he is well enough, strong enough to go to nursery tomorrow).

Oy Vei!! the joys of being a single parent!