What do you dread more? Dealing with a sick kid or running a household while running a fever and to the toilet every few minutes?
When my daughter was an infant she got violently ill. In a moment of utter fatigue and desperation, I tried bargaining with her doctor. I offered him all of my appendages in exchange for a cure for my child. I wanted to alleviate her pain at any cost, even if it meant dismembering my own body.
It’s a scenario most parents can relate to; we’d rather be the ones suffering than see our children in distress.
But what happens when mom or dad is the one flattened by an illness?
Is being sick an option for parents?
How many times have you denied the seriousness of your symptoms because you didn’t want to disrupt your family’s daily schedule?
Kids need to be taken care of, meals need to be prepared, dishes need to be washed, and clothes need to be cleaned. Who has time to be sick?
I remember asking that same question several years ago when I was came down with a 103-degree fever, nausea and a sore throat. My daughter was still in diapers at the time and I spent most of the day trying to resist the urge to throw up while changing her diapers. It wasn’t until she moved her bowels and I had to clean up the smelly results that I lost it in her presence.
Changing dirty diapers when you are nauseated can yield incredibly grotesque results.
They say mothers should ask for help when they are sick. After all, ignoring your illness will only compromise your ability to be a competent parent. What’s more, it may increase the amount of time you will be out of commission, which ultimately negates the goal of keeping your household running like a well-oiled machine.
What happens to your family when you get sick?