Saturday, March 1, 2008

In sickness....



My poor miserable Steve...

This week was a little lesson in selflessness for me... On Tuesday Steve came down with some bug the flu or something... Monday he was fine we went to the florist and turned in our contract. We had lunch at a great new place. (http://www.genghisgrill.com/) We totally loved it! We had Starbucks and we enjoyed a typical Monday for us... Tuesday even started out normal... We talked on the phone Tuesday morning and he complained of a sore throat and stuff but had cough drops and I shouldn’t worry. By the time he came home Tuesday night poor guy had a 101 degree fever was freezing cold and just miserable.
Now I have felt off for a few weeks little sore throat and an occasional twinge in my ears. Lacking for health insurance and hating to burden anyone I Love (like my fiancĂ© or my Dad) with paying for a full price doctor’s visit and prescriptions. I’ve been trying to tough it out with vitamins, prayer and cough drops! Taking care of Steve made it worse haha or his bug attacked me at the same time it attacked him although not as aggressively thankfully...
It was a lesson in selflessness tho because all I wanted to do myself was climb in my bed and snuggle up in the warm covers and sleep like a rock. Poor Steve could hardly walk across the house to the bathroom or sit up in bed to take a shot of Nyquil. So I sat and I watched and I tried to do all those things you remember your mom doing when you're sick as a kid. I put a cool washcloth on his forehead and I made his Alka Seltzer flu cocktails every 4 hours as directed and made sure he drank every drop. When his fever broke and he was more himself I fed him baloney sandwiches (the only food he wanted.) When his temperature spiked to 103.9 I prepared myself to bully him into going to the ER. Thankfully it broke soon after and never spiked again!!!
So hear I sound all noble and selfless putting aside my own feelings to take care of him, and I did!!! Inside I was grumbling and chastising myself because well I wanted to be the one in bed being brought juice and being hugged and kept warm. Then I was chastising myself in the next thought when I realized this isn't the first and only time I will nurse Steve thru the flu. Next time I might also be nursing a very needy sick baby, Steve and Myself and we might just be a little miserable family. I look at is as my job to sacrifice when I can to be selfless and care for him when he's sick even when I'm sick or less sick in this case.
In the past we've had colds together and we've agreed its much more fun to be sick together than apart. We cuddle on the couch and watch movies or the Food Network. We drink hot tea and eat soup. When I’m sick Steve always remembers Hot and Sour soup is my version of Chicken noodle he always stops and gets it take out. (That stuff is magic for head colds!) This time it wasn't as much fun not because we weren't together cuddling or drinking hot tea with honey but because I wanted to be sick. I wanted to be taken care of and bless his heart he knew I was internally grumbling... (And yes Steve I’m sorry maybe I lied a little when I told you I was fine. I’m sorry I was striving to be fine to accept that this is part of my calling to be your wife.)
I would also like to add that when I'm sick and Steve is healthy he is the picture of selfless caregiver! He moves heaven and earth to make sure I have medicine, Orange juice and all those special things I need when I'm sick! He's a very very good nurse... In fact it was less that 2 weeks after we met I realized I could marry him when he sat with me at Urgent care for 3 hours while I waited to be seen. He passed me fresh kleenex and let me use his shoulder as a pillow.
Steve has since told me (Now that he's a little more himself) that he couldn't have made it thru the last 3 days without my cuddles, kisses on his forehead, and probing the thermometer into his reluctant mouth... For all of my grumbling and self-chastising he needed me and appreciated me. Today he even let me sleep while he kept watch. He even told me as a reward I get Pho woo hoo!!! :) Pho makes for a very happy Deaira! I just hope I feel well enough to eat it soon! Nothing sounds better right now than slurping up hot steaming noodles and broth. Dipping thin slices of rare steak into hoisin and chili sauce that will clear my sinuses if only for one precious hour… I think I feel better just thinking about it…

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I love the pic you have up of steve on here. It cracks me up. You need to put it in your wedding slide.