When my cell phone or my classroom phone goes off, I always cringe until I see the caller ID...if the daycare number shows up, my heart beats a little faster, my palms start to sweat and my stomach instantly goes upside down. Hearing the "Hi, it's so and so from Sprouts..." can make me stop dead in my tracks. Being a classroom teacher, it is painful for me to get coverage and leave my class, knowing not only do I have my own two children, but a class full of students who are also depending on me.
When Cha-cha is sick, it means an instant doctor's visit. Not only can he not verbalize how he is feeling, but he feels no minimal pain. Scratches, fevers, ear infections that are deemed, "The WORST raging ear infection I've ever seen!" feels like nothing to our little guy (Yes, I have heard that ear infection line at least 3 times out of his 6 double ear infections). Once with a 104.6 fever, he was running around the nurse's station at our local emergency room and the doctor came out and said, "That's not right, he should be lethargic with that fever." Yes, my Cha-cha is not your typical child.
Today I got that call - actually, I got about 3 calls because my cell phone was not getting reception in our new school's computer lab...my phone voicemail went off, I listened to my message, called and got disconnected, the school secretary then called the lab and finally they got a hold of me in the lab...granted it took a total of 3 minutes, but knowing they were calling because Cha-cha wasn't feeling well, felt like an eternity. Of course in the midst of this, I'm suppose to be co-teaching a lesson on the Pilgrims to 38 students...According to his teacher, Cha-cha had a 101.6 fever and just seemed "off." Thankfully, it was the end of the day and I just had to dismiss my kiddos and make the frantic phone calls before getting him. Who can watch him tomorrow as I venture off on a field trip with my other 18 kiddos? Can I get a doctor's appointment before picking Bee-bee up and contaminating her in the waiting room office? Luckily, I only had about 4 students left in the classroom as they were waiting for buses when I got a hold of my dad and secured care for him for tomorrow. One of my students said to me, "Wow, he must be really sick Mrs. K. That was really nice of you to find someone to watch him tomorrow so you can come with us on the field trip." Yeah, how can you not love your job when your students appreciate the hard work you put in.
Thankfully, Cha-cha's fever is just a virus - he's well hydrated, happy, running around, eating, and annoying his sister. I felt like an idiot bring him in, but the doctor told me I did the right thing. When a kid can't verbalize, he told me I'm better off bringing him in and having him evaluated than just waiting around and not knowing. I have to say, it stinks having to bring him in for every little thing - but how else are we going to know what's wrong? He can only say so much.
My FB status this afternoon was, "Days when my kids are sick make me hate being a working parent." There is nothing more than wanting to be with your child and care for your child when they are not feeling well. Knowing that I have responsibilities elsewhere, makes it extremely difficult. Hopefully, knowing that tomorrow 18 students will have a great experience because I'm with them will make that feeling go away - even for a little while. Thankfully, we have some great people in our life who can help us out in times like these and care for our kiddos like they are their own and make working while our kid is sick a little more bearable.
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