Under the Weather

Son No 2 had been coughing for a few days. On Sunday night, the cough got worse and he had congestion in the chest and difficulty in breathing.

Though I count myself as an experienced (read: cool) parent, there is nothing like a sick child that makes you panic and sows doubts about your earlier decisions: Should I have brought him to see the doctor when he first started coughing? Should I have stopped him from going for his taekwando class? Should we all have rested at home that day?

And there is something about the night that casts gloom and pessimism. There is a proven theory that things always seem better in the day - research has shown that more people living in or close to the North Pole tend to have depression when it is winter because for them, the daylight hours are very short.

Anyway, back to Son No 2. Knowing the effects of night (I have rushed to the ER many times in the past, and it is always at night), I got a hold of myself and applied medication as I knew best, using the Ventolin inhaler. It worked for a while. Son No 2 continued wheezing, though he could sleep and breathe easier than before.

The next morning, I brought him to a paediatrician and to cut the story short, he rested at home for a day and is back in school today. He has recovered very well, though he is still on medication.

But that's not the end of it... Son No 1 came back from school today and complained of the same symptoms. He's now sleeping like a baby after taking some medicine. Looks like it's another round of (not so) merry-go-round....