Friday, January 6, 2012

Sick Puppy

Unfortunately - though not entirely unexpected - Gus has caught my cold bug (a nasty one complete with a hacking cough and, in his case, a fever) so since yesterday afternoon, we've had a floppy, hot, pink-cheeked little buddy on our hands, though he has been a champ and downright stoic about his discomfort.

After a trying night that found me stuffing vomit-soiled towels and my robe into the washer at what I thought was 6 a.m., but turned out to be 12:30 a.m., we headed to the doctor this morning to make sure, Gus wasn't in dire straits - like many children on the spectrum, he cannot be completely believed when asked how he is feeling, Gus doesn't ever feel pitiful, or if he does, he isn't about to share it.

His lungs, ears and belly are clear and we are glad for that. But I'm especially proud of Gus for being such a good kid at the doctor's. It's a place he has disliked since he was a wee little one, and more recently since his diagnosis with Autism, he has shown a pronounced phobia for all things medical - we are very fortunate to have an in general very healthy kid.

So today, despite a bit of anxiety, Gus calmed down quickly and with the help of one of his German "Jakob" books (where Jakob goes to the doctor) he was able to participate and help Dr. Ron with his exam. I was about to burst with pride, when he opened his mouth wide, looked into the light, let his ears be looked at and his lungs listened to. I couldn't believe he would be that good, but he was, fever non-withstanding.

He was, however, very happy to exit the examination room and go look at the adorable live turtles in the waiting room - all with as much fanfare and waving like a war hero at the nurses as we went.

We also discovered with this bout of ickiness, that Gus - drum roll here - unlike most of his age group, can take a simple unadorned tylenol pill, while all the fancy, flavored suspensions make him fall to pieces. We have forcefully held him to the kitchen floor while one of us inserted a syringe with suspension into this mouth, only to see most of it come back up, but tonight, just an hour ago, I handed Gus a half a tylenol and a 3/4 benadryl and he swallowed them very matter of factly with a sip of water after each.

Like I said, I'm very proud of him.
And even a miserable day, can be a day to give thanks.

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