Many parents just stood around the parking lot chatting. I found out that the girls camp (held the week before in Central Florida) had about 7 confirmed cases of swine flu! Lovely! The only common denominator that the boys camp had with the girls camp was the two priests. I just hoped they had washed their hands!
Finally, one van showed up as well as the trailer with all the kids' stuff. They began unloading great big black garbage bags full of stuff. Apparently, it rained pretty much the entire time they were there and everything was wet. Luckily, I found Nathan's stuff pretty quickly....his was not in a plastic bag. Can I just say that the smell that was coming from those bags was, well, gross!
Nathan was in the third van that showed up! He ran to me and said, "Hi, Momma! Guess what.....I threw up five times on the 4th day!" After hugging and kissing him, I realized that HE WAS IN THE SAME CLOTHES THAT HE HAD ON THE DAY I DROPPED HIM OFF!! I asked him if he had brushed his teeth at all......nope!
When we got home, I had to peel off his clothes. I scrubbed him down good and washed his hair several times. I'm not sure his finger/toe nails will ever be clean again. I emptied out his pack and sure enough, there were all of his other clothes still folded neatly. I asked him why he didn't at least change his shirt. His answer......he couldn't find one! Now, mind you, I sent him a pair of shorts and a shirt for EVERYDAY. He obviously didn't look for it.
He had about 6 blisters all over his feet. This would be from hiking in shoes with NO SOCKS! Again, I sent him socks for everyday. Apparently, he didn't find those or the underwear either.
He lost three items....his hat, his jacket and a pair of shorts.
They had an encounter with a bear. No one actually saw him but woke up one morning to find several packs missing and several ripped apart. Nathan's fanny pack has claw marks all over it.
This makes for great stories though!
In spite of the bear, vomiting and the hiking blisters, he seemed to have a great time. He met some wonderful friends and made the commitment to become an "Apprentice" within the Home of the Mother Youth. He has said his prayers faithfully everyday since he's been home.
On Saturday night, he mentioned that his throat hurt. I tried to ignore it but by Sunday morning, I took his temp....101. I gave him some Motrin and by that evening, his temp was still 101. By this morning, it was 102.5. So, at 9am we were on the way to the pediatrician. After a nasal swab test was done, it was confirmed....Nathan has SWINE FLU! He is miserable. He has a sore throat, achy all over, fever and chills. We were advised to treat it like the regular flu....plenty of fluids and treat the symptoms.
Gotta love summer camp! School starts on the 17th....let's hope we're all better by then. I'll share some of the cute stories he told me in another post. For now, here are some pictures.
This is what I found in his pants pockets.....Fr. Henry's card, holy card and the prayers for the Home of the Mother Youth. Thankfully, no bugs (or anything gross).
While you can't tell from this picture....this shirt used to be white. The bottom part is now a dingy beige color. I will attempt to wash it.....but I doubt it will make it.
Blistered feet.
Clean and reunited with two sisters that missed him!
9 comments:
Are you upset, Nancy? I think I might be a tad upset that no one noticed my kid was in the same clothes for five days! I wonder how many kids will come down with the flu? It seems maybe hygiene was a tad lacking! Praying for you that no one else gets it!
Barb, I think they should have done better at notifying parents of the illnesses in the other camp. There were 52 boys ranging in age from 8 to 24. This is the first time they have combined the two groups (8-12 and 13-24). It rained almost everyday and so their packs were kept separate from them...to try to keep them dry. I certainly hold Nathan partially responsible for not changing his clothes. His excuse that he "couldn't find them" was just nonsense.
I just took his temp...it's now 103. I don't want to overreact, but, the pediatrician did not give me any options for treatment (like Tamiflu). He just looks awful! I'm starting to get somehwat worried!
Oh Nancy! I will be praying for Nathan and that none of the rest of you get it!
Aw, saying a prayer for Nathan and your family! Hope the rest of you don't get sick also!
Bless his little heart!!! What is it with the male sex that is inable to locate easy to find items?! They never outgrow it.
I think between the swine flu and a bear encounter, he came out on top!
Poor guy--I'll be praying for his full and fast recovery.
When I first read your post I was laughing but not now. I am sorry Nathan is so sick and I will pray for him and your family. Please keep us updated if you can.
Sorry that he has the flu! I am amazed that the adults did not force the children to shower and change clothes. I know that they do this at Boy Scout camp. (My son was once the child who had to be forced to shower. Now it's more like 2 showers a day. But at least he's clean.) I hope he recovers quickly and doesn't "share" with anyone else in the house!
(And try an overnight soak in OxyClean for that shirt, followed by a wash in bleach. Then dry them on the line in the sun. Billy Mays came through for me--my son brought home 5 filthy, formerly-white shirts from camp and they all came out clean.)
Oh Nancy, I pray that Nathan is going to be just fine.. when you wrote about the bear ... oh my gosh.. that just made me get goosebumps... God was sure watching over these children.. Amen!!
Glad your grubby guy is back home with you Nancy! Yep...I know that "I couldn't find it" syndrome...my husband can go to the grocery store and come home without something as simple as orange juice and say "I looked...they didn't have any"!!!
I sure hope Nathan recovers quickly.
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