Yesterday, Mara seemed just a little bit off. Nothing obvious, just... I don't know. I can't even really put my finger on it. She complained a few times of her tummy hurting, but just as soon would say that it was fine. She wasn't coughing, had no fever, wasn't pale or flushed. Her appetite was a little slow to pick up in the morning, but she eventually came around and ate two whole yogurts for breakfast.
Corky said, "she's fine!" My mom said, "she's fine!" All the evidence said, "she's fine!"
But I just knew.
This morning, she woke up coughing and with a clear runny nose. Still no fever. I thought she should stay home from school, but Corky insisted she was fine and could go to school. Thinking I was probably just paranoid and overreacting, I sent her to school.
All morning, while I did chores around the house, I expected my phone to ring and to have her school on the other end, telling me that she was sick and to come pick her up. But that never happened. Still, I just felt uneasy. I figured maybe it was the shift in the weather.
12:30 came and I went to pick her up. She was running around like usual, but she just seemed to lack all her usual zip. When we got home, she wanted a peanut butter and honey sandwich, which I was happy to make for her. While she ate it, I got our thermometer, pointed it at her forehead, and hit the button. BEEEEEEEEP BEEP BEEP. 99.7F.
After she ate some of her sandwich, I got her upstairs to take a nap. She fell asleep quickly but soon coughed herself awake.
I just KNEW it.
Would she still have developed a fever even if I'd kept her home from school? Maybe. But I doubt running around with a bunch of other kids and going outside in the rain at school did anything to help the situation!
The moral of the story: follow your instinct. Lesson learned.
Mara eating string cheese on the floor
on Saturday. Silly kid!
