Sluggish. Joints are aching. A lingering headache.
For several days now this has been might state of mind. I might have caught a form of virus hence this ill-feeling but more likely it's because my immune system isn't up 100% after several restless nights. Restless because my daughters continue to be rather sickly. The on-and-off fevers persist and both Ikai and Issa can't seem to shake off their colds. The cough, I know, are caused by their asthma allergy. But when coupled with the cold, they equate to restless nights for them.
Just the other night, at a timing when Elvie is on her graveyard shift, both girls experienced illness attacks. It was about 3AM, I was suddenly awakened by Issa crying. She sat up on bed and demanded (yes, demanded) to go downstairs -- assumedly to sleep beside whoever was downstairs. Sensing that the little one won't tolerate any sweet-talking, I wearily got up and as I stood, I brushed Ikai's leg and felt it super hot. My senses were suddenly jolted awake and felt Ikai's forehead and neck and indeed she was burning hot. I immediately picked up Issa and brought her downstairs where our househelp was sleeping beside, Mark, my wife's nephew.
I went back to the room and got Ikai's temperature. She was a blazing 39.4 degrees! Panic started to rise but I managed and dashed downstairs to get Ikai's Ibuprofen and got her to take the prescribed amount. I went back downstairs to get a basin of water (to dab Ikai with) but the light was on and I saw our househelp anointing Issa's legs with a cream. I asked her what she was doing and she said that Issa had cried and whimpered "Itchy". So she turned on the light and proceeded to dab ointment on Issa's legs where mosquitoes, she said, bit the little one.
I was dumbfounded. Why? Because there were no lamoks in our room (I had the repellant thingy on so I was positive there were no buggers in the room). I approached them and what I saw was no mosquito bites -- they were welts. Issa was having an allergy attack. To confirm my suspicion, I asked our houshelp to check the rest of Issa's body and sure enough, there were pantals across her entire body from the foot to her neck and back. Not too many but enough to cause her discomfort.
I immediately texted my wife and she advised a dose of anti-histamine for Issa.
At around 3:30, Ikai's fever had gone down to 38.4 so the med was working. By then as well, Issa was already asleep. I, on the other hand, because of the excitement, was wide awake. I finally managed to sleep around 5AM already!
* * * *
Ikai was sent home from school yesterday. Not for any naughtiness but because her eyes were mucus-filled. Fearing a sore eyes spread, her teachers asked that she be sent home lest the other students also get afflicted with the suspect disease.
But I guessed right away what had happened because that same day when Ikai woke up, her left eye was covered with muta which I helped clean away. Apparently the condition worsened. But it wasn't sore eyes.
It's a side-effect of Ikai's cold-cough-allergy combo. Issa had it too some two weeks ago. According to the eye expert we consulted for Issa, the secretion glands inside the nose where snoot is supposed to come out of from is blocked. The tendency therefore is that the fluids are instead released through the eye's secretion glands resulting in morning glory or muta in Filipino. The medical terms for muta is rheum but English-speakers use terms as crusties, eye boogers, eyewash, or sleep cheese.
Unfortunately though, the school will not allow Ikai to go back today unless she had a medical certificate. This actually saddened our little one because she so wanted to go to school to practice for their culminating activity. She plays Snow White and as the lead character, she of course, wants to be there at all times. So this is a setback for her.
Tomorrow, we're scheduled for an appointment at the American Eye Center in Greenbelt to get Ikai's eye condition checked and get the geddamnit med-cert.
* * * *
I am excited with my latest book purchase!
It's a China Miéville book but it's not Embassytown (I did mention in my last entry a plan to buy it). It's his 2002 book, The Scar. And the reason I chose this over Embassytown is mainly because I wanted first to get a glimpse of Miéville's writing in an earlier work. Embassytown can wait while I digest first The Scar.
I'm still reading Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule but it's a bit of a labor personally. It's not as complex to read like Anathema but it's more, what's the word? Hmm -- tedious? Slow? Burdensome? It's got to be a good series otherwise it won't continue to be in print but mayhaps my reading acumen has been reshaped somewhat after reading several volumes of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.
Nevertheless, I'll keep on reading Richard Cypher's initial adventure for a while and wait for either my patience to wear out or my enthusiasm for The Scar wins out. I haven't even gotten to the part yet where he and Kahlan meet the esteemed Zed!
* * * *
Celebrated my birthday last week with a simple handaan for dinner. Elvie cooked calderetang baka and miki-bihon pancit and we had a macaroni fruit salad on the side.
Nothing momentous happened though when I transitioned from 35 to 36 last February 24. Just like any other Friday with a bit of a special dinner.
Here's to more years to come and more achievements, personal and professional, to be ... err, achieved!
