Flu Shot Woes

That title is actually pretty misleading. However, to a five year old, the concept of cause and effect exists right on the surface of what you see. The problem with this simplistic view is that it it rarely seems to hit the nail on the head. It often makes an ass out of umption. That is the issue we face with Graham, who believes - whole-heartedly - that the flu shot that he received Saturday morning is the reason he feels crummy now. In other words, he received the flu shot and is convinced that he now has the flu. As in, the flu shot gave him the flu.

Now, it would not surprise me that Graham might feel a little out of sorts after the flu shot. After all, some people have cold-like symptoms, including sniffles, headache, runny nose, sore throat, cough, and body aches for a day or two after getting the flu shot. We could even expect the Dudester to experience a low-grade fever. Unfortunately, his symptoms have been a little more pronounced including a fever as high as about 103. He may indeed have he flu. His diagnosis may be smack on even if his perceived cause is probably not on the mark

So, the Grahamster is staying home today. I expect that we will take him by Dr. Debbie's this morning to rule out the swine flu and to see if there is anything else amiss. But, as of now, we are just assuming the boy caught a bug at school. We know of a few that have had swine flu and it would not be a huge surprise. Furthermore, if we are going to get it, I suppose I would be more inclined to have it now before it transforms into something more serious and - gulp - deadly.

As far as Graham is concerned, well, he woke up about 5:20 this morning. Currently he is sitting in the chair just over my left shoulder watching the Disney channel. At the moment he seem as happy as can be. He is full of snot and has a loose cough but seems very much himself other than that. Regardless, he won't be going back to school until we can be sure that he does not have the swine flu and we can get this fever under control. Right now, his temp is normal but we will have to wait to see what this afternoon brings. Hopefully, a cooler head will prevail and tomorrow he can head back to reality.

It looks like both Lynley and I will be taking off parts of the day to care for Graham. Thankfully, he is a great patient and is content to sit and watch TV most of the day. That will give both Lynley an opportunity not to fall too far behind at work. In fact, without the barrage of people at the office door and on the phone we might even accomplish a bit more.

So, I am off. A day of Dudely purpose awaits.