A Very Norovirus Christmas

It was two weeks ago that our hospital sent the outbreak alert email, and I wrote a whole post about the best methods for avoiding the dreaded Norovirus. I distinctly remember joking with a colleague: Ha! With our luck, we’ll all have it just in time for Christmas.

Well. Ho, ho, ho.

It is what it is, which is one the most hardy, stable, contagious viruses around. You can wash, bleach, and even run, but you can’t hide. All you can do is respect, and plan.

So when our kids’ babysitter suddenly started with chills and vomiting halfway through our evening out (and despite the fact that I’m a doctor and I wrote a freaking article about it), I did not plan very well.

And so we’ve had multiple family members in two households down for the count for the holidays, and I’m like, caught off guard.

In my defense, there has been alot going on, and all good. There was putting together gifts for teachers/ staff/ family/ neighbors/ delivery guys/ mailpeople, pouring out another few batches of Graham Cracker Chocolate Sea Salt Almond Toffee (look it up, you’ll be glad you did), wrapping things up clinically at work, wrapping presents, cleaning the entire house in my spare time, hosting the neighborhood cookie swap, baking amazing gluten-free Sicilian Pistachio Cookies (look it up, you’ll be glad you did), calling a few patients about their surgeries and results, hand-delivering the few Christmas cards that didn’t make it out last week, cleaning up all the trash the raccoons left in the backyard, and, um, I feel kind of queasy…

Babygirl had it first, then her cousins, then Nana and Grandma, and then I got it Christmas eve. Hubby’s team was playing, so I just sort of lay on the couch while Hubby called the game and the kids destroyed the house. I drank lots of tea and prayed.

Luckily, my mother is always prepared, and today, Christmas day, when Babyboy had been heaving for six hours straight, I was able to run over and get the ginger ale and saltines that settle his stomach.

Ah, well. Live and learn. Learn from me, folks. Always have ginger tea, honey, ginger ale, and saltines in the house, especially when in the midst of a gastrointestinal virus outbreak.

We had to postpone our Christmas Day gathering at Nana’s, but at least we were all home together. And, it seems to pass pretty quickly…

Merry Christmas.