The snow started on Friday night. Bryant and Henry had tickets to Sesame Street Live for Saturday morning but swapped them for Friday night’s performance when it became apparent that Saturday would be a bust. Henry had no idea what to expect from the show, but as soon as the lights went down and the music started, he sat up in his chair and watched Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and the rest of the gang with great intensity. The show was perfectly suited to the 2-3 year old crowd and, afterward, it was magical to walk out of the arena as the first snowflakes were falling.
By Saturday morning, there was already a good foot of snow on the ground with the promise of more to come throughout the day. We mostly stayed indoors during the storm, but Bryant and Henry did venture out in the afternoon to experiment with the snow. Henry wasn’t too keen on wearing his winter gear and couldn’t understand why it hurt when we took off his mittens and stuck his hands in the snow. He had been home sick for the past week, so everyone was feeling a little anxious to get outside, regardless of the weather.
Despite our best efforts to keep Vivian healthy (Henry was doused in Purell at regular intervals and forbidden from touching her face), she awoke on Sunday morning with a fever. The pediatrician told us to take her to the hospital (which is pretty much standard procedure at such a young age). Unfortunately, our cars were buried in snow and the roads in our neighborhood were completely impassable. It soon became apparent that we were in for a very trying time.
Bryant walked up to the main thoroughfare (King Street) to see if it had been cleared. He found a neighbor who had shoveled her driveway, and she graciously agreed to drive Elise and Vivian to the hospital. So we quickly packed an overnight bag for Elise, trekked with both kids through the snow, and got Vivian on her way to the hospital. Bryant and Henry stayed behind and tried to make the most of another (long) day trapped indoors.
The snow was still a little overwhelming for Henry, but he enjoyed playing outside in short intervals. After shoveling off the walkways and experimenting with building a snowman, we borrowed a sled from a neighbor and took an excursion around the block. Everyone was snowed-in, and some folks were even using skis to get around. We were really worried about how Henry would cope with being separated (yet again) from his mom, but he held up pretty well.
At the hospital, the doctors subjected Vivian to the usual battery of tests. It seemed likely that she had caught Henry’s virus, but at that age, they test for everything. In the ER, they drew blood and (after four failed attempts) spinal fluid for testing. Meanwhile, Elise had developed mastitis (infection of the breast) and was suffering from her own aches and fever. But because she wasn’t admitted as a patient, no one could prescribe an antibiotic for her. It was truly an absurd situation: trapped at the hospital and unable to get any medicine! All the while, she was tending to Vivian, who was still running a fever but otherwise doing OK.
By Monday afternoon, Bryant had managed to dig out the car and was able to visit Elise at the hospital. Because of the swine flu outbreak, children were not allowed on the hospital ward, so Henry visited with his mom in the lobby while Bryant was upstairs with Vivian. Elise had managed to get some antibiotics and was feeling much better. It was a tough week for everyone, but things started to improve by Wednesday when Aunt Pauline rode to our rescue. She flew in from Detroit for the holiday and quickly put the house in order and took care of our mounting piles of laundry.
By week’s end, Vivian still had a fever but seemed to be improving. We were all hoping she would make it home for Christmas, but were mostly glad to see light at the end of the tunnel. Without a doubt, this had been the hardest week yet for the Morris family.
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