I received a call from the school nurse on Wednesday. My oldest son had a fever of over 102 degrees, so they were sending him home. When I picked him up, he looked miserable. This is my child who never gets sick. He drinks orange juice every day and has an immune system that is rock solid.
When we arrived at home, I helped him up to his room and he got in bed. I took his temperature, and then went to get him something to drink. He was all settled in and asked, "Can I play on the computer after my fever goes away?" I told him that he would have to be fever free for 24 hours before he could touch the computer again because I didn't want his brother and sister to catch what he had. This was devastating-no Bakugan episodes, no X-Men, no games. All of the things that he enjoyed so much were out of his reach.
It was funny to watch how he responded to this situation. He immediately asked me if he could keep the thermometer by his bed. No problem. Each time that I would check on him, he would give me a temperature update, and I would bring him something else to drink. He even took his fever reducer like a champ (and he HATES medicine). He turned into a fever fighting machine.
The next day, he woke with a fever, but it was soon knocked out. Evidently, he had quickly trained my 3-year old how to keep the episodes coming on the computer so that he could watch his favorite shows. My mother set everything up on YouTube, so that Mariah would just have to click the mouse when her brother needed her to.
Today, he went back to school because he remained fever free for 24 hours. After school, he will be back on the computer for a while. He had a goal to get back on that computer, and made it his mission to get rid of his fever. He took it upon himself to monitor his temperature, drink the fluids that were brought to him, and keep the cold washcloth on his head at the height of each fever. All of this to get back on the computer.
I didn't need to go to a workshop to be reminded of the importance of setting goals and working hard to achieve them. I watched it all unfold before my eyes this week, thanks to the determination of a boy who wanted to be back on his computer.
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