Thursday morning, just before 5AM, Nathan and I were awoken by the sounds of Reni crying. We came in his room where he was sitting up in bed clutching his head. We asked him if he fell out of bed, but he said no, then vomited all over his blanket in his lap. We cleaned him up, tried to give him some children's fever reducer (which he couldn't keep down), and his head was back on his pillow before you could say 'snap.'
Not much later we were all up and at 'em at our regular time, but moved about the apartment more quietly so he could rest. Eight o'clock came and went. Then nine o'clock came and still no sign of our boy. Highly unusual! I went in and checked on him. He had moved around his bed and started when I tried to cover him up with his blanket. His speech made no sense, but he indicated he wanted out of bed.
We moved him to the couch (he didn't want to be alone) and he was sick again and just as quickly back out like a light.
Our evening plans had been to meet up in Tirana with a missionary family from another city in the country and take their 10-year-old daughter for a sleepover with Ellie so the girls could say 'goodbye' before this family re-located back to the States. It was clear that even the car ride into Tirana would be too much for our sick boy, so Pam volunteered to stay with him so Nathan could run Ellie and I in to the city and hold the sleepover at the apartment and keep the germs away from the girls.
Ellie had a great time -- but I will post those pics another time. The next day Nathan sent me this pic of Reni. He was asking for food, but still unable to keep his eyes open, much less eat.
Doesn't he look pitiful? It was almost more than I could take, 40 minutes away and unable to drive us back to the village without a vehicle.
Ellie and I came back to the village with Mandi and Arjan for Friday night church. Reni seemed a bit stronger and even nodded that he wanted to play with the Kindle when I asked.
This seemed a bit more normal and encouraging so I snapped a photo. But it lasted less than a few minutes and he was out like a light again. I had bought some electrolyte powdered drink mixes in Tirana at the pharmacy but he refused to take them, even with a bendy straw. ;-) He proceeded to sleep through Friday night/Saturday morning.
Saturday morning I was sleeping up in our family room loft on the couch when I heard the unmistakable sounds of Reni climbing the stairs (he had taken my spot in bed next to Nathan the night of the sleepover and you can bet I wasn't going to sleep there until those sheets had been changed, ha ha). Finally, a sign that he might have turned the corner!
His appetite returned Saturday, but in spite of laying low Saturday and Sunday, we found him on the chair fast asleep after an early-evening Sunday Skype call to my parents.
This morning he didn't have school with it being a holiday, but Ellie did. He dressed up in his spy gear to be on the look out for Ellie's teacher, Ms. Pam.
After Ellie's school (during which Reni joined us for a grocery shopping trip and some study time at the coffee shop), we took Ms. Pam out for lunch in honor of Teacher's Day (a week late) and finished it off with dessert in honor of Summer's Day (even though it's not feeling too summer-ish today in Shqiperi).
Ironically, this afternoon we were supposed to be picking up our pastoral couple from WGM, Frank and Sharon Martin, for their first visit to Albania. Yesterday we got an e-mail from Frank stating that he had been hit hard with the stomach flu. If it was anything like Reni's illness, I knew that wasn't good. He asked if they could try to change their tickets and postpone their arrival. Of course we said, 'yes.'
Sadly, with it being spring break in much of the States, they were unable to find seats on any subsequent flights and had to cancel their trip to see us (as well as other missionaries in Europe) altogether! I had been so worried about the rest of our family falling prey to sickness during the days we were to host our guests -- or worse yet, getting them sick -- it had never crossed my mind that they could get sick before they even came!
Reni, so glad you are better! Frank, get well soon!!!
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