The Swine Flu Strikes Back

As most of you may have heard or read, the H1N1 flu is rampant in Texas and Austin. Health officials are not even testing for it anymore because if you get the flu now, it is like 99% swine flu. Earlier this summer we came close to the flu by being in close proximity to someone who had it. We were lucky then, but it came back to get us!
Lauren came down with a 103 fever Thursday night/early Friday morning. We went to the doctor that morning and at that point she wasn't showing any other symptoms, so they sent us home saying she just had another random virus but not the flu. I think that ticked the flu off because not an hour after we got home, Lauren went downhill fast with a 105 fever (and potentially higher because my digital thermometer errored out), not responding to me, and puking everywhere (yuck!). I called her doctor back, but of course it was during lunch and no one was in the office. I didn't want to load her in the car and drive 30 minutes to the hospital in that state, so I called 911. Within a few minutes we had the firemen from our neighborhood, an EMS crew and the county sheriff all at my house. The firemen were awesome, they assessed Lauren and said she definitely had the flu, but that because she had no other health issues it didn't make sense to take a ride in the ambulance down to Dell Children's Hospital. They would just put her in a triage tent in the parking lot (there are that many kids with the flu!!) and they said she was better off on our couch. They stayed here until they got Lauren's fever under control, got her to take her medicine, and started laughing with them. It was so nice to have them so close by...it was at that moment when I was happy to pay taxes.
After we got her fever at a more manageable 100-102, she has been great ever since...see picture as proof. All I can think about is that she had to pick the littlest toys to play/contaminate and the Polly Pockets will be a bear to disinfect :-)
Bill has taken Emma out of the house for the day to try and keep her away from what Bill is calling us "Outbreak Monkeys".