flu!

Jacob has the flu! No, I didn't get him the flu shot. I'm sorry. He's never been this sedate in his life. Which is good in a way, because we will be confined to the house for the next week or so while he is contagious.

I was excited about the possibility of getting him Tamiflu, until I found out that it only reduces the duration of the virus by a median of 1.3 days, and it doesn't do anything for the symptoms while the virus lasts. When I found out our insurance co-pay was $60, I decided the likelihood that Jacob would spit all the medicine back at us rather than swallowing it outweighed the potential benefit. If we only had to give it for a couple of days and then the flu would be gone, that would have been worth it. Giving it twice a day for 5 days with a chance he'll get over it in 6 days instead of 7 wasn't as appealing.

(We have not been able to get him to take any medicine by mouth for over a year. I know you're thinking we probably didn't try hard enough, but if I could show you some kind of flashback video of those moments... Holding him down while we used a medicine syringe to slowly dispense the liquid into the back pocket of his cheek, where it is supposed to be almost impossible for someone not to swallow it, but instead he gargles the medicine until it all leaks out the corners of his mouth or sputters out onto our faces and clothes.)