So my wife has handed in her notice because we cannot find, let alone afford, suitable childcare.
Last week I had Monday to Wednesday off work to look after the kids whilst my mother-in-law was "recuperating". All of the children and my wife have got streaming colds and a stomach bug. How come I don't get sick?
My wife calls me on her first day back at work, Friday, to say she had had a panic attack in the car on the way to work. She'd got through it and dropped the kids at nursery but just broke down at work. She came home early. She hasn't had a bad panic attack for years and I think it's the stress of leaving work coupled with the illness that triggered it.
By the way, I've got a three-hour exam due on Tuesday (11th October) for my Business Studies degree and I'm trying to revise through this upheaval. The only time I've got is on the train during my commute and after 9pm when the kids are in bed and I've cooked dinner.
From Friday my wife had hot and cold sweats, nausea and really bad stomach cramps. They'd eased a little by Sunday but she was still not right so while I went to work she went to the doctors.
I called home mid-morning to see what was happening and my mother-in-law answered the phone. The doctor had sent my wife straight to the hospital for tests, a friend had driven her there. She hadn't called me because she knew about my exam and a difficult meeting I had scheduled at work, she didn't want to stress me out if it wasn't too serious.
Shortly, afterwards our friend called from the hospital to say that my wife had been admitted for observation and scans. I went home to see what was going on.
They suspect gall stones but can't be absolutely certain until an ultrasound scan has been done. My wife had been doped up with painkillers and wasn't allowed any food for a couple of days.
The next day I did my exam and then drove straight round to the hospital to pick up my better half. I'm confident I did enough in the exam to pass but, I could do with out revision days like those.
My wife has been discharged but still has a course of anti-biotics to finish and some painkillers too. The ultrasound will be done as an outpatient but, it is likley that the pain will return before the scan is done or the treatment that follows it. The GP has signed her off work for two weeks so she won't have to go back to work her notice.
All we need to do now is start planning for Christmas. Sheesh.
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4 comments:
I'm sorry you're having a bad time of it. Sometimes business' have child care available for their employees, but that isn't so common around here.
Can't you find some teenager to watch the children, a babysitter or something?
Christmas, already? We're just setting on Halloween, but it's more of a commercialized american holiday, isn't it?
Hope your wife feels better. Good Luck.
There are a some companies with a creche or the like but they are few and far between. Unfortunately there isn't anyone in the village, with enough free time, that we know well enough to trust with our kids.
As for Halloween; well we do get a few trick-or-treaters but that is a relatively new thing for over here. We didn't do it when I was a child and I think it's an instance of cultural leakage from the US, predominantly via the TV.
Bonfire night is a much bigger deal over here than Halloween. 5th November, fireworks, bonfires and the burning of the 'Guy'. Not sure if that celebration even registers in the States?
The "Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunfire, treason and plot" holiday? Yes, I think I know what you're talking about.
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