Kaitlyn woke up in the middle of the night with a horrible cough. She not only sounded like a wounded seal, she was struggling just to make that noise. And she was crying. And begging for medicine. All I had was some children’s Tylenol. That, and being propped up on the couch, helped her fall back asleep.
I didn’t send her to school. (Even if I’d thought it was a good idea, we didn’t wake up until 8:45… which is when school starts. I couldn’t go back to sleep after she did.) I called the doctor and got a busy signal nearly non-stop for 45 minutes. I should have just left a message on her machine when I had the chance… but other than her name I didn’t understand a single other thing the recording said. I suppose I should have just assumed it said something like this is Dr So-and-So, please leave a message. Once I finally got through, I took the appointment time she offered: 5pm.
Naturally, by the time 5pm rolled around, Kaitlyn was doing just fine. No coughing. No fever. Nothing. Just a bored kid. But I took her in, just to make sure. On the way there, she started this funny throat clearing thing that she was doing last night. It may be a signal that the cough is on the way back, so I’m glad we went in.
Twenty-three Euros later, we had a prescription for a cough medicine and some children’s Advil.
While picking up those things, I told the pharmacist that I have a small cold. She sold me some powder that you mix with hot water and drink… and recommended I do so close to already lying down because it will make you a wee bit sleepy.
With that warning in mind, I waited until Kaitlyn was in bed to try my medicine. What nasty crap! It tastes like… I don’t even know…. maybe hot lemon-lime drink. I tried adding honey which did nothing to improve the taste. Once it cooled off enough, I just chugged it the best I could to choke it down. It did the trick. Right about the time I was thinking that I was, indeed, feeling better, I fell sound asleep. And stayed that way through the night. Nyquil does the same thing. But it’s a lot easier to chug one little cap full than a mug full.