Before I gain a nasty reputation as one of those perform-or-die cheer moms, let me state that  I in no way coerced Gia into competing while recovering from the flu.  She made the decision to compete, flu or no flu.

I picked Gia up early from school on Wednesday, not surprised to get the call that she was running fever.  She’d had a cough and scratchy throat.  With cheer performance on Thursday and competition on Saturday, missing these events was all her 10 year old mind could think about.  She was worried about letting down her team.

She was obsessed with monitoring her temperature, and when the Tylenol or Ibuprofen was in full effect and the fever under control, she declared she felt “fantastic,”  insisting that she could not miss cheer competition because her team needed her.  What courage! Honestly, she did not seem like a child who would later test flu- positive.  And she had been vaccinated.  She took a long nap Wednesday afternoon and I noticed dark , purplish circles forming beneath her eyes.

I kept her home on Thursday, having to miss work since Vonnie was out of town at a conference.  Gia reached for the thermometer, first thing.  I knew she had fever before she ever pulled the probe away from her mouth.  The rapid, frantic beeping of the thermometer warned us that the number was higher than the normal range.  Her temp was 101.1.  She stared, incredulous.  I watched disbelief morph into anger, then her little face crumpled and she looked at me with tears already spilling down freckled cheeks.

“I asked God to make me better last night!  I prayed to him to help me and I’m still sick!  He didn’t listen to me!”

Her disappointment was heart-breaking.  And I felt bad for God also.  She hardly gave Him enough time to work!  I tried to explain that God does listen but does not always provide answers immediately or in the way we expect.

This was the day we learned she had the flu.  I expected drama and major tears upon her hearing the verdict of the test.  None.  Gia was eerily quiet as we left the pediatrician’s office, speaking only after we were walking through the parking lot to the vehicle.

“Well, that was a surprise.”

Me:  “What’s that, sweetheart?”  I was furiously texting Vonnie to tell him the news, my mind racing through all the people I needed to message:  mom, my boss,  Gia’s teachers and coaches.

Gia:  “I didn’t think I had the flu.  I feel fantastic.  I don’t feel sick.”

I guess she didn’t remember the vomiting and 2 and a half hour nap  (read: coma) from the day before.  Kids amaze me with their resilience!   Obviously, no virus was gonna squash her determination to compete!

We bought medications:  Tamiflu and Augmentin (an antibiotic because bacterial pneumonia’s the most common secondary complication of having the flu), and we headed home to rest and medicate.  She insisted that she would compete  on Saturday, saying she would do anything at all to make it happen.  Her dedication is remarkable!

Friday

Gia slept until 9:15, almost 11 hours.

Me:  “How ya feelin’ this morning?”  The purple circles were less purple today.

Gia: ” Ready to compete.  I can’t wait til tomorrow!  Hand me that thermometer, please mom?

I touched her forehead and knew immediately that she was fever-free.  I told her this but gave her the thermometer anyway.  Her temp was 97.4!  I will never forget the look of joy and excitement on her face that morning.  All was right again in her little world.  It made me happy to see her happy.  She grinned at me and said (somewhat triumphantly), ” I’m not missing a competition- unless I have Ebola!”

I pray it doesn’t come to that!   But if it did, Ive no doubt Gia’s fortitude would carry her through the situation with aplomb.  I’m so very thankful for her strength and courage, her kind and caring coaches and teammates.  Gia, along with her team, pulled out a great performance and placed first in the competition!  Gia: 1, flu virus: 0.

“Courage is the spirit which enables one to face challenges with confidence and resolution.”

6th tenet of taekwondo

#spirit #cheer #tkd