I was SO looking forward to seeing my ENTIRE family. We were scheduled to spend three days between Christmas and New Year together.
All went well the first day. We had a professional photographer come out and take family pictures. Then we enjoyed turkey and dressing and shared Christmas presents.
The next day, Audrey woke up unable to breathe (the first bad sign). We tried our hand at golfing at a local run-down golf course. At least half of us had never golfed before. We pretty much had the place to ourselves, so we goofed around and had great fun carting around nine holes. Dad was by far the most improved. Once he got the hang of it, he whacked the balls down the fairway in an unorthodox, Happy Gilmore-style swing that served him well. Brendan and Josh kept up really well, and the guys got serious on the last hole, competing for bragging rights.
That evening, we switched into birthday mode, celebrating Dad's 70th, Chris and Christina's 40th, and Nate's 30th all at once. By then, Chris and Christina had decided that Audrey was coming down with the Croup, and needed to leave to see their preferred doctor in Houston. Shawn and Kim had to leave so he could get back to work. The numbers dwindled fast.
Next morning, Becca had a stomach bug. She couldn't keep anything down and couldn't stop even when there was nothing left. We took her to the clinic for anti-nausea meds and tried to keep her hydrated.
We left for the coast the next day and hoped we'd dodged the bug. We made it all the way to South Padre Island before we heard from Mom and Dad that Chris and Christina were ill in Houston, most of Kim and Shawn's family were down with it in Austin, Mom and Dad had a mild form in Bandera. Bill succumbed that night. Out of 16 people, five of us came out unscathed, although, I'm not sure whether Hannah's symptoms were from teething or virus.
Once Bill was back on his feet, he did some research to rule out food poisoning, considering time to sickness and how it spread. I was afraid I had made everyone sick with my tamales and chili. Mom was concerned about her food. Even so, I'm sure we shared it through chips and dips and communal fruits and veggies. He decided it was the Norovirus, unrelated to influenza and much more viral. It can only be killed with bleach.
We had a challenge in that we needed to isolate Bill while he was sick. It's not easy in an RV. He got the back bedroom and the bathroom pretty much to himself, and we kept cleaning as the illness progressed. We laundered and Lysoled and scrubbed out hands often. So far, Brendan and I have been spared, although I sort of thought it would be nice to have a stomach virus to kick-start my diet. But Bill says he wouldn't wish this think on his worst enemy, so I'll just lose weight the good old fashioned way.
