Despite my best efforts, these months always seem to be a shit storm of sickness. If Tim isn't sick with this cough that last literally forever and a runny/stuffy nose that he can't seem to actually blow into a tissue, then Anthony has a stuffed up face that he also can't seem to blow into a tissue. If Anthony isn't sick, then Molly has a sore throat and can't do voice lessons. If all the kids are actually ok (well, on the okish side), then I'm sick. Or Sam. And hell if we're ALL sick at the same time.
It doesn't even matter that we all wash our hands a million times, or don't touch our faces, or stay away from sick people, or take our vitamins, or use our homeopathic remedies, or diffuse germ killing and immune boosting oils, or use tissues to pick up pens to sign paperwork at the dr's office so you don't actually have to touch the pen, or clean the house with non-toxic chemicals and air the house out. It doesn't matter. The sickness finds us. It always does.
How about throwing a cold sore on one of the kids, just for fun, because that always makes things better. Maybe a rash on another kid that is very stress inducing and a headache in and of itself. Speaking of headaches, lets sprinkle some in there like confetti, because they're always needed to make life more interesting. Oh, and what about a bout of nausea and vertigo, accompanied with puking in a gallon size ziplock bag while driving 70 down the interstate (yes....this happened). A little conjunctivitis here or there. And, no lie, maybe one kid accidentally stabs themselves in the face with a fork? But you know what, good thing Sam got that vasectomy so we don't have to worry about adding any more kids into this sickness mess, am I right?
This is fun. I love January and February. What does March hold in store for us?
But really. Sam got a vasectomy this past Friday. That was a hard decision, but I think the right one. If we had more space and money, who knows.....but we don't, so 3 has to be it for us. I've kinda been a mess coming to terms with the reality of no more children in our future. That's a hard pill to swallow. I could probably ramble on and on about it, but I won't, at least not right now. And you know what, I don't appreciate being sent free samples of infant formula when there are clearly no more infants to be had around here. Thanks for that, universe. You're a funny one. Your timing is impeccable.
Anyway, the kids went to Grandma Cathy's for the night, and Sam and I enjoyed a night of junk food and binge watching Netflix....that eventually carried over for the whole weekend because, why not? I was sick (don't let the smile fool you) and Sam couldn't walk. Makes sense to just stay in bed and eat comfort food. *sigh*
Now, Anthony.....that poor boy. Never, in all my life, has a rash stressed me out so much and caused such a headache.
So here's a story for you. He got an awful rash. We, meaning us, his pediatrician, and his dermatologist, think it's from the high concentration of ammonium chloride that is in the cleaner being used to clean the wrestling mats. Are we 100% sure on this? Well, can you ever be 100% sure? So that's a no. But we have put so much thought into this and it is the only thing right now that makes sense. If, in the future, it is proved to be caused by something else, then I have no problem with eating humble pie. Who cares. All I care about right now is helping my son.
We think what's happened is the ammonium chloride has either built up in his system, or his skin has become sensitized to it due to coming in contact with it so frequently. Those two options would explain why he could wrestle for a few months before the rash appears. But now that he's had a bad reaction like this, we're wondering about it happening with less mat time and less system build up. And possibly even with a less concentration of it. In short, I wonder if it will happen sooner, and be a far worse reaction, next time he comes in contact with ammonium chloride.
Poor boy had to go to school looking like he was diseased. It was the worst. I wanted to keep him home, but missing school is hard on him. So he was a trooper and went to school, despite the rash.
Now, this is a huge problem for us. Anthony loves to wrestle, he loves his coach, and of course we want him to be able to continue! So this Mama needed to be a Mama and try to figures things out. Which totally made me want to vomit because I don't like rocking the boat and thinking that people could potential be annoyed by the situation and tell us to fuck off. My worries aside, we checked into the cleaner that was being used and called the company who makes it and we do believe that it is not the correct cleaner to be used on wrestling mats. I suppose it could be used, but in my own personal opinion, an industrial floor cleaner is not appropriate for wrestling mats where sweaty children will continuously have skin contact with it, especially their faces. So I wanted to see who I could talk to about this and hopefully work towards a change.
I was in the school one day last week, dropping Anthony off from his dr. appointment, so I simply asked who I could talk to about the cleaner. I briefed the ladies in the office with our story, and one of the ladies briefed this other guy in a different room who I don't even know who he was. I was then told that that guy would talk to another guy and they would get back to me. Ok.
No one ever got back to me. So I thought hmmmmm. Ok. Waiting game. But at least I asked who I could talk to. I'm being proactive for my son. Guess I'll keep waiting. And in the mean time, Anth can't wrestle because we can't take that risk.
But apparently there was some action and the cleaner was changed to one with a significantly lower percentage of ammonium chloride. We only know this because Anthony's coach text us. I wish I could have actually talked to someone about it, to reassure whomever that we're not assholes trying to cause a ruckus, but I wasn't given that opportunity. In any case, I'm grateful.
Now, just because the cleaner has been changed, doesn't mean our problem is solved. I wish it were that easy. We're incredibly thankful a new cleaner is being used, as overall it's just better for all the children anyway. But now that Anthony has had a bad reaction to the ammonium chloride, it could happen again, even with using a cleaner that has a significant lower percentage of it (most of the mat cleaners used everywhere has some percentage of ammonium chloride in them). So we'll honestly just have to wait and see. We bought a special wrestling barrier foam that we can put on his face prior to wrestling. I hope this will help. It's all we can do really. It's not like he can wear a ski mask while wrestling! If the rash appears again, despite our efforts, we will unfortunately have to call it quits on wrestling.
But I don't think we're wrong......did you know lysol also has ammonium chloride in it? I didn't. I NEVER use lysol.....until this weekend when everyone was sick and I felt like screaming and wanted to clean every surface of the house so I sprayed literally everything with it. I should have looked, darn it. Yes, that little bit of lingering lysol on the beds and couches caused a rash on Anthony's face and ears. No where near as bad as pictured above, thank God, but still there. Mama of the year right here. So, hahahaha, after missing like 2 weeks of wrestling due to his rash, after finally clearing up with liquid steroids (UGH!), he couldn't wrestle last night because of his new rash from the freaken lysol.
We are winning over here.
And yes, because I know you're wondering, Anthony was also the one who stabbed his face with a fork.....because he was laughing way too hard, like seriously doubled over with laughter, over something Molly had said, right onto a fork. People, I can't make this stuff up. He just can't seem to stop messing up his face! Poor, sweet boy.
I'm pretty sure the stress of everyone else being sick and all these other fun issues is what caused me to get sick. I've totally got the February blues.
It can only get better now, right? Is it April yet? Please pray we have no more issues with this rash. Anthony would be heart broken if he couldn't wrestle anymore.
With love,
Mama Hauck
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