Malladies

A couple of weeks ago, we all had an annoying cold that lingered a bit but was ultimately overshadowed by the Great Stomach Virus of 2012. We had almost forgotten about the cold until, last Saturday, Dave started to feel a little woozy. This didn't stop him from spending the day in a frigid lake pushing and pulling to remove dock parts from the water, and on Sunday, things were worse. Dave spent a couple of extra hours in the supine position, and when he finally tried to get up, his stomach betrayed him. He felt a little better after this but had a feeling of water in his ears and extreme vertigo for the rest of the day. 

This dizzy state continued into Monday, and finally, on Tuesday, Dave saw an ENT doctor who diagnosed him with labyrinthitis. It's a real thing. Apparently, his inner ear became infected and inflamed from the cold virus. Thus, the vertigo. Dave's lucky because 50 percent of cases of labyrinthitis are associated with hearing loss, and all tests show that Dave has near perfect hearing (which came as somewhat of a surprise given the frequency with which he does not respond to my direct questions).

Dave's unlucky, though, because there's no treatment and symptoms won't subside for 8 to 10 weeks. EIGHT TO TEN WEEKS! We're talking about 8 to 10 weeks of dizziness until his brain adjusts to the new level of functionality in his ear. That's just crazy to me. 

One week has almost gone by, and I do have to say that Dave seems a little better. He doesn't throw up each morning and fell over just once yesterday. Still, I feel pretty sorry for him. So sorry that I've been addressing all of the night-time noises from the toddler. 

But, between you and me, I don't have eight more weeks of that in me. Maybe one or two. Max.