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Saturday, April 11, 2009

Confessions of a Germaphobe

The plague is going around.

Gwyneth picked up a stomach bug that has been giving her issues since last night. I think she's over it now, but my germaphobe instincts kicked into high gear today. Tricia can't afford to have stomach issues, and I really don't like being sick in that kind of way, especially on Easter weekend.

Our washing machine has been running all day, my hands have been scrubbed about 75 times, Gwyneth has received 3 baths, and we've gone through about 13 bottles of hand sanitizer and 4 containers of Lysol wipes.

If we make it through tomorrow, I think we can remove the full-body hazmat suits.

Nate

56 comments:

  1. I have got to get me one of those suits... especially since I don't like being sick in that way either.

    Get Well.

    ToOdLeS.ShEiLa

    ps. I am sure th sanitizer companies and LYSOL® appreciate your support.

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  2. I can understand that completely!! As a nurse I can tell you that you are doing the right thing.

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  3. I used to never get sick. It was rare that I might get a cold every few years. But now that one of my jobs is as a driver for 2 pre-teen kids, I'm sick all the time! They get strep throat...I get strep throat! It seems like every time I've just barely recovered, I catch what ever new virus they have. Oy! It's a cush job, but only if you don't count the sore throats, the coughs, and the sniffles! Kids are walking petri dishes, I swear!

    I hope you all feel better soon.

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  4. As far as I am concerned, you can not clean enough to keep from getting that bug. Totally worth all that sanitizer. It is the worst. I am praying you stay bug free. Yuk!

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  5. Just watch out about using too many antibacterial products (tho I assume you already know this) cuz if you do not expose yourself (and Gwyn--not too sure about Tricia-she seems like a "special case") to enough germs so that you can build your own antibodies--you will end up getting way way way sicker in the long run. Similar to using antibiotics every time you get a little bit sick.

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  6. I know all too well what you mean- I woke up with the flu this morning myself. Stay healthy and have a wonderful Easter!

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  7. Shhhhhh. we're just getting over it here.

    Happy Easter to all of you.

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  8. . . .With prayers that everyone is well tomorrow and able to enjoy celebrating our risen Lord!. . . Erika :)

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  9. There are some NASTY bugs out there this year...I think we've all become germaphobes to a certain degree.

    Here's hoping your hazmat suits work and everyone gets/stays healthy!!

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  10. Well, I can understand why you have an excuse for being a germophobe. But I will say that my own husband makes me crazy with the Lysol and pulling his shirt up over his nose and barking at people who sneeze in his vicinity. One time I glared at him and said, "We are not germs. We are your family." He has never forgotten. Now when he acts angry at us for being sick, I just have to give him the look.

    That said--hope Gwyneth is better and you guys stay well, and have a wonderful Easter!

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  11. Hope she feels better :)

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  12. I hope no one else in your family get's it!

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  13. You are too funny! But seriously, you can't be too careful when it comes to stomach bugs. Just the thought of them makes me ill. I never was a germaphobe but in the last year, I can truly say that I am especially after your elevator lesson. I carry purell everywhere and I open the doors with my sleeves. If I was in your situation with Gwyneth and Tricia, I may actually have a hazmat suit. Happy Easter! I hope it's a healthy one :)

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  14. Ahhh...hope everyone stays well!

    Happy Easter Lawrenson Family!

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  15. HAPPY EASTER LAWRENSON FAMILY AND MANY HEALTHY WELL WISH'S SENT YOUR WAY.

    PATRICIA

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  16. Well, I made it through my little one having the stomach bug and didn't catch it. No one in my home did, so it's IS possible to hand sanitize you hands enough not to catch it. :) Hope you're all feeling better soon!

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  17. I'm lucky enough to have 3 robust children but still fight of bugs and viruses every other day (and notifiable diseases...scarlet fever, i didn't know you could still get that!)
    With Tricia and Gwyneth's special health needs right now you can't be too careful.

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  18. You have my complete sympathy! We have battled the stomach bug several times this winter & every time, I was a maniac with cleaning EVERYTHING!!! Too bad you can't clean people with whom you come into contact. Or travel in a bubble. :-)

    Hope you guys have a healthy Easter!

    ~Sara in MD

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  19. I'm of "the eat a peck of dirt before you die" brigade, my sister is totally not!
    If we see someone so much as blow their nose she would be crossing the street!

    (PS I do understand your issues regarding Tricia'a health)

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  20. Lol. I have a similar confession. I'm totally petrified of that kind of sick too, so won't visit or go near anyone who has a bug of THAT kind.

    And yes, I carry around a wee bottle of hand sanitiser and if anyone gets ill I'll be bleaching the toilet at every use...

    Praying you and Tricia stay well!!

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  21. Clorox wipes are my best friend! Never travel anywhere without them. We wipe everything, from the shopping cart handles, to the swings at park to attempt to prevent germs ! Try to avoid hospital and doctor office waiting rooms with the baby if you can. Try to have someone watch her for you. Those places are petri dishes of infection!

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  22. Eat lots of garlic during cold/flu season! Garlic has natural antibiotic properties and help ward off colds. We add them to everything, from chicken to soups! Yummo!

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  23. Yes, living in a hospital for any amount of time will cause you to be a germaphobe, and casue a potentioal germaphobe to go to crazy new heights!
    Hope you all stay healthy! from one germaphobe to another:)

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  24. And eating lots of galic keeps everyone, sick or healthy out of your personal space.

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  25. From one germaphobe to another...I feel ya!

    Keep those gals safe, and yourself healthy to care for them. :) Great job!

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  26. PS, don't forget to lysol the air too. ;)

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  27. ooh man! and those suits are soo darn uncomfortable! :) hope all are well today!
    Happy Easter!
    j in so cal

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  28. Haha finally someone else that's just as "nutso" as me, LOL! Don't forget to get new toothbrushes too!

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  29. The stomach stuff is the worst and I am a freak about it if it happens to visit us. The bleach and purell come out in full force.

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  30. Be careful not to allow Gwyneth to get any of the hand sanitizer in her mouth. Hand sanitizer can cause intoxication in children. Get well Soon!

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  31. LOL you sound like we do when people are sick. With Emma's trach I can never be to careful. If it were up to me she would be in a bubble!

    We do have our other 2 kids trained well, we are all big hand washers and hand sanitizer users. I use clorox anywhere spray and lysol wipes like mad especially when someone is sick.

    Hope you all stayed germ free and got to enjoy church this morning

    Lori

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  32. dont forget to spray lysol on all door knobs, most germs are carried on people's hands.

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  33. You are lucky that you work for your dad in such a laid back ,relaxed setting where you can always bring your baby to work with you. Also, you seem to always get a lot of time off whenever you feel like or need to go an appt with Tricia. How blessed to have a job like that!

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  34. I'm there with you! One gets sick, out comes the cleaning supplies. With three kids who has time to be sick.

    p.s. I love when your dad posts comments.

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  35. @montgomery

    I am very blessed, but I'm actually working full-time (40+ hours)...any time I take off to care for my girls I make up at other times. It would be great, as you say, to take more time off "whenever I feel like it", but most of the time I spend away from work is scheduled around caring for Tricia and Gwyneth.

    And, I actually work for the 200 members in my church family...my father just happens to be 1 of those 200.

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  36. That is a nasty stomach bug! I had it last Wednesday then my husband and 2 of my kids got it on Friday and the baby got it again this past Friday! I'm hoping that thing is gone!

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  37. I hope she get's better. Vitamin C always helps in our house... lots of oranges and tablets! Get better soon Gwyneth!
    Love,
    Emily

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  38. Nate and Tricia,
    I don't know if you know of this, I found it on the WAVY TV-10 site tonight (easter sunday)...
    http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/health_wavy_virginiabeach_natoliMiracle_20090409

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  39. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  40. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  41. The link above is incomplete and won't copy/paste completely.

    Go to www.wavy.com
    Click on News. Then Local News and scroll down to Health.
    Click on Martina's Miracle.

    Story is about a 2nd year double lung transplantiversary.

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  42. Time for you to invest in a medical grade UV wand. I have a compromised immune system and I absolutely SWEAR by mine!!!!

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  43. i love the sanitize setting on our front loading washing machine...have used it when we have housed little ones in our home that, um, lets just say made messes. it may not be very PC in the energy conservation area, but it helps my mind.

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  44. LOL! Yeah...I never was a germaphobe until kids came along! Our first was sick every month during his first year of life. We figured out it was probably because he was a thumb sucker and would put this little thumb in his mouth after touching carriage handles at stores. Enter the second year of his life...Hand washing about 700 times a day! Poor kid is probably going to need some kind of therapy when he grows up!

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  45. Hope everyone stays well! Thinking of your family.

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  46. When Logan (a 23 weeker) was at Duke NICU for 6 months, we learned from his nurses,they do not wear their shoes home.!
    Now whenever anyone visits Logan now 4 years old(PRAISE GOD) they are asked to take off their shoes!!!!!!
    Think of all the 'germies' on the soles of shoes!
    Just a hint since Gwynth is spending time on the floor.
    Love and Prayers,
    Logan's Gramma Bunn,NC

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  47. Praying no one else gets ill.....

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  48. I would suggest that you keep Gywneth home instead of taking her along to Tricia's hospital appts. Lots of germs in hospital waiting rooms! Be safe and hope G gets better soon.

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  49. @rochellabronson

    That would be a great idea, IF Gwyneth didn't also have her own appointments most of the days Tricia had appointments. I can assure you that Gwyneth has yet to pick up any bug from a hospital waiting room...her sicknesses have come from being around family and friends.

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  50. Please don't laugh or make smart comments like once before, but if you can get tea-tree oil, and burn it in an oil burner, it's anti-viral and anti-bacterial, so if any air-bourne germs come in (even via's somebody's clothes) it will kill it.

    Used very effectively in classrooms and in houses for my friend's 6 year old daughter (going through chemo and obviously cannot afford to get any bugs).

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  51. Oh, been there done that!! I have Crohn's & my daughter was a 29 weeker. She's now 20 months, and we pretty much let-up on the germaphobe-business around 11 months when she was into everything!

    Hope you are all better soon!

    (And, I think they should give out coupons for Lysol and Germ-X when you leave the NICU - ya know, along with the formula coupons! :) )

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  52. I hope she is feeling better and that Tricia never came down with anything!

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  53. that's okay to be a germaphobe, especally with good reason. I'm a nurse so don't think I don't go through a ton of that stuff too. The night my son got sick while I was at work, I came home and lysol wiped everything we touch. It was insane, but nobody else got sick !!!

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