Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Fish and sicks

OK I am blaming the goldfish. My seven-year-old woke up about 6.30am and started puking. "Ah, the dawn chorus, " I thought. I was up anyway. I could not sleep last night waiting for someone to start retching (my five-year-old was sent home from school yesterday because he also felt ill.) It was not too bad, the puking only lasted till about 10.30am. I think it was the careful way I medicated with Lucozade. My husband is away - naturally. The children are sick - of course he is not here. He has some biological impulse to get on a train - I think he must be able to smell the germs on their hair. Still, I did not have to cope alone - help arrived mid morning and I eventually managed three whole hours of work. I even thought I might escape out to some fundraiser at the local nursery which has been arranged for weeks and which I was supposed to provide the quiches for. The only problem was my help got sick just before I managed to slide out the door and had to call her own father to drive her home. Now I too am feeling sick. I hope it is not what killed the goldfish - we buried one under the rose bush having kept his corpse for a while in the freezer hoping for a scientific breakthrough. About a week later, the second one died. We have not got round to burying him yet - he is in an Anthisan box, bottom shelf. The third one is still with us (in the aquarium that is, rather than the ice tray.) I am beginning to wonder whether it is something which has leapt across the species divide - you read about this sort of thing all the time. Like avian flu - with more scales and fewer feathers. If so, my prospects of survival cannot be good.

17 comments:

occasional northerner said...

It is some (bizarre) sort of divine judgement for your Tory vote coupled with Saturday's appearance in The Telegraph!

Mai-Britt Axelsen said...

"If life gives you scraps, make quilts!"
Well that is my version - you might have a go...... ;O)

Swearing Mother said...

You are so much nicer than I am re disposing of departed goldfish.

We just flushed them.

Unknown said...

Hope you are all marginally better. At least you only had a goldfish in the freezer, at one point we had 2 cats in the freezer and a labrador on the top (he was too big to fit in) Fortunately they were all buried in due course (with the help of a jcb in the case of the oversized lab). Unfortunately I forgot about the hamster that the Jack Russell "played with" and found him in the box in which he was reverently placed after the "great playtime of December 2007" under the bench in the courtyard .... nicely rotting in the loo roll in which he had been wrapped. He is now in some County Durham landfill
gillie at http://skybluepink.typepad.com

Mimi said...

Any sign of the "threadlike parasite"? mimi

Iota said...

Do you remember that swan corpse that had bird flu found in Cellardyke harbour in Fife? That was only just a hop away from you over the Firth of Forth. I wonder what dreadful chemicals they are pumping out into the Firth to make bird flu mutate into goldfish flu, and then able to affect humans too.

I do hope you all feel better soon.

Mya said...

Get well soon. We have all had it over here (but I'm sure you didn't catch it from us - we are a bit far away) - and if it's any consolation it passes quickly, and I managed to lose 2 kilos.

Why not save the goldfish for the book launch party? Wonderful paté for the canapés!

Mya x

Sarah said...

I think I've had some kind of mutation of this particular bug; I spent 3 days feelng sick, every time I ate, not so bad, but a monster headache had me crawling off to bed on Saturday afternoon.
Needless to say, the knock-on effect of missing a window to do some kind of work had wound me up like a spring.
Apparently it is something to do with anticipating pain,(a deadline approaches, I will be punished if I don't succeed;) rather than pleasure: a principal learnt, usually, in school.
Get well soon. x

Professional Mum said...

Was inspired by your posts to start blogging yesterday - and what a cathartic experience! I really enjoyed reading your thoughts, so thanks from the South!

Hope you feel better.

Pig in the Kitchen said...

I think Lucozade was a very good plan. Upped the blood sugar, probably re-introduced some salt back into their bodies, and ensured that the puke would be bright orange. And perhaps a bit fizzy.
Pigx
Hope you are feeling better. Could this be the life-enhancing illness you wished for?

Laura Jane Williams said...

I do not think I could put dead goldfish into my freezer. I know it is no different from a side of atlantic cod, but... ooooh I just couldn't!

wife in the north said...

re girl in a mask: I don't have any scruples about putting them in there, you just have to remember not to eat them

Unknown said...

Ah, Lucozade puke -we only had one session but never got the stains out of the carpet!
Hope you will all be better soon.

borderglider said...

Not to alarm you - but have you checked whether your drinking water tank - in the attic is lined with lead? I once had an aquarium in Edinburgh - and the fish kept dying - and I kept replacing them. The symptoms were that the fish 'lost control', could not swim properly and then died. Finally worked out that I had been filling the tank with water from the bath taps. When I checked the attic - there was a lead lined tank. Lead kills fish. It isn't too god for human brains either. I realise that with all your renovations you probably have a nice plstic tank. But just thought you should check - for the children's sake.

Carah Boden said...

God I hate vomit. Even my own children's which isn't very motherly. I was going to say, maybe you got the goldfish mixed up with the Captain Birdseye's at teatime, but I see you have already said it! The cat used to eat our goldfish which was one way of disposing of them I spose. Hope you're feeling bit better...
Fish pie anyone? (woah, pass the bucket)

Mopsa said...

You have discovered a new zoonose!

Priya said...

Was inspired by your posts to start blogging yesterday - and what a cathartic experience! I really enjoyed reading your thoughts, so thanks from the South!