A spoon full of sugar

Just a spoon full of sugar may make the medicine go down, but other aids to convalescence are less palatable.

Tom was ‘proper poorly’ after he got back from his school trip, he slept and slept for days, his Easter egg that was awaiting for his return remained unwrapped and uneaten (but it was circled regularly by the rest of us, but you can’t go nibbling on a the Easter egg of a sick child can you, I mean I wouldn’t stoop quite so low, would I?) Tom coughed and spluttered and ate nothing for nearly a week, the traditional ’sick room’ drink of Lucozade was rejected as was the trendier Lucozade Sports drink, nothing would tempt him

We went through days of ‘If your not better tomorrow, your going to the Dr’s.’ But the next day dawned and he seemed a bit better, but then only for a few hours later, he was rough again, or fast asleep; by which time all the days appointments at the doctors surgery had been bagged (in fairness to the surgery, if I had pressed the point he could have had an emergency appointment, but it wasn’t that he was getting worse, just not any better.) In the end I got a telephone consultation and they asked me to take him in to see a doctor, a chest infection was diagnosed and antibiotics prescribed, this worked a treat, it was not the taking of the medication that worked, but the thought of taking it, Tom was not impressed at the idea and he started to recovery quickly. In truth I think the infection had run its course and he was about to get better anyway; the antibiotics remain in the fridge untouched.

The upshot of Tom being ill is that he has lost weight, he was as skinny as a latt to start with, there is even less of him now, he needs feeding up. He’s working on it, The Easter egg is now consumed, along with a large tin of chocolate chip muffins he’s a boy on a mission; my mum tells me this is what he needs; Virol a preparation bone marrow ‘fat food’ for children and invalids.

I don’t fancy it myself nor does Tom, talking with a friend about how to feed Tom up, he told us as a kid (circa 1960’s) his mum used to ‘feed him up’ by making him drink milk into which was beaten a raw egg and fish roe. It obviously worked as my friend has grown up big and strong, not only that he can stomach absolutely anything. Kids today they don’t know how lucky they are.