My Brave Boy

When the scary possibility that my firstborn son may be sick presented itself the first thing I thought about was that I was relieved that it was him and not his younger brother. My youngest's tolerance for any discomfort or illness is extremely low (e.g. he simply won't sleep if he has a stuffy nose or is coughing) and he'll fuss and cry whenever he's uncomfortable in the smallest degree (he's got some mild sensory issues even, he cannot stand bad smells, being wet or dirty, or feeling pain). My eldest son, however, has always been an extremely brave and tolerant little boy, ever since he was a baby.


He was badly jaundiced soon after his birth and his little heels were cut multiple times to draw blood (he still has tiny scars there) and in the last times he didn't even cry -- he actually slept through it once, propped up on my shoulder. Often, while he wouldn't even cry when given his immunizations. Then when he was one he was hospitalized for wheezing ("reactive airway disorder") and he was a good trooper most of the time. I'll never forget the first time he had blood drawn for an annual check up at a local lab. He was three and he was so brave and didn't cry at all that the phlebotomist was extremely impressed (very different from his brother who screamed bloody murder every time). The few times he's had the stomach flu he has been very patient, taking the electrolyte solution every ten minutes for a couple of hours and coooperating with any treatments or medications he has to be given.

So, if worse comes to worse and he not only has to endure taking antibiotics for several weeks, but he comes down with symptoms even after treatment, I am sure that he'll take it all in stride.
Right now, though, I'm just praying a nd hoping that the "kryptonite" won't have that much of an effect on my Super(little)Man.