By the time Kelsey had returned from the store, both invalids had found their way back to bed. The house quiet, Kelsey put away groceries and started fixing a pot of chicken soup. Or, as her mother had called it, Jewish penicillin. Once the soup was made, she fixed up a packet of Jello, separated that into small bowls, and put them in the fridge to jell.

I’ve got 2 patients, she thought to herself. Guess this is my sick ward for the next few days. I need to make sure that Mitch calls in sick for the rest of the week, if he hasn’t already done so. Then she started forming a game plan for the next few days. Okay, temps every 4 hours, Tylenol suppositories as needed. Enema for fever over 102, and IV fluids if they aren’t pushing fluids. Zofran for nausea as needed. Anything else? She couldn’t think of anything else, but knew Mitch would direct beyond that if she needed direction. She glanced at the clock. It’s been over 4 hours since the last set of vitals. Best get those done.

Kelsey made her way to the exam room and grabbed a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, pulse ox, thermometer with probe covers, a tube of lube, gloves, Tylenol suppositories, a couple vials of Zofran and some syringes in their packaging. She put everything in a small storage tub and carried it first to her bedroom, where Mitch slept. She set the tub of supplies on the nightstand and shook him awake.

“Mitch? I need to get some vitals, hon. Let’s get those bottoms down.”

Mitch rolled over to see the no-nonsense look on his wife’s face, then rolled back over onto his stomach. He shimmied his PJ bottoms down so she could access his bottom.

Pulling on a glove, Kelsey lubricated the thermometer with lube, separated his buttocks, and inserted the thermometer deep into his rectum. “How are you feeling?” she asked, holding the thermometer in place while resting her hand on his buttock.

Mitch felt the cool of the lube as the thermometer made its way inside his butt. “Hot and stomach is queasy.” He heard the thermometer beep and felt it being removed from his backside. “How high is it?”

“You’re at 101.9 F. Let’s do some Tylenol.” Kelsey unwrapped a couple of suppositories and inserted them in her husband’s bottom. “Hopefully those will help that temp go down some. You can pull up your pants.” She snapped off her glove and headed for their bathroom to throw it in the trash.

“You said your stomach was queasy. Do you want a dose of Zofran?”

Mitch shook his head. “No, I think I’m okay for now. I might need some before I try to eat anything substantial, though.”

“Did you remove your IV? You might want me to go ahead and give you a dose IM if you did.”

Mitch held out his arm. “I had Meghan heplock it when she removed the fluids. Figured it might come in handy between now and getting well.” Kelsey nodded. “Have you checked on Meghan yet?” he asked.

“No, I stopped here first. I’m keeping a vital sign log on both of you. I’ll let you know after I go check on her. You continue to rest for a bit while I do so, and then I want both of you in the kitchen to try to get something on your stomachs. I’ve made soup and Jello, and stocked up on crackers.”

Mitch grimaced, but nodded acquiescence. “Yes, Nurse Branston.”

Kelsey picked up her tub of supplies and knocked on Meghan’s door. She heard a faint “Come in” followed by the sound of retching. Kelsey opened the door and set her tub of supplies on the bathroom vanity. “Guess this answers the question of how are you feeling. Let me get some Zofran into you.”

Kelsey drew up a dose of Zofran and inserted it into Meghan’s heplock. “We’ll give that a few minutes to kick in, and then see about some vital signs, okay?”

Meghan nodded, looking miserable. After a few minutes though, she got up off the floor and headed for the sink. She washed her hands and face and rinsed out her mouth. Drying her hands and face with a towel, she motioned towards the bedroom.

“On the bed, bottoms down,” Kelsey instructed. Meghan climbed back into bed, lay down on her right side, and shimmied down her PJ pants and panties. Kelsey lubricated the thermometer, raised Meghan’s left buttock, and slid the thermometer inside her bottom. She saw Meghan shiver as she waited for the thermometer to register. It beeped, and she slid it back out. “Still pretty elevated sis. 102.3 F.”

Kelsey popped in a couple of suppositories and helped her sister pull up her clothes. “I want to get a blood pressure on you, too. And then I’ll talk to Mitch about that fever.” She took Meghan’s blood pressure. “Not bad. 102/76. Are you doubling up on your meds?”

Meghan nodded. “Dr. Woodruff said to double up this week.”

“I’ve got some soup made, and some Jello. Why don’t you go put a little something on your stomach,” Kelsey directed, packing things back into her supply tub.

Meghan wasn’t too keen on food, but knew her sister was right. She tugged on houseshoes, wrapped her blanket around her and headed for the kitchen. Mitch was already seated at the kitchen counter, wrapped in his own blanket.

“Come have a seat. You look as miserable as I feel,” he commented.

Meghan joined him, settling on one of the bar stools and arranging her blanket around her. “If I could get my stomach to settle down, I think I’d feel better. And you don’t look too hot yourself,” she replied.

Kelsey joined them. She handed a syringe of Zofran and a saline flush to Meghan. “Would you medicate Mitch for me while I get soup heating? Want some Jello?”

Meghan accepted the syringes. “I’d rather tackle some Jello first, please.”

Kelsey nodded and turned towards the fridge. Meghan turned to her brother-in-law. “Your heplock, Sir.”

Mitch held out his arm to her, and she administered the Zofran, following with the saline flush. “There you go. Hopefully we can both be good patients for the nurse and eat a bit.”

Kelsey retrieved the used syringes and threw them in the trash. She set a cup of Jello in front of Meghan and a spoon. “What do you want, hon? Jello, or just some crackers?” she asked Mitch.

Mitch sighed. “I guess I’ll try some Jello too.” He thanked her when she set a cup in front of him. He and Meghan slowly ate on the Jello while Kelsey reheated the pot of soup on the stove. She ladled cups full of the hot soup and set one in front of each person, joining them on Mitch’s other side with a cup of her own. They passed around a sleeve of Saltine crackers.

Once everyone had eaten as much as they could stomach, Kelsey gathered up the dishes, placing them in the sink. The pot of soup went into the refrigerator for later. Kelsey sighed and looked at her family. “Both of you are dealing with significant fevers. I’m pulling rank and going to enact Mitch’s orders for bringing down a temp over 102.”

Mitch made to protest, but shut his mouth at her look. “Yes, Nurse Branston.”

“Okay, both of you to the exam room. Once there, bottoms off and kneeling on all fours on an exam table, please. We’ll get both of you done as quick as possible so you can go rest again.” Kelsey was very no-nonsense as she said this, fixing both of them with a look that said she wouldn’t accept no for an answer. So Mitch and Meghan obediently trooped to the exam room. Mitch settled on the exam table in the middle of the room, and Meghan the table against the wall.

Soon, Kelsey had full enema bags hanging from the 2 IV poles in the room. Mitch and Meghan were naked from the waist down and in position, awaiting their treatment. Kelsey started with Meghan. She took her temperature – 101.9 – before inserting an enema nozzle in her sister’s bottom and starting the enema to slowly fill her.

While Meghan was filling, Kelsey approached Mitch and took his temp. “You’ve climbed to 102.2, Mitch.” She lubed up the nozzle attached to his bag and inserted it. She unclicked the clamp, and water started entering his colon.

Leaving her husband with water flowing in, Kelsey returned to her sister. She helped her survive through the cramps, clamping the bag as it drained empty. “I need you to hold this 10 minutes, sis.” Kelsey set the timer and left it where her sister could watch if she wanted. “Let me go check on Mitch.”

Kelsey returned to her husband. The bag had run empty, and Mitch had already clamped it shut. “How long?”

“Give it 10 minutes. Think you could make it to our room to expel so Meghan can have this bathroom?” Kelsey asked.

Mitch nodded. ‘Yeah, I’ve more experience holding it than she does. Could you go ahead and remove the plug? I’ll manage okay until time to go expel.”

Kelsey removed the nozzle from her husband’s bottom, patted him tenderly, and returned to her sister’s side, switching gloves as she headed across the room. She glanced at the timer. “You’re doing great, sis. Another couple minutes and you can go expel.”

Meghan nodded, trying to focus on something other than the timer and the urge to expel. “I’m hanging in there. How’s Mitch doing?”

Kelsey smiled. “He’s being a champ, just like you are. You should both be done in a few minutes.” Meghan’s timer went off. “Let me slip that nozzle out, and you can head for the bathroom.” Kelsey removed the nozzle in Meghan’s rectum, helped her sister down, and pointed to the bathroom. “Go on!”

Meghan made the dash for the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Kelsey removed the bag from the IV pole and took it to the sink. Mitch’s timer chimed, and with a wave he too took off for a bathroom. Kelsey got both bags and nozzles cleaned up and set out to dry. Temp checks when they get back, and Tylenol, she thought. She pulled out the supplies she’d need and laid them out on the counter, easily accessible. She sat down on the rolling stool and set about to wait for them to be done.

Mitch was the first to return to the room. Kelsey gestured to the exam table. “On your tummy, please. I want to do a follow-up temperature.” She pulled on gloves as Mitch dutifully lay down as directed. She lubricated the thermometer and inserted it gently into his rectum. At the beep, she removed it. “Looking better – you’re down to 100.8. Let’s do some Tylenol while you’re in position.” She unwrapped a couple of suppositories and administered them. “You can get dressed while I wait for Meghan.”

Mitch pulled his underwear and housepants back on while Kelsey cleaned the exam table and changed out the paper. Meghan finally appeared from the bathroom. “Where do you want me, Kelsey?” she asked. Kelsey gestured to the table Meghan had been lying on before. “I want to get another temperature before you get dressed.” Meghan nodded and laid down on her side, facing the wall. She felt her sister’s hand raise a buttock and the cool lube as the thermometer entered her rectum. It finally beeped and the thermometer was removed. She felt the suppositories being introduced into her bottom as her sister spoke.

“Well, you’re down to 101.4, but I think you still need some Tylenol. There. You can get dressed now.”

Kelsey removed her gloves as Meghan got up and started dressing. Kelsey cleaned off the table with disinfectant. Meghan, now dressed, wrapped herself up in her blanket. She made her way over to Mitch. “So that’s your fever protocol, huh?”

He gave a small smile. “Yeah, pretty much. Any fever gets Tylenol suppositories to help it go down, and fevers over 102 get an enema to help with cooling procedures.”

“How frequently do you give the enemas?” she asked, curious.

“Just one a day, usually. Of course, a sudden spike in fever may warrant more than one per day, to try to lower the temp. But generally it’s just once a day.” He sighed. “When I was growing up, if you were sick you got an enema every day until you got well, fever or no.”

Meghan frowned a bit. “A bit overkill, perhaps?”

Mitch shrugged. “Maybe. But then they’re saying that a lot of health has to do with gut biome nowadays. So maybe the enemas are a good thing and science just hasn’t quite figured out how to explain that yet.”

“Well, I’m hoping that the Tylenol will help keep my temperature down enough I won’t need another one,” Meghan stated. “I’m not the most fond of them.”

Mitch nodded. “I know. But you’re getting them for health reasons. I hope you understand that.”

“Oh, I do. And that’s why I’m letting you guys give them to me.” Meghan sighed, shook her head, and looked at Kelsey, who was walking over to join them. “I’d really like to go lie down somewhere.”

Kelsey nodded. “I know these kind of take it out of you. Feel free to go back to bed, or join us in the living room.”

Meghan yawned. “I think I’m going to go back to bed for a while.”