Hand, Foot and Mouth

On Tuesday kindy rang to tell me I would have to come and get Lily because she had a few little blisters on her feet and one on her hand. They thought she might have hand, foot and mouth (not the cow version – the children’s version). They had sent another baby home that day whom they were positive had it. It wasn’t looking good! I jumped straight on the phone and made an urgent doctor’s appointment. Luckily for me they were accommodating.

Being unable to get a hold of Trevor (close to his finishing time – but that’s a whole other story) I had to pack up, yet again, and go and get my baby. Lucky for me I have a reasonable employer who is happy (for want of a better word) to let me leave and work from home when I need to. I know that is neither here no there when talking sick kids but it does make things a little less stressful and easier to manage for me.

When I picked her up she was sleeping soundly. Meanwhile, the carers in the babies’ room were busily disinfecting and cleaning madly in the hope they could curb some outbreak. They showed me Lily’s feet – there was a grand old total of 3 blisters on her feet, nothing in her mouth and I could not see anything on her hands. Nevertheless, they thought she had it and who was I to argue.

My visit to the doctor shed no light. The doctor could not confirm whether she was infected at all, so we had to make another appointment for Wednesday and watch over night to see if she had developed any more blisters.

So we watched...and we watched...and NOTHING!

Not a single new blister – nothing. We thought for sure she would get the all clear. To our surprise, a different doctor on Wednesday thought she might have a mild case and therefore she would have to stay at home until the blisters dried up.

The blisters are minute – that is the two she has (one on each heel) are barely noticeable. It's amazing how two doctors can make completely separate diagnosis’. We have made another appointment for her on Saturday to get the all clear. Finger’s crossed for then.

In the meantime, we have been lucky and managed to juggle Lily’s ailment so I don’t have to have yet another day off work. My mother in law had her this morning until she had to go to work. Then it was off to visit Nanna at work for an hour or two until Daddy finished work at lunch time. The same process tomorrow...I have no doubt Lily loves all the attention.

Poor little Lily seems to pick up more bugs then what Byron ever did. She seems more susceptible. I wonder if she will grow out of it sooner rather then later. Byron is a trooper now. He has had barely a day off kindy through illness this year, which for a working mother is fantastic...makes things much easier to manage.