Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease just came belting through our house. Now we’ve recovered I wanted a record on the crazy few days we’ve just experienced.
I think it had been brewing for a few weeks, Barney had been a little off colour and more tempremental than usual. By Friday 22 September he had a few spots appearing on his chin but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
His sleep was more distrubed than usual that night, but that was nothing new. Calpol helped him get a few hours sleep. Mummy, not so much. He woke on Saturday with more spots over his chin area but I put it down to his teeth. But this was worse than usual. By mid-morning he was curled up asleep on me, worsening by the hour. It was unusual for him to sleep on me and from this point forward, for most of the day, he cried. Real tears as I call them. I tried all I could to ease his discomfort. We had some smiles after a dose of calpol and a walk in the fresh air but I knew it wouldn’t last. I held him in bed around 4pm and his tempreture was through the roof. Hubby was on late shift all weekend which was hard going, so I made the call to take our poorly bear to the hospital doctor oncall. By this point his face was raw with spots and he looked more like an adolescent teenager that an 8 month old baby. He was upset, lathargic and a completely different baby. He had been off food for a little while and was extremly thirsty. He screamed the doctor’s room down… what was happening to my poor baby! He was diagnosed with a viral infection and given meds.
A poignent memory that will always stick with me that weekend was his need for closeness. It was around 10pm and he lay in bed with me in the darkness. He had started his antibiotics at this point. I lit up the ceiling with his Bumblebee star projector. I spent the next hour watching the stars with him, counting them and talking through the colours as the lights changed against our normally white walls. For that moment, bear and I could of been anywhere in the world. He stared at the ceiling, followed my fingers touching the stars and listening to me count. After a while he rolled over silently and closed his eyes. It was such a simple moment where for the first time in 24 hours he lay still, out of discomfort and at ease – a simple moment that will stay with me forever 💙
By Sunday he was much better in himself, the spots were still very visible and almost looked worse than the day previous. He was well enough to go to L’eree for lunch, I needed out of the house and to eat! In your children’s time of need you soon forget to eat, and the toast I’d lived on that weekend just didn’t cut it! I took him to our family doctor on Monday who confirmed it was hand, foot and mouth.
The spots have taken sometime to disappear entirely and he still has the remains of the virus on his arms.
He’s up to his usual antics now, and it’s so good to have our bear back!
Monday 19 September 2017.
One Mum on a Rock 
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