Chicken pox (2007-05-30)

(Originally posted on 30 May 2007.)

This morning I had barely gotten in to work when the phone rang. The phone display read VM School. The voice of the administrator greeted me, then said ‘I’m sorry to say but Giggles has a case of chicken pox. She needs to go home."

Yikes! Last night she’d had a bunch of itchy red spots, but I dismissed them as mosquito bites received when we were at the playground for picnic supper. (Even though there were quite a few and some were in odd place for mosquito bites, like under clothing.) Giggles had said “Mommy, it’s chicken pox” but I had assured her that no, it wasn’t. After all, she’s had the chicken pox vaccine and that should protect her against getting them, right? “Well, no,” the administrator said, “not completely, though with the vaccine it keeps the outbreak to a mild case.” But now the spots weren’t just red and itchy, now they were starting to break open. A case of pox indeed.

I called my good friend L, who has helped us out in a pinch on occasion before and who takes Giggles regularly once a week, but she was available only in the afternoon. So I headed off to the school, picked up Giggles and we went home where, after turning her into a pink polka-dot girl (with Calamine lotion) she watched a movie (she was sick, after all, and that’s what you do when you’re sick).

(Giggles with good friends Cheerful and L, at her birthday picnic on May 21st - she's 7!!!)





While Giggles watched the movie, I took the opportunity to take some pictures of Poppet to send in a package to Ethiopia, but more of that in another post.

After movie we did a bit of homework (math – not her strong point) and had a bite of lunch. Then I took her over to L’s house for the afternoon, with strict instructions that she was to finish her phonics homework first, before doing anything else, and no more movies as one is enough for one day, even when you’re sick!

She’ll be home again tomorrow, and then comes the weekend. We’ll see what it’s like Monday morning, but seeing as the outbreak is mild, I hope she’ll be ready to go back to school!