When we have children, we come to expect that they are going to get sick from time to time. In fact, that expectation only grows when we send them off to school and they are exposed to every bug that goes around. Unfortunately, it isn’t only our children who pay the price, we pay the price as well and at times, the price is high.
When the little girl in the pictures below was playing with her cousin, she ended up in the hospital with a serious respiratory infection. Her cousin was sick and she passed it on. In an effort to spread an important message, she shared the story with others. Her message is making an impassioned plea: Please keep your sick kids at home so they don’t spread their illness.
“Please. If your child has a cold, or a flu, or an upper respiratory infection, please keep them home and take care of them.”
Those were the words of Laura Correada-Silva, a mother who was sharing her story as her 3 year old daughter was fighting an infection in the ICU. It was a strong viral infection, known commonly as RSV. According to the mother, her daughter caught the bug over Christmas when she was playing with her cousin, who had a lunch infection. “My brother presented her like, ‘Oh she has a lung infection but she shouldn’t be contagious,’” she said.
Chloe was up to date on her vaccinations but she suffered from asthma. Some children are able to handle RSV as if it were a bad cold but when the child has a pre-existing lung problem, it can be a serious problem. Shortly after she visited with her sick cousin, she developed a fever. They took her to the doctor and she got some antibiotics but it wasn’t enough. Her condition worsened and she ended up in the emergency room and eventually, the ICU.
Fortunately, Chloe is handling it well and will be released from the hospital soon. The point that is made by the mother, however, is important to understand. Even if you have something fun planned, please stay home with your sick kid. It can be tempting to see them acting “fine” and feel everything is ok but unless a doctor has told you they are not contagious, it could be a dangerous situation for other children.
We know that it can be difficult to miss work when you have a sick children and that isn’t what they are addressing. This was simply a social call, and those can be sacrificed.
So if you have a sick child, this mother would like you to consider staying home. It may be a boring evening but at least it won’t cause someone else to be in distress.
Via: Scary Mummy
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