It’s been a challenging week as a mummy, ever since both the girls came down with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) earlier this week. It didn’t help that I had a new boss who started on Monday thus I could not take leave just yet, plus Nick was away in Korea for a couple of days in between.
We still have no idea how they might have contracted it, I’m sure Sasha got it from Nat but Nat hadn’t been in contact with any other kids in the previous 2 weeks except for Gigi who was away in Perth for half that time and there were hardly any visits to the playground.
So it had to be her toddler gym class which she attended on 31 Aug. There were a number of trial participants at the last session so the class size was double the usual, plus normally I am diligent with the sanitizer use after class, but that particular day, the pump wasn’t working so I blame myself for not sanitizing Nat’s hands. No excuse since we also carry our own sanitizer around.
Anyway, it all started on Monday when Mummy called to say both girls felt warm. I thought it might have been teething issues and for Natasha, the after-effects of her jab on Saturday.
However Nat had no appetite the whole day and her fever hit a high of 39.1 degrees. When she puked for the second time that day, Nick and I brought her to KKH immediately as she also refused to take paracetamol at home. We didn’t have to wait long and the initial diagnosis was Herpangina, as she had no other symptoms except for nausea and high fever and the beginning of ulcers in her mouth.
A suppository was given to her to bring the fever down, she didn’t protest at that. However we had a hard time persuading her to let the nurse stick a plastic bag to her bum to collect a pee sample but eventually she relented though she was shaking with fear. From then on, we just waited for her to pee. There were a few false alarms, she rather enjoyed toying with us! Each time we went to the changing room to check, she would get Nick’s attention upon her return by loudly saying, “Daddy! I’m baaack”.
We were also supposed to give her the electrolyte solution provided but knowing she hates it from past experience, we bought coconut water from the vending machine. She bounced around the waiting area, playing with her shoes and socks, taking her own temperature and lying on me once she got tired.
Finally she peed, though only a very small sample was collected as the rest leaked. But it was enough. The nurses tested and said there was a possibility of a urine infection and they sent it back to the lab to reconfirm. Had to wait almost another hour for that and eventually the result was negative so it was back to suspected Herpangina or early stage HFMD. They gave us paracetamol and ibuprofen plus additional fever suppositories and an oracort cream for the ulcers.
On Tuesday, rashes started appearing on Nat and so I knew it was HFMD. Sasha’s fever was also persistent and since she was already sick, we decided not to separate them. I took urgent half-day while Swana scrambled to find alternative babysitters for Gigi for the rest of the week. I spent 3 hours on Tuesday night scratching Nat’s feet from 11 pm – 2 am. Nick was feeling the beginnings of a cold and quarantined himself overnight in my purple room.
On Wednesday, Sasha’s fever was still up and down. Nick was already in Korea but calling home every now and then. When I got home from work, I had to split my time between the 2 bubs as they were taking turns to have tantrums. It was a tad chaotic from 7 pm – 1am but I survived!
Knowing Nick wouldn’t have peace of mind till we brought Sasha to the doctor, Ma went with Kevin and Wendy instead as Nat was being super-clingy with me. The clinic was about to close but agreed to see Pumpkin since she was so young. And, HFMD was confirmed for her as blisters were starting to appear on her toes and elbows and she had an ulcer in her mouth.
Wednesday was a looooong night. I had both babies with me and had to remember what medication to give who and what time. Same went for Thursday and last night. It was norm to sleep at 2am, and wake up at 3am (from Nat’s tossing and turning) and again at 5am to feed both of them milk, then again at 7am to administer anti-viral meds for Sasha. And then at 8am I had to get ready and go to work. Though Ma stayed over, Nat preferred me in the absence of Nick. Also I didn’t want to offload Pumpkin to Wendy because she deserved my attention too.
Nick wasn’t of much help when he got home Thursday night, he had a full-blown flu and is minimising his contact with the kids the whole long weekend. However I made him babysit last night while attending Nantha’s ROM and this afternoon during the kids’ naps when I went to town to pay for Ma’s upcoming Siem Reap trip.
The worst of it is over, just have to wait for everything to dry up now and disappear so we can be sure they are no longer contagious. I dread to think about what they’ll pick up once they hit pre-school!
