My child had swine flu
Posted: Monday, August 17, 2009 10:10 AM by Vidya Rao
Filed Under:
TODAY moms
From MaryAnn Zoellner, TODAY producer & co-author, TODAY'S MOMS: Essentials for Surviving Baby's First Year
It was May 22, the Friday before Memorial Day. I was sitting at my desk when I got the call from the doctor’s office that my 2-year-old, Arabella, was just tested for the flu virus and it came back positive: Influenza A − most likely swine flu. The reason they couldn’t say officially that it was swine flu is because only the CDC can determine that. My heart stopped.
Let me go back to the beginning: On Tuesday, Arabella and Zurielle, 4, both woke up with snotty noses. The next day, Zurielle slept until 9 a.m., which was odd. But when she crawled out of bed, she was fine. Arabella was another story.
Her snotty nose had developed into a slight fever and a horrible cough, but this was pretty typical for my daughter − she seemed to have a cough all winter long. So after two days of trying homeopathic methods to no avail, I thought we'd better go to the doctor before the holiday weekend.
Then I got the call from the doctor with the diagnosis. I can’t describe how I felt. I was crying and very emotional. I know it sounds ridiculous, but this was just days after a toddler died from swine flu in Texas. Arabella, like the child who died, has a weak immune system. The doctor put Arabella on Tamiflu and, as a precautionary measure, put Zurielle on medication as well. We quarantined ourselves for the entire holiday weekend. Thankfully, after a week, no one else in the family became ill and Arabella was back to her super-smiley, cheerful self.
I really panicked when I heard the words “swine flu,” but my advice for other parents is to know that even though it sounds awful and scary, so far swine flu has, for the most part, been very mild.
Here is the most basic advice: Wash, wash, wash your hands and your children's hands constantly! While swine flu is scary, seasonal flu is even more so, killing 35,000 every year. Chew on that bacon.
