Now that we’ve been sick for a solid week or so (and what a week its been!) I feel like I can identify the exact strains of this virus that we have. Be prepared. I’m a doctor, after all.
Dekker. Dekker has traditional Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. He has spots on the palms of his hands, soles of his feet, and around his mouth. THANK GOD he is in zero discomfort or pain, and is just going about life as though he’s not sick at all. This is my favorite kind of HFMD.
Laela had MD. Mouth Disease. Or I suppose, Throat Disease. She only had sores in her throat. I’ll admit, we were never able to see them and confirm their presence, but I choose to believe that is the only reason why she coughed blood up on that one occasion, and also fought food and water for those days. Laela likes to do things differently, so instead of the traditional HFMD, as modelled by her older brother, she rocks MD instead.
Then there is Solly. He has EMD. Any guesses? Along with his case of MD, he got bumps and spots on his ears. Crusty-topped little zitty spots. Because why wouldn’t HFMD be on ears??
Why not, you ask? Because it can be anywhere. And everywhere!!!
Rowan. Rowan goes big or goes home. That is why he broke us in harshly with a solid case of IHFMD. Ironic Hand Foot and Mouth Disease is a tricky one, as it presents nothing like traditional Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. It does this by not appearing on the hands, feet, or within the mouth. His strain was the hardest to identify, but also the first, so its been simpler to identify the other strains as the week has rolled on.
While I appreciate my four children teaching me about four different (but the same) viruses all at once, I could have just asked my friends about it, or our doctor, or read about it online if I really needed this much info. I did not require this much information at all, but I suppose now that I have it, I can relate to a large group of people who have experienced any one of these individual strains.
All of this being said, my particular strain (Mouth Nose Sideburn Disease) appears to be on the way out. I say this hesitantly but very hopefully. I don’t know if I can give credit to inevitable healing with time, essential oils, or the prayers that have been prayed over us. Probably all three. I hope I am actually healing, and am not just numb to everything, thanks to the pain medicine I have to take in order to function and be around my family. Either way, I’ve felt reasonably well today. Praise God!
Now we wait and see how the next couple of days go. I don’t really know the rules about when to send Dekker back to school. Any tips? His spots appeared Thursday morning, but he’s never scratched them, fevered, complained about them at all! He is not acting sick, but obviously just had traditional HFMD, as I mentioned above. If you have any expertise on the matter, don’t hesitate to chime in! He would go back to school on Tuesday, if all went well.
Thanks, once again, for everyone’s care and concern for our family <3 Its helped me feel less crazy. Its always nice to know we have people in our corner. We all really appreciated all of you!