A Pox On Her!

Nearly everyone I’ve spoken to about Amelie’s recent childhood sickness delivers the same line, “It’s better to get it when they’re young.” And there seems some truth in the saying. On Thursday night we took Amelie to the doctors. We noticed the day before a collection of red spots on her back. We’d just picked her up from Nursery and because Amelie is a creature of routine, every evening she must give her “previous” care-worker a hug before leaving. It was during this Amelie’s t-shirt rode up, revealing to us the first of the spots. Carla brought everyone’s attention to it, and the two care-workers present at the time remarked that it could be Chicken Pox. However, it seems the first signs of the illness manifest behind the ears, which in Amelie’s case were clear of any spots. A visit to the doctors was then arranged for the following day, and confirmation given five minutes into the examination. So yes, Amelie has Chicken Pox. Carla did a little research after we left the doctors, and in the most severe of cases the spots can build up everywhere, including places like the eyes, and inside of the mouth. Amelie has delicate skin, something she has inherited from me, so if anyone was going to get a full dose, then it would be her. But – touch wood – the spots have been isolated to her back, with a few venturing over to her stomach and arms.

She has taken the illness quite well. In truth, she’s not even indicated any discomfort or itching. It is said Chicken Pox has no real effect on the child other than the visible signs, and itching. The child may have cold-like symptoms on the run up, but that’s about it. And as I cast my mind back to the days before discovering the spots, I couldn’t remember Amelie being at all unwell. Carla and I have remarked how well she’d dealing with it. The only real complications that have immerged are the usual time management issues. The doctor said any child with Chicken Pox needs to be grounded for 5 to 7 days, which means pulling her out of nursery. Luckily I had Friday off (Carla and I were meant to meet up and have a romantic lunch, and I was going to spend the morning writing), and we’ve arranged for the Grandparents to help out Monday and Tuesday, meaning, all going well, Amelie can return back on the Wednesday (6 days). We were also instructed not to let Amelie near any woman who is pregnant, or anyone undergoing Chemotherapy. Understandable. But 5 days in and we were all getting cabin fever. We decided a little fresh air might be good for us all. To avoid any close contact we decided to visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park on the Sunday, a place so large that even if a thousand people turned up all at once, you wouldn’t even notice. Amelie seemed to enjoy it, especially the fountain sculpture in the old house, and climbing up the limbs of a Pooka-type creature.

So again – touch wood – things have been okay. The doctor said during the examination he remembered “Chicken Pox parties” where if a child contract the illness, the parent would invite the local kids to their house with the view to them getting infected. Not thinking of having a party, but if things go well, I maybe celebrating the brevity of the illness with a glass of wine, or two.