Swine flu - school closing for a week

[Great Plum]

That's fantastic news!

[ReallyMissingHer]

Fab news about Louise, hope all the others who are unwell make a full recovery quickly (and keep the germs to themselves!)

[anniexf]

Not been here for a bit for various reasons, not least of which is that I got back a little while ago from CH having picked up my son from the Health Centre. He was admitted yesterday with a very high temperature and was seen by the doctor this morning who thinks it's swine flu....

I hope your son is feeling a bit better, huggermugger, and that you haven't caught it!

I have to admit to a small amount of worry. (it's always there niggling away - part of being a Mum, I think!)

It never really leaves, that niggling worry bit - my daughter's 41 & has two children yet I still have the occasional qualm about her!

Nothing from lonelymom for a while - hope Dean's not too poorly, & that Louise is still making good progress. Maybe lonelymom is either rushing round like a blue-***ed whatnot looking after them both, or is taking a well-earned break. Heaven forfend that she's poorly herself...

[lonelymom]

No, I'm fine, although I am running round after Louise. Dean is still sniffing and sneezing, so I'm keeping Louise away from him as much as possible. I don't think I've got time to be ill

I've been doing my nursey bit today because Louise has had a bad headache all day, and a pain down one side from time to time, but she says it's not too painful so we're just going to keep an eye on it and ring the ward if it doesn't go or gets worse. I'm sure it won't though, she'll be fine.

She's looking forward to seeing her friends next week, and some of the teachers! And especially the Christmas dinner

[fra828]

Good sign, I'm sure, that Louise is getting appetite back. Enjoy that Christmas dinner, Louise!

[lonelymom]

Actually she probably won't eat much of it at all, maybe just some meat and a few carrots, but what she's really looking forward to is seeing the CH staff (including her teachers) serving the food!

[NEILL THE NOTORIOUS]

Barnes Mum --
Ok I get the message, but I would like to point out that, were I not an imitation Gentleman -- I could deliver the Bouquet, to your Daughter at Barnes -- for onward transmission !!!---- Instant Arrest !!!

Apropos my expertise in Explosive Bouquets, getting through Security,----- a hidden "Pull switch" occupies about an inch, and can be made of plastic, to avoid Metal detection, as does the explosive ! Triggered when you examine the Label !

[Barnes Mum]

Barnes Mum --
Ok I get the message, but I would like to point out that, were I not an imitation Gentleman -- I could deliver the Bouquet, to your Daughter at Barnes -- for onward transmission !!!---- Instant Arrest !!! :

Nice thought Neill, thank you, but she'd probably just keep them for herself anyway!

[huggermugger]

Well - I've only had to do 5 days of nursing a sick child but I've already had enough! Don't know how you managed 2 weeks plus, Lonelymom!

From that moan you may take it that my DS is on the mend. It all got a bit scary for a while as I had real difficulty keeping his temperature under 39 degrees and every time I thought I'd cracked it, up it shot again. But I got there in the end Now he's just catching up on lost sleep and complaining he's bored - only been well a day and bored already and asking to go back to school! HM has agreed to have him back on Tuesday - hardly worth bothering but he is desperate to be there for the last few days (Christmas dinner and DVD's!).

No Annie I didn't catch it but only because I had it a couple of weeks ago, just after the kids went back to CH after the "Swoliday". The last month has been a bit of a write -off really... and am I the only one who is left with an incredibly irritating cough that just won't go away???

Anyway thanks for your good wishes and glad everyone else appears bug-free. Long may it last.

[lonelymom]

So glad he's on the mend at last And I'm glad he's able to go back for the Christmas fun at school. Being bored with home is a wonderful sign that he is back on form

We're still hoping Louise can go back in before the end of term, but it's not a certainty at the moment. It's not that she's contagious still or anything, more that she is still extremely weak, and the CH site is so large that it's the logistics of her getting from A to B! For a girl who still can't walk far at all, it is going to seem like an impossible task at times. You have to really see how fit Louise was before and how skinny and weak she is now to understand quite what this illness has done to her. She herself has cried a lot in the last week, wondering why it affected her so badly, and realising that she may not get back to her former levels in swimming. Where her muscles in her arms and legs used to be is now just loose skin, and although she knows she will get muscles back, she also knows it will take time and that is frustrating her immensely because she just wants to be how she used to be.

So before she can definitely go back at the end of this week I have to find make sure she can walk the distance from Barnes to dining hall, which sounds like a ridiculous thing to say about a 12 year-old girl! Once there she will have to sit down immediately for a rest, there is no way she will be able to stand and queue for her dinner for long, as standing for even the shortest of times gives her stomach pains for some reason (if anyone knows why this may be I would be very interested to know ), so I'm hoping somebody may be able to help her get her food. She is desperate to see her friends, and mentally she is ready, she is just going to need her friends to help her a bit while she is there. Of course, if she isn't able to be excused from marching, or allowed to go straight into dining hall and chapel without standing outside first, after what will be a trek for her, she just won't be able to go back, so I need to check these things out first. But I have my fingers crossed for her because if she can't go and misses all the fun it will upset her further and I think she's been through enough already!

[Jo]

Well - I've only had to do 5 days of nursing a sick child but I've already had enough! Don't know how you managed 2 weeks plus, Lonelymom!

From that moan you may take it that my DS is on the mend. It all got a bit scary for a while as I had real difficulty keeping his temperature under 39 degrees and every time I thought I'd cracked it, up it shot again. But I got there in the end Now he's just catching up on lost sleep and complaining he's bored - only been well a day and bored already and asking to go back to school! HM has agreed to have him back on Tuesday - hardly worth bothering but he is desperate to be there for the last few days (Christmas dinner and DVD's!).

No Annie I didn't catch it but only because I had it a couple of weeks ago, just after the kids went back to CH after the "Swoliday". The last month has been a bit of a write -off really... and am I the only one who is left with an incredibly irritating cough that just won't go away???

Anyway thanks for your good wishes and glad everyone else appears bug-free. Long may it last.

No, we've both got it too

[Fjgrogan]

Lonelymom - is there any chance that Louise could be persuaded to use a wheelchair, just for that day? I doubt if she would like the idea, but it would make all the difference, because she could enjoy being with her friends without worrying about the logistics of getting from A to B. I don't suppose that she would like the idea, but it would just be another temporary prop, in the same way that sleep and antibiotics are, until she is fully fit again. If she goes and ends up feeling worse from the effort required it will only set her back, especially as she is clearly looking forward to it so much. So use all the available help. I imagine the school health centre would have a wheelchair that you could borrow. Yes, she will find it embarassing at first, but not so embarassing as collapsing in front of her friends. Think about it anyway. And remember it is only temporary.

I have a friend with muscular dystrophy who eventually had to give in and agree to hire a mobility scooter. She saw it as another step on the downhill road, but once she finally did so she admitted that it made her life so much easier and it was a relief not to have to struggle with everyday moving about; but it was a real battle to persuade her to try it at first. For Louise, thankfully, it would be only a temporary measure.

[englishangel]

I had the same thought Frances (about the wheels) I am sure the Health Centre must have one for short-term use for people in casts etc.

[anniexf]

No Annie I didn't catch it but only because I had it a couple of weeks ago, just after the kids went back to CH after the "Swoliday". The last month has been a bit of a write -off really... and am I the only one who is left with an incredibly irritating cough that just won't go away???

No, we've both got it too

Sorry huggermugger I missed the posts about your swine flu, but am relieved you weren't laid too low & could manage to nurse your son. Mums just have to keep going somehow !
We've both suffered from consecutive colds, 2 each, and are still coughing occasionally. It seems to get worse, in my case, as soon as my head touches the pillow - really exasperating.

[Katharine]

My aged Ma thinks she may have had it too - to quote "I've never felt so poorly in all my life" she is 92 so has had a long life. She is on the mend now and is beginning to sound like herself again. I think she ate half a bowl of soup last week - yes all week. My sister had been with her a lot, but she is in Cambridge so I haven't been there.

My best wishes to all other sufferers - and here's another who thought about a wheel chair for Louise. I presume she was the worst affected pupil at CH, difficult to imagine anyone else much worse.