Hannah

Well, first of all, it was a tough battle getting any food at all into her body, let alone medicine.  She kept on wailing in pain when she saw me bringing the oral gel to apply in her mouth, and refused all forms of food too, including those she loved.

On Friday, the day after she was diagnosed with HFMD, I told Hannah I was taking her to the grocery store for a quick trip to get some stuff, among others, yogurt.  She was interested, of course…and while we were there, she personally requested for jelly, so I bought her 2 small tubs, which she happily ate, to my delight!

She would only drink a bit of Milo and milk and nothing else, however.  She looked very weak, which added to my distress.

The next day, she would not eat anything for lunch, none of the soft “pau” and none of her favorite fish balls.  It was worrying.

Then I suggested we make some milkshake, with some ice cream and milk.  And I offered to let her shake the shaker.  Her eyes lit up in excitement and she eagerly participated in the making of the milkshake.  And to my utmost relief, she drank the entire cup of milkshake…

She even asked for a second cup!  She complained of slight pain while drinking though, but persevered throughout.  I let her use a straw, which I think she finds easier on the ulcers in her mouth.

That evening, we went out for dinner at Old Town.  My Mom was around, so she was also eager to make sure that Hannah ate something, at least.

While we ordered the food and as the food was served, Hannah was busy scribbling on her paper, oblivious to her surroundings.  I then decided to order ice kacang instead of my usual teh tarik.  And while I was halfway eating my meal, Hannah suddenly looked up and spotted my bowl of “pink ice”.  She immediately asked, “Mommy, what’s that?”  and came over to have a look.

I asked if she would like a taste, and she did!  But she winced in pain a little, and I thought she would not want anymore.

But she asked for more.

Soon my girl was feeding herself from my bowl of ice kacang, leaving only the red beans for me!

What was even more surprising was that in between those spoonfuls of ice kacang, Hannah asked to eat the chicken koay teow!  And she finished about 3-4 small bowls all on her own!

Her appetite is surely returning, yay!!!  And I pray that she will only get better and better from now on…

So yeah, caring for a sick kid ain’t easy, but loving her is absolutely rewarding.

Tonight as I held her in my arms to sleep, she smiled and said, “Mommy is my VERY best friend!” 🙂

It started with normal flu-like symptoms and then just 2 nights ago, Hannah had a fever of up to 38.6ºC.  Her fever subsided after 2 doses of fever medicine over that night and in the morning and we thought it was all going to get better soon.

Then suddenly Hannah complained of pain in her mouth, and to my horror, I discovered an ulcer just behind her lower lip.  Thinking (and hoping) it was just a one-off, I advised her to drink lots of water.

Unfortunately that evening, I checked her mouth again, and discovered more whitish spots, on her tongue and at the back of her throat.  She was very irritable and it was a good thing I still had some Daktarin Oral Gel, so I applied that to her mouth and it gave her some comfort.

Another disturbing finding was that I noticed some isolated red spots on her palms, and while she didn’t complain much, I knew I had to take her to the doctor’s the next day.

So this morning, the doctor confirmed my worst fears.  Hannah was down with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).  He prescribed the same oral gel to be applied, some Vitamin C, antihistamine and a diluted Potassium Permanganate bath soaking solution for the lesions.

She’s very irritable now and can hardly eat anything, let alone drink much.  Tried ice cream just now, but she screamed out in pain, poor girl.

Thankfully, she finished the lollipop from the doctor and a little bit of Old Town roti bakar.  Still, she cries and whines ever so often now, it’s so unlike her.

…but still can give a cheeky pose like this…

Here’s a sneak of the spots on her hands:

So she needs to steer clear of school for the next few days, and Ethan will need to be monitored closely as well, since incubation period is about a week.  I have given Ethan strict orders not to kiss Hannah or share utensils with her.

Adults can contract this virus too, but the majority of them would act only as carriers, without displaying any symptoms.  We’re praying it won’t get any more serious than this!

Get well soon, baby!