Last Tuesday when my daughter Alice (who has Down's syndrome) got home from school, she kept saying her tummy hurt. I didn't panic or get stressed and went about tea time as usual wondering if it might be because she was hungry. She picked at her tea and said she was tired. She went to bed at 8pm and woke at 10pm needing to empty her bowels. Because she has Downs syndrome, she is prone to getting constipation and because it had been a few days since she had last opened her bowels, we decided to give her an enema. After the enema had worked she stood up, made a strange face and proceeded to v* everywhere. My hubby thought it might have been because she got her self in a bit if a state about the enema, but i knew better. Before she was sick, she kept making this horrible cough and as any emet knows that cough can only mean one thing! She was sick another 2 times before hubby told me to go to bed and that he would stay downstairs with her. He knows about my cleaning rituals and assured me he followed them throughout! She was sick again at 2am which he delt with. I did wake up at this point as i heard her, but i knew he could deal with it better than me, so kept in my room.The big task for me was to stay at home with her all day as my hubby had to go to work. He doesn't get paid if he takes a day off and we really need the money at the moment. So, he asked how i would feel if he took our other daughter to school, went straight on to work then left early to pick our daughter up from school to bring her home. In the past, this would never have been possible. There would have been no way i could have been in the same room as a sick person, let alone look after them, but something inside me, said go on, give it a go. He said he would leave his phone on and if i needed him to come home, he would do so immediately.


So, he went to work. I must point out at this stage that Alice went to her bedroom when my two others woke up that morning, soshe was out of the way re: contamination etc., I fell asleep and woke up at 9.15am to hear her crying. I went to her, she just wanted a cuddle - which i did. I washed her and changed her pyjamas (again), tookher downstairs, made a bed on the settee, got her a drink and sat next to her, giving her cuddles from time to time.I made sure that i cleaned the bathroom that hubby had been using to clean up after her, i put thebowl that she had usedsoaking in bleach outside, i washed the towels, what she was wearing and flannel, and i went over all the door knobs and light switches with dettol (spray). I WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO ALL THAT YEARS AGO. I never phoned my hubby and he came back at 2.45pm just before he picked our daughter up. Alice was not sick whilst i was with her, but inside, i was waiting for it, and i knew if it happened, i would get on with it.


She went to her room when the others got home from school- as a precaution and only thenext morning would i allow them to all be together.


I phoned her school up andwas told thereis a bug going around and some mother had sent her child to school on the monday, who had been sick during the night, because 'she didn't want him under her feet!'.


Nobody else got ill and i managed to stay calm thoughout the whole of this. Amazingly for me, i can't believe idid so well. And if i can do it, anyone can!


Edited by: trixie