I survived! a ( little bit graphic?) mom success story

[Blackshire]

I frequent here when things get bad- an nothing strikes fear in my heart like a my kid saying "mommy, my tummy hurts".

However, I have learned that when faced with v* kid without advance warning, I fare OK! In the middle of the other night I awoke to the dreaded sound of crying and cough like sounds, I knew right away that my little girl was v*. I jumped out of bead, put vicks in my nose ( I keep it in the bedside table) and ran to the room. I saw it on the bed, and I was OK. I got my rubber gloves, pulled everything off the bed in the dark, took it down to the laundry room, rinsed it in the dark and threw the first load into the machine. I put my kid in the shower, made an emergency bed on the playroom couch and set her in there with a bucket. All this without my husband- I let him continue sleeping as he had a long day.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle watching her do the next one, and it was very hard for me to stay in the room and hang out with her. I mostly just kept leaving the room every few minutes to clean something or have a cigarette. My husband managed the next round of V* in the bathroom, then she fell back asleep so I lied in bed listening. Sure enough, she did again and I ran in and held the bucket. OMG! That was a miracle. although it was mostly just dry heave. I did it, without anxiety or crazy want-to-run-away feeling. I totally did it. It wasn't too bad. I was a little stressed, but I managed to get through it without a melt down.

Of course, the aftermath is not as easy.I find myself panicking about weather or not I will get it. I question wether or not I washed my hands enough, or was careful enough. I have gone to my usual pattern of insanely cleaning the house, washing pretty much everything in the house, not eating hardly anything for the following days, worrying the whole time. I worry about going out now, incase I fall ill while I am out. I will continue to worry for a couple of weeks- the 72 hour rule doesn't always apply. Last time, i got it 10 days later.

I attribute alot of my success to the vicks rub in the nose, that really made a big difference for me. I had the confidence that I wouldn't smell it.

[olschesky]

sounds like you did an excellent job of handling that! hope your little girl is feeling better and that you're anxiety level has gone done...congrats!

[Missa_Mae]

If you got it 10 days later it wasn't from your daughter, it was from a surface, or you picked it up while you were out of the house. The SV* is only contagious via person to person for about 3 days after they stopped showing their last symptom. It can lurk in the stool for up to 2 weeks so if you daughter didn't wash her hands after the bathroom and touched something (say the TV remote) and then you did, and then ate or put your hands in your mouth ... there is a chance you'd get it that many days later. As long as you keep clean and bleach, you should be ok.

[andee]

Awesome job!!! That is so inspiring and something I am striving for...

[wanted]

this is so good to hear. I'm so afraid having kids, first cause of pregnancy and second kids being sick (well,i think i could help them but only when i'd know it's not contaigous). But I'll be positive and think I will handle it somehow.