quarantined

On our 12th day in Anchorage, Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) visited our family.

We were putting our little ones to bed and I found 25 red bumps around our son’s (aka “Big”) face. Our daughter Sweet Pea complained about having a sore “neck.” That was the beginning of a long night full of tears, lots of research and a late night run to the grocery store for health supplies.

The following day, we woke up to more red dots on Big’s hands and feet.  Sweet Pea had a fever, congestion and a sore throat. Day three brought us 154 red spots on our little Big and blisters in my mouth with red spots on the back of my neck and behind my knees. At bedtime, 20 red spots popped up around our little Sweet Pea’s mouth. For the next week, red spots continued to appear on our mouths and hands. Daddy managed to escape without any spots.

After nine days of isolation, our red spots are slowly disappearing.  As HFMD is extremely contagious, we will wait a couple more days before returning to church and community actitivies. We can’t wait to get out and explore this new frontier and see our new friends!

In case you are wondering like I was, what is HFMD? The simplist definition, “A children’s virus causing sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet.” I found a more descriptive definition on the CDC website.