Hand Foot and Mouth?!

Rou developed a temperature and I had to medicate her for a few days. On day 3, her fever was still coming back after the effects of the medication wore off. I decided that at four and a half months, she was too young for me to self-medicate for too long, and took her to the doctor.

The doctor found an ulcer at the back of her throat, which she said was unusual. The diagnosis was that Rou probably caught the flu bug from all three of us, who were sick the week before. But the doctor did caution that if her brother had the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) and it was a mild strain that escaped the detection of the doctor (since all symptoms don't show in its first few days), there is a possibility that the little girl could have caught it from Gabe.

Shuddering at the thought, but putting it at the back of our minds, we took her advise of continuing with the medication and she would be alright in another couple of days. Indeed, the fever left Rou on day 4 and she returned to her usual happy self. A day later, I was playing with her on the day bed, clapping her feet together in glee when something caught my eye. The soles of her feet were populated with red pokka dots! We lost no time in taking her to the doctor's, a separate one this time as Doc #1 was on vacation. It was inevitable. Rou was diagnosed with HFMD.

We prayed hard, yes we did. The poor little girl was barely five months old! Then came the planning to separate Gabe from his sister, should the virus spread to him too. He went to stay with my parents over the weekend (thank God it was the weekend) and the plan was to monitor Rou. If she broke out in blisters, we would have to extend the separation plan. Otherwise, which was the scenario we were fervently praying for, all would settle and life would be back to normal.

By God's abundant grace, the red dots on Rou's feet disappeared by half the same evening she was diagnosed, and by the next day, were gone completely. Many made attempts at theories but for what it was worth, she's cleared and in the pink of health.

This HMFD scare sure made us realise that control is not in our hands but in God's. We want to say thanks to all who kept our family in prayer, and for letting us know we were not alone.