Why Doesn't Anyone Want To Play With Us?

As you all know, Kaylea had the atypical case of chickenpox a few weeks ago. Well, if you remember, she had them for an entire week before I realized that they weren't bug bites and that I needed to take her to the Doctor. As it turned out she had, POTENTIALLY, passed the pox to her entire class. (I am happy to report that no one else came down with them though.)

Well guess what? This week Kaylea was sharing with her classmates again. Only this time it wasn't chicken pox. OOOOOOHHHHH, nnnnnoooooo, way better! Here, let me set the stage for you. Tuesday, I was at the school subbing and spent a lot of time out on the playground. While I was out there, so was Kaylea's class. They stayed out for an extended recess of about an hour. At the end of my day (2:00), Kaylea, all red faced, came up to me in the hall and showed me her arms. They were covered in welts and a red rash. At first, I thought it was from being out in the sun, but then she said her sides were starting to itch, again. I took her into the bathroom to check her over a little closer. When I lifted her shirt, I could see that she was beginning to get the rash on her torso, also. I decided not to be a slacker this time and rushed her to her doctor's office right then. When her doctor came in the exam room after a quick lookover we were told that Kaylea had Fifth Disease. I was unfamiliar with this particular illness, so naturally I asked what we needed to do to treat it. I was totally surprised with the response I got. The doctor said we didn't need to do anything. With Fifth Disease, once the child breaks out in the rash and has the "slapped cheek" look they are no longer contagious. It is the 7-10 days prior to the rash that they are contagious. Unfortunately, during those 7-10 days there were no symptoms indicating that she was sick. So wait, let me get this straight, ONCE AGAIN, my daughter has, POTENTIALLY, infected her entire class with a contagious disease. You have to be kidding me. This just can't be.

So friends, if you drive by the playground at Kaylea's school and see a lonely little girl standing by herself in the corner of the field with no one around to play with, well, that will be Kaylea. I am quite sure all of the kids' parents are telling them to stay away from her.

I promise we normally aren't a breeding ground for infectious diseases. She just seems to catch everything coming and going this year. I can't wait for summer to get here. Then we can get her away from all of the kid germs at school. Oh yea, but speaking of summer reminded me that I forgot to mention the best part about Fifth Disease. The welts and rash can reappear for 1-5 weeks following the outbreak; whenever the child gets hot or is exposed to the sun. Sounds like a fun beach trip for Kaylea. Whatchathink?