We Survived HFMD Part 2

Read Part 1 Here.

The doctor also instructed us to give her children's benadryl, not the most pleasant idea we found out later. At 2:30 pm I returned home from the pharmacy with a chocolate pedisure and the acid-rinse, um, I mean benadryl. The pedisure was a success. Praise God! There would be no trip to the doctor. But, the most heart-wrenching part was to come when I brought the benadryl in the medicine cup to give to Scamp. We coaxed her to drink it, and she let out the most horrific scream and said it burned. Oh no! And she still had over half the dose to drink. After that, we put all her medicines into a spoon to pour it in her mouth in one drink.

That night we allowed Scamp to sleep in our bed. Daddy left the house for an emergency run to the store and both girls were asleep in our room. Oh, now I could have a little relaxation until I heard an alarming sound coming from the bedroom. Scamp awoke in pain and was wailing which in turn awoke 4 month old Scoodle who was screaming. Now, I know what parents of twins feel like when both children are crying. Who do I attend to first? I gave Scoodle her paci and tried to coax Scamp to calm down. She did, but Scoodle spit her paci out and began to scream again causing Scamp to cry. Oh dear! Back and forth the girls played off each other. Finally, I took Scoodle into the other room with a bottle, and daddy arrived home in time to put Scamp back to bed. The house was peaceful again except for my racing heart.

The next morning we were all worn down from lack of consistent sleep. I was feeling quite claustrophobic since I hadn't left the house but for a 30 minute trip to the store, which was cut short by my being needed at home. Carrying Scoodle on my hip, I took her to her daddy and said, "We've got to leave the house today even if it's just a drive in the car. He must have sensed my near panic and took the baby from me. I thought I was holding it together until Scoodle was released from my arms. I began to cry, and Beef immediately called his mother, the girls beloved Meme, and asked her if she could come up. She arrived a couple of hours later and stayed for several more. God bless you, Meme.

Luckily, HFMD has been the worst virus we've experienced because of how long it lasted (6 days) and how much pain it caused Scamp. She lived on pedisure for another couple of days and slowly returned to solid food. Daddy gave up his side of the bed to Scamp during that time. I know Scamp appreciated it. Some of the research showed that she still may be contagious for another few weeks. Baby Scoodle has had no symptoms, and we are very thankful.