I don't understand......why some parents simply don't THINK.

I am skipping quite a few posts to vent my frustration here.

Both J's are sick, and my little Jazreel is having croup. She has hoarse breathing and a nasty nasty cough with lotsa phelgm. She's only 8mths going on 9mths and she is on nebuliser.

I am frustrated because I know how this happened.

Scenario
1. gor gor goes to school. meet with sick classmates who's irresponsible parents keep on sending to school. I even noticed 1 girl who sneezed out a bowl full of phelgm all over her face, the teacher just took tissue to clean, and thats it. There are even parents who claim they are "not free" to fetch their kids home when teachers call them to report their child having a fever and pls bring them back. There was a mother who was having a chesty cough and left her brain outside the classroom and enter the class filled with 20 young children, all the while coughing her nice germs into the air, without the courtesy of covering with her hand, turning away, or wearing a mask to protect the kids.

2. gor gor goes to school with these kids and gets sick too.

3. Before he shows sympthoms, he affectionately hugs meimei as usual in the morning, and puts his face close to hers.

4. Once he develops fever later that morning, we kept him from school immediately, and separated him from Jaz for the next few days. But, the contact on Tue morning already infected her. Sigh. She started a sudden phelgmy cough on friday morning, after a night of sleeplessness (awake from 1am-3am from some discomfort which I cannot sense). Saw PD that morning and as she's so young he tries not to prescribe too strong med, only probiotics, prospan (herbal), kaloba (herbal). He said however if she has high grade fever or green mucus to give her gorgor's antibiotics (gorgor tested negative for Type A and B influenza twice, so doc decides to treat it as bacterial). Her cough very quickly develop into this chesty sound when she breathes, and at times can see she has difficulty drawing in an unobstructed breath. that night itself she has 38.8 fever. :( So it gotta be antibiotics.

5. But her cough and phelgmy breathing got so bad I worried whether its wheezing so PD asked us to bring her down again. He diagnosed it as croup. So put her on nebuliser to help her breathing.

I just feel like ranting on and on, but I know it doesn't accomplish anything. We are parents who are careful with hygiene in order to minimise chances of cross infection. We are socially responsible and keep our kids at home if they are sick. And if WE are sick, we wear a mask out despite knowing we look wierd and are inviting strange looks from other folks. So why can't other people do the same? It doesn't take an arm or a leg, just some heart, a dose of social responsibility, a healthy sense of duty. What's so difficult?

I feel so heartpain for Jaz. Her gorgor did not even fall sick at all until he reached 17mths. And now she's barely 9mths and had 2 courses of antibiotics and already knows what's a nebuliser. All because of what?

People who think "it won't happen to me" or "fall sick fall sick loh" should STOP AND THINK. THINK - statistics are made up of real life humans like you or anyone else on the street. There's no such thing as "it won't happen to you". THINK - yes, YOU can afford to fall sick, but what about that poor 14yr old kid with epilepsy, what about that man with pre-existing illness? Everytime ONE SINGLE person falls sick, and KNOWINGLY goes out without wearing a mask, coughing left right centre on the MRT, is exposing someone else more vulnerable to risks. It can be a 6mths old, it can be a 60yr old, or a pregnant mom. Either way,these people do not have the kind of health he has, and may not be so lucky.

We happen also to learn from our PD that he has recently sent a 9mth old boy for H1N1 test. Its positive. Can you imagine what that family is going through???

They say the funniest things!

Tonight, when Daddy making Jovann sleep, Daddy was wearing a mask coz he's coughing.

Jovann: Hug me, Daddy...
Daddy: No Daddy sick cannot hug you.
Jovann: Did you see doctor??
Daddy: Never..(actually he did)
Jovann: Why never?
Daddy: (joking) no money.
Jovann: I got money...
Daddy: Where?
Jovann: Money outside (referring to his doggy piggy bank in the living room with some coins)
Daddy: ...
Jovann: I give you 1 money ok? One money...(how stingy).

He's been saying he has money very often lately. Just yesterday, he told Ah gong ah ma that he don't want Mommy Daddy to go work. Ah gong explained to him if we don't work no money to buy toys. He insisted he got money, and ran to get the doggy piggy bank, and said a lot of coins inside.

Childhood is wonderful, with all its innnocence.....

He often say "Ah HA!" nowadays when he thought he got the one-up on us. Example, when we pretend Daddy wanna snatch his food (to entice Jovann to eat it up first), and Jov managed to get there first, he will triumphantly yelled "Ah Ha!" hehehehee...

3 nights ago, on the way home from Mama place, Jov is as usual chattering nineteen to the dozen in the car, about everything, anything, under the sun that he can see and hear. Thats the way he usually is, talk non stop during car rides. Except when he knows meimei need to sleep, then with a tremendous effort he will keep quieter.

If I never write down what he said, I will forget them 5mins after I get out from the car. I will develop a pounding headache either through attempting to recall his rapidly switching subjects, strange comments or trying to make sense of it. Heee. Thus this post.

Jovann: (I was showing him the beautiful sunset and how colourful the sky is)....mommy, got Dinosaur! got dinosaur!
Me: where? ooooh yes, that cloud does look like a dinosaur, clever boy!
Jovann: (3 seconds later) We go zoo, then go home...mommy sleep with me..(note, he knows we will pass by the zoo on way home)
Jovann: (looking at passing trees) trees....green and white trees...
Me: where are the white trees? *scratching head*
Jovann: dark blue truck (a dark blue truck was passing by)
Jovann: Light sky only....
Me: Yes, the truck is dark blue, the sky is light blue.
Jovann: Yes..
Jovann: my card at home (referring to my green atm card)...look (holding out his empty hands), don't have.
Jovann: what you doing?....card under letter...sing duck in the bear.....later the monkey.....
Mommy: .....??
Jovann: (suddenly thought of Animal Mechanicals now) Mechana Gizmo!!!
(I turned to look out the window)
Jovann: Why you turn other side actually, tell me now.

We stopped to buy dinner for maid. Daddy brought maid to choose her food, leaving us in the car.
Jovann: Where Daddy go?
Me: Daddy bring Auntie Tursini buy food
Jovann: I don't want Auntie Tursini buy food (nowadays he's always going "I don't want" this, "I don't want" that...)
Me: (patiently explaining) Auntie Tursini need to eat dinner, else she will have stomach pain.
Jovann: Wait Auntie Tursini stomach-ache, got egg (ache) come out. Aunt egg. Egg actually is a ball...
Me: ........

Finally approaching our flat
Jovann: Oooh look, we are home! Everybody's home!

And I only managed to capture less than half of what he's saying during the car ride...

They are so funny now!