Wait...what?!

So...Dan has hand, foot, and mouth disease.  Yes, baby girl is coming in, at most, 10 days and we've got a nasty childhood disease hanging around.  If she came today, Daddy wouldn't even be able to be in the delivery room or hold her!

I'm about 99% convinced that Evelyn is who gave it to him, but that she presented a much milder case.  It explains her poor appetite, fever, and sores on her bottom from earlier this week (so, Amber, take heart...you and I have already been exposed!).  I'm fairly certain that she probably had sores in her mouth, but I never suspected HFMD so I never looked.  She was really fussy during teeth brushing time (well, yeah, my Mom was shoving a plastic brush in my mouth) and didn't have the best appetite for a few days.  From what I understand, it's one of those "fun" viruses where you are contagious for up to a week before you start showing symptoms.  So this thing has been hanging around our house for at least a week.  Lovely.  (Amber...don't freak out - it's spread through direct contact - so they only way you could have gotten it is from E, and you should be showing symptoms by now if that's the case!)  Apparently most adults have built up an immunity because they likely had at least some strain of it in childhood.  I'm praying that's the case with me, because apparently a mother having it during delivery can create some complications (illness, organ problems, stillbirth...all things a mama in her last few weeks loves to hear about).  I have an appointment tomorrow, so I'll definitely ask to learn more.

It's a virus, so the only thing you can do are treat the symptoms (pain and itch relief for the sores) and let your immune system tackle it.  You can pray that...

1.  It's done spreading in our house!!!

2.  That Dan's immune system kicks this quickly - he starts his new job tomorrow :-(.

3.  That I will find the energy to clean and disinfect everything in the house once his sores are healed.  It's not like I can open windows to air the place out...it's 110+ degrees here every day!

4.  That Little Miss doesn't decide to come until all of the above have happened.

The doctor told Dan that the sores usually last 3-5 days, and they pretty much popped up overnight between Friday and  Saturday.  So hopefully they are headed out in the next day or two!  I feel really bad for him, they look owie, and he is acting like he feels pretty miserable.

Germs, in the Name of Jesus, be gone!!!  
By His stripes, I claim healing and health over this household! (Isaiah 53:4)