For the second time this week, I was given different information which would otherwise have different consequences.
Maybe someone can tell me how the airlines work. My aunt and cousin are here for a visit. They were on a group tour and had extended their stay in UK. I found out they will be flying out from Gatwick Airport early in the morning on Friday. Thing is, I'm living in Surrey and Heathrow Airport is just a short drive away. I did some checks on the internet and was delighted that this particular airline flies out from Heathrow too. Excellent! Hence, I called the airline in UK and asked if they can fly out from Heathrow instead, knowing that there may be a restriction to certain tickets. The lady told me the flight is full and I asked if there's any other flights that day and she said 'No, there's only one flight per day.' I then requested for my aunt and cousin to be put on the waiting list and was told that it can be done but it may be too late (I rang on Monday and they were due to fly on Friday). Furthermore, she needs to check with their Singapore office to see if they can change the place of departure. I asked how long will it take for them to reply. 'A few days.' came the answer. Due to past experiences, I decided not to wait for them to contact their Singapore office and rang them up myself the following day. Guess what?! The nice lady confirmed that my aunt and cousin can fly from Heathrow AND! it's on a different flight!! Suddenly, in less than 12 hours, there's another flight in the afternoon when I had been told there's only one flight each day flying from Heathrow in the evening. Was that lady in UK too lazy to check properly or the information didn't show accurately on her computer screen? How come the same airline shows different information at different locations? Oh well, at least we got what we wanted.
Sigh, my younger daughter has chicken pox. We were on high alert in early Feb when there were a few reported cases of chicken pox at Louisa's nursery. I kept checking them for spots everyday. We thought Louisa didn't bring the virus back and all's well until yesterday. I was changing Lavigne's diaper in the afteroon when I noticed some red spots on her tummy. It didn't occur to me then that she could be having chicken pox. However in the evening while giving her a shower, I noticed more spots on her body and asked Adrian to have a look. He said it could be chicken pox. I took her temperature and she wasn't having a fever. I thought I'd bring her to the GP first thing in the morning to confirm. She went to bed as usual. Before I retire for the night, I went to check on her and realised that her eyes were swollen and she had red patches on her face and body. I wondered if it could be something else rather chicken pox. Woke Adrian up to ask him to have a look and Lavigne woke, started scratching and couldn't get back to sleep. I'd not nursed her in the night for some months now and Adrian suggested offering the breasts to soothe her. I was reluctant, very reluctant. It took a lot of hardwork to make her sleep through the night. Will I be back to square one again? Seeing that she was in such discomfort, I gave in. Things did not improve and to have a peace of mind, we decided to bring her to a nearby hospital where they have a paediatric A & E. I have heard of this anti-viral drug given to chicken pox sufferers and the spots will clear up quickly, even to the extent of ceasing to appear further. After the paediatrician confirmed that Lavigne did indeed have chicken pox, I asked about this drug. He told me it's not licensed in UK. I was concerned about Louisa getting it (even though I know chances are, she will) as a very slight fall will make her cry as if a bone is broken. I can imagine her whining and crying constantly should she get infected. I told the PD I've another daughter at home and he told me the virus is not airborne but close contact will infect another person. Back home, we rang my mother-in-law who's a nurse to call the girls' PD in Singapore to enquire if she could buy the drug and then DHL over. She did some calling around and said that the drug will not be prescribed unless the DR has seen the patient and has confirmed the infection. In my mind, images of my girls crying, scratching, all covered in spots and unable to eat and sleep came flooding. I then brought Lavigne to our GP in the morning armed with a long list of questions.
1. Is he able to write a letter confirming that Lavigne has chicken pox so that I can fax it to Singapore and get the drug?
Didn't ask, read further.
2. Other than calamine lotion, can I apply other types of moisturiser?
Didn't ask, was told to apply prescribed calamine lotion
3. What types of food should she avoid? (NA since the westerners do not practice abstinence from food due to sickness, unlike us Chinese - will ask MIL instead)
Of course didn't ask, he'll laugh his head off if he hears we stay away from chicken meat and eggs.
4. Can I apply the calamine lotion on the genital? (Yes, I found spots there)
Yes
5. Any comments on the anti-viral drug?
Didn't ask, read further.
6. How long is the incubation period?
2-3 weeks
7. How long does the spots take to clear?
About 5 days
8. Are the swollen eyes and red patches normal?
Yes, it's normal with chicken pox.
Upon seeing that she has chicken pox, he told me that his fellow colleagues at the health centre don't agree with him but as a GP with a paediatric background, he believes in prescribing an anti-viral drug which will ease the discomfort of my child tremendously and clear the spots quickly. Upon hearing this, it was as if I had struck lottery then...no even better than that! I was getting what I had been trying to get and it'll be FOC. Yeah! Lavigne will sleep better, the spots will hopefully clear quickly and best of all, perhaps even no further spots! I was really worried about spots on her face as since she's so young, she'll definitely scratch on them and then (horrors!) she'll end up with lifetime scars!!!! I have one but it's not too obvious since it's near to my ear. So far, there's no spots on her face.
I didn't mention the hospital trip to my GP and therefore didn't tell him what the other DR had told me. I was too over the moon to be bothered then. But why? Why one DR had said it's not licensed in UK but Lavigne was prescribed the drug by our GP? Also, why did the DR from the hospital tell me the virus is NOT airborne when the leaftlet given to me by my GP says it travels in the air????
Lavigne's been sleeping for 4 hrs as I am writing this. So far so good. In fact great! No fever, no scratching, no wakings. I will get a good night's sleep, so will Adrian. In fact, he's been sleeping since an hour after the girls slept. Fingers crossed!
Maybe someone can tell me how the airlines work. My aunt and cousin are here for a visit. They were on a group tour and had extended their stay in UK. I found out they will be flying out from Gatwick Airport early in the morning on Friday. Thing is, I'm living in Surrey and Heathrow Airport is just a short drive away. I did some checks on the internet and was delighted that this particular airline flies out from Heathrow too. Excellent! Hence, I called the airline in UK and asked if they can fly out from Heathrow instead, knowing that there may be a restriction to certain tickets. The lady told me the flight is full and I asked if there's any other flights that day and she said 'No, there's only one flight per day.' I then requested for my aunt and cousin to be put on the waiting list and was told that it can be done but it may be too late (I rang on Monday and they were due to fly on Friday). Furthermore, she needs to check with their Singapore office to see if they can change the place of departure. I asked how long will it take for them to reply. 'A few days.' came the answer. Due to past experiences, I decided not to wait for them to contact their Singapore office and rang them up myself the following day. Guess what?! The nice lady confirmed that my aunt and cousin can fly from Heathrow AND! it's on a different flight!! Suddenly, in less than 12 hours, there's another flight in the afternoon when I had been told there's only one flight each day flying from Heathrow in the evening. Was that lady in UK too lazy to check properly or the information didn't show accurately on her computer screen? How come the same airline shows different information at different locations? Oh well, at least we got what we wanted.
Sigh, my younger daughter has chicken pox. We were on high alert in early Feb when there were a few reported cases of chicken pox at Louisa's nursery. I kept checking them for spots everyday. We thought Louisa didn't bring the virus back and all's well until yesterday. I was changing Lavigne's diaper in the afteroon when I noticed some red spots on her tummy. It didn't occur to me then that she could be having chicken pox. However in the evening while giving her a shower, I noticed more spots on her body and asked Adrian to have a look. He said it could be chicken pox. I took her temperature and she wasn't having a fever. I thought I'd bring her to the GP first thing in the morning to confirm. She went to bed as usual. Before I retire for the night, I went to check on her and realised that her eyes were swollen and she had red patches on her face and body. I wondered if it could be something else rather chicken pox. Woke Adrian up to ask him to have a look and Lavigne woke, started scratching and couldn't get back to sleep. I'd not nursed her in the night for some months now and Adrian suggested offering the breasts to soothe her. I was reluctant, very reluctant. It took a lot of hardwork to make her sleep through the night. Will I be back to square one again? Seeing that she was in such discomfort, I gave in. Things did not improve and to have a peace of mind, we decided to bring her to a nearby hospital where they have a paediatric A & E. I have heard of this anti-viral drug given to chicken pox sufferers and the spots will clear up quickly, even to the extent of ceasing to appear further. After the paediatrician confirmed that Lavigne did indeed have chicken pox, I asked about this drug. He told me it's not licensed in UK. I was concerned about Louisa getting it (even though I know chances are, she will) as a very slight fall will make her cry as if a bone is broken. I can imagine her whining and crying constantly should she get infected. I told the PD I've another daughter at home and he told me the virus is not airborne but close contact will infect another person. Back home, we rang my mother-in-law who's a nurse to call the girls' PD in Singapore to enquire if she could buy the drug and then DHL over. She did some calling around and said that the drug will not be prescribed unless the DR has seen the patient and has confirmed the infection. In my mind, images of my girls crying, scratching, all covered in spots and unable to eat and sleep came flooding. I then brought Lavigne to our GP in the morning armed with a long list of questions.
1. Is he able to write a letter confirming that Lavigne has chicken pox so that I can fax it to Singapore and get the drug?
Didn't ask, read further.
2. Other than calamine lotion, can I apply other types of moisturiser?
Didn't ask, was told to apply prescribed calamine lotion
3. What types of food should she avoid? (NA since the westerners do not practice abstinence from food due to sickness, unlike us Chinese - will ask MIL instead)
Of course didn't ask, he'll laugh his head off if he hears we stay away from chicken meat and eggs.
4. Can I apply the calamine lotion on the genital? (Yes, I found spots there)
Yes
5. Any comments on the anti-viral drug?
Didn't ask, read further.
6. How long is the incubation period?
2-3 weeks
7. How long does the spots take to clear?
About 5 days
8. Are the swollen eyes and red patches normal?
Yes, it's normal with chicken pox.
Upon seeing that she has chicken pox, he told me that his fellow colleagues at the health centre don't agree with him but as a GP with a paediatric background, he believes in prescribing an anti-viral drug which will ease the discomfort of my child tremendously and clear the spots quickly. Upon hearing this, it was as if I had struck lottery then...no even better than that! I was getting what I had been trying to get and it'll be FOC. Yeah! Lavigne will sleep better, the spots will hopefully clear quickly and best of all, perhaps even no further spots! I was really worried about spots on her face as since she's so young, she'll definitely scratch on them and then (horrors!) she'll end up with lifetime scars!!!! I have one but it's not too obvious since it's near to my ear. So far, there's no spots on her face.
I didn't mention the hospital trip to my GP and therefore didn't tell him what the other DR had told me. I was too over the moon to be bothered then. But why? Why one DR had said it's not licensed in UK but Lavigne was prescribed the drug by our GP? Also, why did the DR from the hospital tell me the virus is NOT airborne when the leaftlet given to me by my GP says it travels in the air????
Lavigne's been sleeping for 4 hrs as I am writing this. So far so good. In fact great! No fever, no scratching, no wakings. I will get a good night's sleep, so will Adrian. In fact, he's been sleeping since an hour after the girls slept. Fingers crossed!
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