Confirmed H1N1 in My Childs School District (Indy)

I'm not too far from your neck of the woods, in fort wayne here

My son is in school, my daughter is still too young, will be attending K this fall.

Now, if we had just our daughter, I would likely (80%) send her to school. She's extremely healthy, extremely strong, and HIGHLY active, and when she gets sick, she bounces right out of it in short terms.

The problem is.. our son. See, he has childhood disintigrative disorder, on the autism spectrum, moderate-to-severe. He catches quite a few colds, ear infections (has one right now in fact), flues, etc... it's part of the disorder, they just have a weakened immune system in general.

Because of this, if it were to outbreak here, I would be keeping him home. Don't have to worry about exposure from other family members, as our daughter spends most of her time with just us (very few children in our area), I am disabled and rarely leave the house, and my wife practices heavy sanitation when she goes to work.


What I am getting at here, without fear mongering or anything like that (personally, I feel this h1n1 is nothing to fear any more than another flu.. just use sense), is that we already practice removing him from school if there is an outbreak of anything nasty here, due to his system already being weak. If you would normally remove your child from school due to a nasty bug running through the school, then do so in this case as well.

In the end it is all up to you, and just remember that you are the one who has to guard... they can't do it themselves


Seriously though, best thing to do is DO NOT panic, and just be smart about things. Do what you would normally do, and just use enhanced protocols on protection for a little bit. Nothing to fear, because that will just make you make mistakes.

Well, I guess if you want more visitors, you would have to go to Methodist, St Vincent's or St. Francis then But since some of these hospitals are teaching hospitals, I wonder if they will limit the amount of stupid student interns into the rooms??? THAT would make sense--IMO there are too many ppl running around in those hospitals anyway

I hate that you have been put in the postion of giving away your parental control, even if by your mental anguish.

How dare the evil to control what you decide is right for your daughter.

As your child has unlying medical conditions which would cause a great threat to her life if she were to come inot contact with any flu virus which affects the upper resperatory tract, it is in the best interest of your child and siblings to remain home for the remainder of this week.

You can send to the school for work so they do not fall behind, however this is your decission and not negotiable.

As for cross contamination via the stores and public places, stay home for now and dont go out. Have your husband leave his shoes at the door and if possible wash his clothes immediatly. Shower washing his hair daily.

Above all love your children and make this a positive experince for and with them. Together you can face any riddicule headed your way.

I was told tonight that I jumped the gun on keeping mine home last week, but I knw that I made the right decission for us. I have put up with LOADS of flack from everyone and am being laughed at behind my back, but you know, I love my children far more than anyone who will put me down for my decissions.

You do what 'you' feel is right. And to hell with anyone else. If the gov has a problem with it, then tell them to stop the expotential numbers flying forward from this virus. People ARE sick and those numbers are growing, mild or not, and it IS the secondary infections which are the most dangerous.

reply to post by Jomina


Thank you for your comments. How did I fail to mention my lil one is also on the autism spectrum and yes, I'm sure this is related to her compromised immune system. BTW, she has done amazing in school this year. So glad I opted for full day kindergarten and it was worth the 2k. She has blossomed and it's been beautiful to watch. She's even been doing better then some of her peers who do not have challenges in both academics and behaviors. I'm so proud of her.


Methodist hospital, the largest in the state I believe, is also part of Clarian Health and subject to those visitor changes. Yes, I think this is also a good idea. Hospitals are indeed crawling with creepy crawlys as it is - I don't think a lot of people who go to visit realize this, they take their own young children, risk cross contamination as well as making their own selves sick.

Antar, thank you GF for weighting in and providing your suggestions as well. You mentioned some things I had not even thought of yet. Especially since the husbands boss traveled to Texas for a Sci Fi convention ::shakes head::

Yes, I believe it is our choice. I'm amazed at some of the stories I've heard from ATS members in this thread. NOT asking why a child is calling in sick?!? Wow.

I am not panicking nor do I live my life from a fear base. I do believe in being prepared and educated. I understand this is a new flu but it sure seems to me as if the medical community may have information they are not sharing with the general public as they are responding in ways I've never seen in my lifetime of 41.5 years. I never recall schools closing or hospitals changing policies.

Yes, we are on virutal lockdown. While not panicking, I do believe in being cautious the rest of spring and again this fall. As much as my child loves having daddy take her to the park on a almost a daily basis, this park down the street from the confirmed case is off limits as are all other parks. We are already kinda social isolationist so this will not be much of a lifestyle change ;P

I appreciate everyones input thus far and look forward to hearing more parents share their experiences and opinions.

reply to post by Whisper67


Hey neighbor! Like I told you in our u2u, the drugstores by me have been out of masks since last Thursday-they fly off the shelves as soon as they come in is what the clerks told me.We need to look around and stay on top of when the shipments come in. I'll let you know if I find any.

That Walmart story litrally turned my stomach; THAT is why I never go there unless for something specific, or for a sale. People might as well stand there and pick their nose in my opinion (sorry! couldn't help myself).
I hope your little angel is getting better,

FMF

I don't know about the rest of you but I am becoming increasing frustrated and almost irate at the media blackout regarding H1N1.

Just ten days ago, right before the blackout began there were only 8 confirmed cases of H1N1 in Indiana. That number has now jumped to 70 and that number is from two days - the most recent information I could find...anywhere.

What I find most disturbing is this significant rise has not been mentioned in our local news what so ever. In fact, they mentioned they shut down the local call center but did not update local numbers. Last night, buried down in other news, they off handly mentioned the death in NYC but again, did not update our local numbers.

This media blackout is not local either. Haven't you noticed it's not in the MSM at all? Once the govt asked them to stop calling swine flu, Biden made his comments - zip - all talk has ceased or only the smallest of mention and not a lead topic.

Very suspect to this ATSer.

We are still not going to public places such as the park and my kindergarter has a new habit of using her own personal hand sanatizer for when she comes inside the house from anywhere. This is an awesome new habit even in the unlikly event this virus dies off.

She reported last week that several of her classmates were home sick but, she has not been ill except for a slight fever for a few days - no other symptoms and all said classmates have returned to school.

Finally, I suppose my greatest concern for this lack of media coverage is that a great percentage of the population will forget about it and not be as vigilant with their own protection and hygiene.

reply to post by Whisper67


Actually, I think the newest toal for Indiana stands at 86 now. I'll have to go abck and look. But you are correct; not much mention made here right noe. My guess is that this is 500 week, and with all of the people from all over the world in town they don't want to mess that up.

I've sent you a couple of u2u's about your daughter. Glad to hear she is better! One new case is in Hamilton county, BTW.

Talk soon!
FMF

reply to post by Whisper67


Whispers-

There is SO much evidence o suggest vaccines can cause autoimmune disease- you're a mom- follow your instincts. Teach her to count at home. Kindergarten can wait, IMHO.

If you look at so many other threads, you'll see incredible support in favor of protecting your child. I'm so sorry she's been ill.
Check out Soficrow's new thread about the changes in global illness 1997-the present for a lot of very good research on her part. Take good care.

reply to post by Jomina


This is to everyone in the Indy area- and to people who have kids who might or do- have underlying illness.

My nephew has a congenital genetic problem that has destroyed his immune system. He and his older brother are REGULARLY kept from school by my family, even when there's a nasty cold going around. I know my sister and brother would GLADLY fight any law that would force them into harm's way.

Take care of your prescious children and s@@@@ the laws that would slap your wrists! I know it's easy for me to say, but as parents, your ability to care for your children trumps the state's. Keep! fighting for what's right and God bless