Just Girls ~ Part 3

Today's events were unexpected.

Not at first, though. We did yard work (mow, edge, sweep) until about noon. Nothing unexpected about that. It was planned.

After I finished up and came inside, though, is when it got interesting. Emily showed me some bumps on her left lower abdomen. She had shown me the area before, but it looked like nothing more than irritation from clothing.

Today when I saw the area, it looked completely different. The area looked all red and angry with blisters that were intact and some that had been popped. And there was more than just one area. There were three seperate groupings of blisters. The one that caused me to be the most suspicious was the straight line that went from her front to back.




I took pics and sent them off to everyone I could think of ~ nurses, nursing instructors, other health care professionals, friends, and family. The feedback I received was less than reassuring. Almost all responses suggested what I had been thinking ~ shingles, or some other viral infection.

We ended up going to an urgent care clinic around the corner from our house. It only took two hours, but the Doctor confirmed that Emily does, in fact, have shingles. She (the doctor) kept repeating "Ten years old!", because it is so uncommon for a young child to contract shingles. (Right, Stephen?) It usually shows up in the more geriatric population.

We left with a prescription for an antiviral medication and instructions to avoid anyone who hasn't had chicken pox, pregnant women, small children, etc. We were also told that she would be contagious until all the blisters had scabbed over, just like chicken pox. My poor baby. She sounded disappointed that she would miss Primary tomorrow.

I guess it really is a good thing that Emily and I stayed home together this weekend. When you think about it, the Bradshaw Utah reunion has lots of older people and lots of kids ~ exactly who Emily was instructed to avoid.