I have mentioned the deal I made with my son when he was born before. The deal said that he would NOT get hurt or sick, and we would get along just fine. But yet again he broke our deal and got sick, and this time has been worse than all the rest. This horrible sickness has left him in horrible pain every day, and that means for the past 3 days my heart has been broken watching it happen. Where did this Coxsackie virus come from, and why did it have to attack my son?

Last week my son and I had a lot of adventures. We had swim lessons, gymboree, an Adventureland Birthday Party, a visit to Sesame Place and lunch at  Friendlys. At some point during this adventure, a nasty little virus decided to visit my son and show it’s ugly head this past weekend. Out of all the viruses out there, this particular one is known to be a very painful one. The moment you tell another mom that your kid has the Coxsackie virus you are immediately meant with a sigh and a look of “damn girl I feel bad for you!”. I too will now join this horrible club of women who has had to see their kid suffer from this. And it sucks!

Saturday morning I was in PA visiting my family. I woke up excited because this year we got to celebrate at my families 4th of July BBQ. Not only was it going to be a great pool party, but my Aunt’s and Uncles were coming in from out of town for the celebration. Everyone was excited to spend the day with my little man. My parents took the burden of the early wake up call so I could catch a few more minutes of sleep, and when I got up I was informed that my mom thought my son had a fever. I felt his little head and agreed. My first thought? TEETH! A small fever, a whiney son, and a drooling mouth. Had to be teeth…right? WRONG!

The day progressively got worse. His fever got worse as did he. He whined and cried the entire day. A double dose of Motrine and Tylenol didn’t make it any better, and eventually I decided to take him to an emergency center to get an answer. That answer? Coxsackie.

The Coxsackie Virus

This little virus causes fever, sores in the throat, and eventually a rash on the feet, and hands (or the butt, legs and arms like my son!). The sores in his throat caused him so much pain. So much so that in 3 days we barely got any liquids, let alone food into his system. Dehydration is a major fear.

He has just cried and cried in pain. It’s sooo hard to watch. Nothing seems to help and he’s so sad. I can’t imagine going through this with more than one child because I have held my son for 3 days straight. All he wants is me and no one else. The only break I get is a little time right after the Motrine kicks in but that doesn’t last long. It’s so hard because he doesn’t understand why he is in so much pain. That’s what breaks my heart the most, and the fact that he can’t tell me what hurts is horrible.

On day 3 I returned to my own pediatrician (once I got back to NY) to make sure he wasn’t dehydrated. She said the sores were still VERY bad and I just had to wait it out. I hate not being able to fix it.

It has to be over soon right? How many days can my son be in pain? I HATE Coxsackie! No child should get it. Can we get it banned so he never gets it again? Please?

No that’s not my son’s foot…but his rash still sucks!