"I cannot go to school today," Said little Peggy Ann McKay. "I have the measles and the mumps, A gash, a rash and purple bumps. My mouth is wet, my throat is dry, I'm going blind in my right eye. My tonsils are as big as rocks, I've counted sixteen chicken pox And there's one more-that's seventeen, And don't you think my face looks green?


When your child is sick, the combination of worry and fear can be immense. The younger they are, the less communication skills they have and you are just going by the symptoms you can see. Even when they are growing up, you can't expect a 3rd grader to say, 'why yes I'm having some discomfort in this specific area but I'm sure an aspirin will take care of it.'

We've been dealing with a hand situation with our daughter for several months. It would come and go. I found myself online looking for any information I could. Of course I did get some good information but I also managed to freak myself out and end up on google pictures at horrible diseases.

The internet has become a wonderful refuge for parents of child who are ill or dealing with challenges. There is a sense of relief for many parents at finally finding information and a community. Information that is presented in an organized way is excellent.

I'm not discounting the value of that but I've now diagnosed my daughter with several long term threatening diseases. I've managed to psych myself into thinking about the CDC and quarantine. I was reading a Swedish medical journal translated into English at one point. I love my child's hand doctor, I think the world of her regular doctor but I find myself clearly way over the top, out of a need to label things.

Our daughter will be fine, she recently had surgery to deal with the problem, which of course raised scads more online panicking. Her doctor has some ideas of what the problem might be but he also says it might just be a random harmless growth.

After all the human body can be like that at times. The human mind is another story all together.