Hand, foot, and mouth disease

[ols386]

Do the parents of the other children know about the sick child?

 

[jt'smom]

Aside from the fact that I think this mom completely sucks for wanting to send a kid with any type of active virus abroad ALONE (meaning without parents), if I was one of the supervising chaperones, I would be raising holy hell with the organizers of the trip. Whether or not the kid was "cleared by a doctor". Why should the OP's daughter be burdened out of the gate, with the responsibility of a sick child, simply because it's a crappy situation for the child and his parents. Whether or not the kid is contagious is immaterial to me, he could end up feeling poorly, and that is terribly unfair to both the child, and the chaperones who will have to spend extra time worrying about taking care of him/her. If I had paid for my 11 year old to travel overseas for an educational program and I found out a knowingly sick child was allowed to go with the group, I would be one furious parent!

 

[SirDuff]

I'm surprised that the mom admitted that it took five providers for her to find one willing to sign off on her son taking the trip.

 

[Hikergirl]

Ok, I'm totally going to be Judgy McJudgerson here. What kind of mother send her sick kid overseas for a month? I realize that the child may very well get better in a matter of days, but what if he doesn't? And on top of that to burden the chaperones with a sick kid. And the cherry on top, exposing everyone else to a very contagious virus. Yup, I'm judging.

 

[indygirl99]

Well, mom schlepped the kid around town, saw pediatricians, ERs, and walk-in care, and finally professional #5 wrote the note that says the kid is medically cleared to go overseas tomorrow. The doctor's note relieves the program of responsibility, so they are satisfied. My daughter is a different story! She is not looking forward to the possibility of sick children in a foreign company. Fortunately she will be one of 12 adults in charge of delegations, and there is also a professional staff at the compound where they are staying, so she won't be the only one responsible for this child. Now if only SHE doesn't get sick.

I have to disagree with the "doctors note relieves the program of responsibility".

80% of the healthcare providers she saw said no, 20% said yes. If they let this child go they are culpable.

Boy I feel for your daughter. I would be advising my daughter to NOT GO. But that is me.

I will be sending prayers that she and the others exposed to this child do not get sick.

 

[mom2rtk]

Been there... Done that.

I think the biggest concern is spreading it to their traveling companions. It's a virus so things like not washing hands spread it the quickest.

BUT... My kids felt HORRIBLE when they had it. Their blisters manifested in their mouths and took a good 10 days to heal up. Will the child even feel like traveling?

My son was miserable when he had it. I can't imagine putting him on a plane with someone else feeling that way. He had trouble finding things he could eat and mostly subsisted on popsicles and shaved ice during that time.

OP, the child needs to stay home.

 

[Poohforyou]

What kind of program is this that 11 year olds go overseas for a month? I can't even imagine sending my 11 that far away for that long.

As for foot and mouth disease, dd had it as a toddler and was miserable. She almost had to be hospitalized.

 

[leebee]

This is an international program that aims to educate and inspire action for a more just and peaceful world. The organization operates international educational programs on an annual basis to bring together participants from member countries. My daughter is the chaperone for four 11 year olds (2 girls, 2 boys); their delegation will meet up with similarly aged/structured delegations from about a dozen other countries. They will stay mostly on site at a "compound" of sorts, where they'll do whatever it is the program is about (sorry, we didn't do this when DD was a kid as it's just too expensive). There will therefore be approximately 60 international participants (approx. 12 chaperones and 48 eleven year olds) and the host country's residential staff. I know the kids seem quite young, but the program has been operating successfully since the 1950s. DD became involved upon the recommendation of a close friend; the original chaperone for the group dropped out and they needed someone fast. DD saw it as a "free" trip to Portugal and jumped at the chance. She's been to two weekend-long trainings as well as having taken first aid and CPR training. It's been stressful for her- she takes this responsibility VERY seriously- and having a potentially contagious "sickie" in the group is more than she signed on for. Unfortunately, she cannot back out at this late date; the bus to the airport leaves at 11am on 7/28! (besides, we'd have to repay the program for the costs of the 2 trainings, the first aid course, and DD's bus and airfare to Portugal. Don't have that much disposable cash!)

 

[missbrooke06]

Fitting of this forum, my son picked it up in Disney - or he likely did since it has a 2 week incubation time, symptoms started day 13 of our trip, he doesn't go to daycare, he took his shoes off everywhere and he was playing with lots of little toddlers while we baby swapped. That was a miserable trip home.

Thanksgiving was 2 weeks later and all his blisters were healed so thought he was fine - but he spread it to his cousins. I felt so bad because I really thought he was out of the window! It's extremely contagious.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

This is an international program that aims to educate and inspire action for a more just and peaceful world. The organization operates international educational programs on an annual basis to bring together participants from member countries. My daughter is the chaperone for four 11 year olds (2 girls, 2 boys); their delegation will meet up with similarly aged/structured delegations from about a dozen other countries. They will stay mostly on site at a "compound" of sorts, where they'll do whatever it is the program is about (sorry, we didn't do this when DD was a kid as it's just too expensive). There will therefore be approximately 60 international participants (approx. 12 chaperones and 48 eleven year olds) and the host country's residential staff. I know the kids seem quite young, but the program has been operating successfully since the 1950s. DD became involved upon the recommendation of a close friend; the original chaperone for the group dropped out and they needed someone fast. DD saw it as a "free" trip to Portugal and jumped at the chance. She's been to two weekend-long trainings as well as having taken first aid and CPR training. It's been stressful for her- she takes this responsibility VERY seriously- and having a potentially contagious "sickie" in the group is more than she signed on for. Unfortunately, she cannot back out at this late date; the bus to the airport leaves at 11am on 7/28! (besides, we'd have to repay the program for the costs of the 2 trainings, the first aid course, and DD's bus and airfare to Portugal. Don't have that much disposable cash!)

Has she no say in the fact that there's a potentially sick child that may consume her time and attention for the duration of the trip? How about the other 3 sets of parents? How do they feel about allowing the sick child to go?

I'm sorry, the child may miss this wonderful opportunity. And that the parents may be out a lot of money, but there's a larger picture that they're missing.

If the program has been operating successfully for that number of years, how is a potentially infectious participant going to go over?

 

[ronandannette]

...DD saw it as a "free" trip to Portugal and jumped at the chance. She's been to two weekend-long trainings as well as having taken first aid and CPR training. It's been stressful for her- she takes this responsibility VERY seriously- and having a potentially contagious "sickie" in the group is more than she signed on for. Unfortunately, she cannot back out at this late date; the bus to the airport leaves at 11am on 7/28! (besides, we'd have to repay the program for the costs of the 2 trainings, the first aid course, and DD's bus and airfare to Portugal. Don't have that much disposable cash!)

I get that this is a really tough situation, but there has to be some line that she simply wouldn't be willing to cross, regardless of the cost? This has to be pretty close.

 

[disneymom3]

Aside from the fact that I think this mom completely sucks for wanting to send a kid with any type of active virus abroad ALONE (meaning without parents), if I was one of the supervising chaperones, I would be raising holy hell with the organizers of the trip. Whether or not the kid was "cleared by a doctor". Why should the OP's daughter be burdened out of the gate, with the responsibility of a sick child, simply because it's a crappy situation for the child and his parents. Whether or not the kid is contagious is immaterial to me, he could end up feeling poorly, and that is terribly unfair to both the child, and the chaperones who will have to spend extra time worrying about taking care of him/her. If I had paid for my 11 year old to travel overseas for an educational program and I found out a knowingly sick child was allowed to go with the group, I would be one furious parent!

Especially if my child got sick from a kid who was knowingly sent ill . And if I found out the program LET this sick kind travel and made mine ill I would raise holy hell.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'd be a basket case sending my 15-year-old out of the country without me. I honestly can't imagine having done it at 11 - and doing it when he was ill, no way!

OP, I hope everything goes OK for your DD.

 

[leebee]

I really don't understand the program's viewpoint here. I understand that the kids are supposed to be a delegation representing the USA, unity and all that, but I think it's irresponsible for them to let a potentially contagious child travel to something like this. The mom that DD talked with said the problem with getting a doctor's note was NOT that the doctors necessarily thought the child is very sick, but that they cannot guarantee he ISN"T contagious. While I don't think this child is actively ill enough to be detected and detained while entering through customs, I told DD that IF this happens, she needs to contact the program coordinator in Lisbon and let them handle the logistics. DD doesn't speak Portuguese, and I'm pretty sure this would be a situation beyond the scope of her English/Portuguese phrasebook!

I also don't know if the other parents of the kids in DD's delegation know this child is sick. Could be interesting at the bus station this morning! Given the vast amount of money tied up in transporting 5 people round-trip between Bangor, ME and Lisbon, Portugal, I cannot believe that there's no travel insurance to cover the added expense of a sick child having to fly to (or from) the program at a different time than the rest. There is a lot about this program that we don't know because DD hasn't "grown up" in the program... it's something that kids do from about age 10, with different international opportunities, with different structures, offered based on age.

Anyhow, moving forward. Time to roust DD out of bed and get a start on the day. I'll update after seeing the kid and learning more.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

This just makes me angry. Not only is the mother willing to put the other 3 children and the OP's daughter at risk, but also everyone on the plane, at the airport, at the conference, etc. I get not wanting to disappoint your kid, but this ridiculous

 

[Poohforyou]

I'd be a basket case sending my 15-year-old out of the country without me. I honestly can't imagine having done it at 11 - and doing it when he was ill, no way!

OP, I hope everything goes OK for your DD.

Where is she going? My dd did an exchange program with school at 15. I was nervous but she did great. It helped that the family she stayed with both parents are doctors.

I think dd going away will really prepare her for college.

I hope your dd has a great time. My dh and I took a vacation while dd was away which really helped.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I couldn't imagine sending a sick 11 year old child away for a month. Nor, could I comprehend, why the mother would put others at risk.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I couldn't imagine sending a sick 11 year old child away for a month. Nor, could I comprehend, why the mother would put others at risk.

Money. At least for the second one. I'm betting she has spent a few thousand dollars on this trip.

I wouldn't send my kid. But for some people money outweighs common sense.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'll update after seeing the kid and learning more.

Thanks. Not often that issues brought up here are followed up on.

 

[lilly6]

No way! Besides being contagious, the poor kid is going to feel absolutely rotten. My son had this virus when he was about 13 and the fever lasted a good 10 days and he was absolutely miserable. He missed an entire week of school. After he started to get better, all the skin peeled off his hands and feet which was kinda gross.