Hand Foot and Mouth

So once again I am the lucky recipient of another 'weird' illness...we are guessing since it's running rampant around town and has been in the daycare that I must've picked it up from Kason who seemed to have most, but not all of the typical HFM symptoms earlier the week before.  It started out with a really sore throat and serious fatigue on July 5th, so I just figured I was way tired from all the 4th of July festivities.  I was off the next day for my 5 days off...this is NOT how I planned on spending my days off - on the couch eating 2 big bags full of popsicles! Luckily the kids went to the daycare on Friday and I slept nearly the entire day which is unlike me and by that evening painful red spots had developed under my skin on my fingers and then my feet.  I consulted my ever-so-loved resident nurse Troy and he figured it was HFM... I hadn't even thought of that and now I was MORTIFIED! To me that just sounds like you get that by chewing on your toenails or something, YUCK! I called my sister Caroline, our family Pharmacist and she agreed with Troy, but because it wasn't common in adults I made a trip to the InstaCare early Saturday morning just to make sure.  One look in my mouth full of painful blisters, my hands and feet was all that was needed to confirm HFM in the shortest Dr visit ever of 25 seconds! No Rx, just Tylenol every 4-6 hours, It's nasty virus that has to run it's 5 day course ... So thus began the worst week ever! Imagine trying to swallow with at least 3 Gillette razor blades in your throat and when you do manage to swallow ANYTHING (water included sometimes...) it feels like horrible reflux/heartburn that you just can't clear out of your throat! Burn, baby burn...  Yep that's how it felt!

My hands were so sore I couldn't even hold a utensil even if I wanted to use one and I lived in slippers since my feet were so tender.  The Farley's, our very awesome neighbors brought dinner over one night, Troy stayed home to help me with the kids and took care of everything so I could rest and be miserable.  Tuesday (day 5) hit and it was like I was a semi-new person....my little red spots were tender, but I could at least hold things and step easier, I ate a little ice cream, and some noodles, and by Wednesday I was a cleaning fool bleaching everything that could be bleached and washing everything that could go in the washer! Thursday I was back to work, like nothing had ever been wrong.  So far Troy and the kids are all ok, thankfully!  So now I want another 5 days off so I can have a 'do-over' and get the things done that I had planned!
Just an FYI, The symptoms of HFM this year seem to be atypical, some people are getting some of the symptoms and others are not.  So watch yourselves and your kids! And if you do get it, let me be the first to say  "I'm sorry", and I'll be over with popsicles and the bleach!!