Luke hat Windpocken!

Luke has chicken pox. He wants to be held all day and night. We're on Day 5 now, and we're all pretty exhausted. Well, except Jack. He's managed to spend the last couple of days watching movie after movie as we've tried to find a quiet "activity" where Luke will stop crying. Jack's having a great time.


Luke isn't.



Unfortunately, the doctor says it's a "very strong case" of chicken pox. We've been to see him twice now...traipsing through the garden in back of the office to the secret quarantine room with the outside entrance to avoid contact with the other, unsuspecting patients. And we've called him three times. I'm sure he's sick of us...no pun intended.


Here's Luke on Day 2, while he was still smiling:

It's really no fun to have a sick child in a foreign country. All the medicine directions are in German, and so are the instructions on the after-hours line at the doctors' office. I had to ask our neighbor, Marina, to call our doctors' office and interpret. It doesn't leave you feeling confident when you have a little one feeling miserable with a high fever and you are struggling to navigate the system...

Luke never got vaccinated. He visited both the US and the German pediatrician during the appropriate time, but it didn't happen. Apparently, in Germany, the vaccine is not required and will only be given if requested...now we learn this. We didn't realize it was not part of the "standard package." And here we are. Our German friends are all congratulating us for getting it over with...but when I look at Luke, I just feel bad that this could have been prevented.

And on Day 3...with Tannosynt lotion in his hair and on his face:

His blisters are starting to dry up, but they're still purple, and he still has a fever. We're hoping today is the last of the really bad days and that he will start to feel better as we enter Day 6.

Cross your fingers!