Sick the same time every year? Vent.

[Anonymous]

I guess this is both a vent and an expression of astonishment that it happens every single year. Has anyone else always missed the same special events?

My 3rd grader gets very sick during the couple of weeks after Thanksgiving every single year. We are so careful to help her sleep and eat healthy and hydrate because we know it is coming, but it still gets her no matter what we do. We don’t travel or host during Thanksgiving, so it’s especially frustrating because our reward for having a quiet holiday seems to be everyone else’s germs once they return.

Because of the timing of her seemingly annual illness, she missed the school Christmas (private school) concert in 2nd grade and pre-k. They didn’t have it in K and 1st grade because of Covid. And now she has a fever of 103.1 and is going to miss it tonight, too.

We’re paying all this money for special traditions at her school and I feel totally disconnected to the school this time of year because we’ve haven’t experienced any of the holiday stuff since 2018! We even rearranged appointments and other things this fall so she wouldn’t miss a single choir or choreography practice, which seems dumb now given the pattern of always being sick for the concert.

I’m sad…she missed out on so many special childhood things because of covid and we can’t seem to catch up on them because of whatever new viral junk she’s getting. She’s our only child and each missed event hurts extra because it’s our only chance at it. I’m being upbeat for her but I’m so sad inside.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like this is the second time missing due to illness? Sorry that happened but try not think of it as always; that makes it feel worse and isn’t really accurate. Hope she feels better soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like this is the second time missing due to illness? Sorry that happened but try not think of it as always; that makes it feel worse and isn’t really accurate. Hope she feels better soon.

3rd time- prek, 2nd and now 3rd. The other two years they didn’t have it because of Covid. It feels like always even if it isn’t.

[Anonymous]

I can commiserate. I've hated December ever since having kids. We've always had terrible colds at best, and awful things like norovirus, at worst. We've missed actual Christmas celebrations with my family a ton. And my work always suffers this month because of the endless absences. I'm to the point where I don't even want to RSVP "yes" to any holiday parties. I can't risk more sicknesses!

[Anonymous]

What traditions are you paying extra money for? Our public school has traditions?

Anyway, my advice is to mask during this period of time if you know it's coming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What traditions are you paying extra money for? Our public school has traditions?

Anyway, my advice is to mask during this period of time if you know it's coming.

Public elementary schools in my area do not have a music program and do not celebrate holidays at school. They have an end of year carnival and that’s it. So when I say it’s things we are paying for it’s what might not be considered extras elsewhere- a formal music program, performances, holiday gatherings, etc.

[Anonymous]

I understand. But I agree with the poster who said try not to frame it as "always". My only child had gotten sick 9 out of 10 times we've traveled in the past 5 years. He is 9, and for an entire year I didn't plan a single vacation or trip because I was so fed up with him always being sick. Then I felt sad that we didnt go anywhere so I planned a few things this year. He was sick on our trip to Florida last month. But I had re framed it in my mind to accept that it was a possibility and to remind myself that there was one recent trip when he wasnt sick, yay! And i packed the meds and made the best of it.

This season is hard for germs and so many events and also stress because there are so many things we all want to do.

Hang in there!

[Anonymous]

Give them some Tylenol and go. That's what everyone else is doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand. But I agree with the poster who said try not to frame it as "always". My only child had gotten sick 9 out of 10 times we've traveled in the past 5 years. He is 9, and for an entire year I didn't plan a single vacation or trip because I was so fed up with him always being sick. Then I felt sad that we didnt go anywhere so I planned a few things this year. He was sick on our trip to Florida last month. But I had re framed it in my mind to accept that it was a possibility and to remind myself that there was one recent trip when he wasnt sick, yay! And i packed the meds and made the best of it.

This season is hard for germs and so many events and also stress because there are so many things we all want to do.

Hang in there!

I don’t know if I’d have the heart to travel ever again! Good for you for giving it yet another go. Poor kid. Hopefully this sets him up to have crazy good immunity in the future!

[Anonymous]

In my late teens I used to get an annual respiratory infection. Typically, Bronchitis but twice it escalated to pneumonia. It was frustrating.

After many doctors, one told me that I likely had a mold allergy so once the leaves started coming off the trees I needed to start taking allergy pills before it could escalate to an infection. Low and behold, no more annual respiratory infection. That is not to say I never got one again but it turned out to be a simple solution. Maybe it could be similar for your child OP. Has she been allergy tested? Something is happening this time a year and isolating her with a quiet holiday is not helping.

[Anonymous]

I understand the feeling because my kid has a mid December birthday and he’s had to cancel due to being sick or had friends sick for multiple years. Like others, I would just advise masking between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my late teens I used to get an annual respiratory infection. Typically, Bronchitis but twice it escalated to pneumonia. It was frustrating.

After many doctors, one told me that I likely had a mold allergy so once the leaves started coming off the trees I needed to start taking allergy pills before it could escalate to an infection. Low and behold, no more annual respiratory infection. That is not to say I never got one again but it turned out to be a simple solution. Maybe it could be similar for your child OP. Has she been allergy tested? Something is happening this time a year and isolating her with a quiet holiday is not helping.

OP here. You might be a medical super sleuth! We don’t live in DC, but in a region where fall is late. The trees start losing leaves a week or two before Thanksgiving and there are still a ton of trees with orange leaves that haven’t dropped yet. My DD spent all weekend raking and playing in leaves, and every adult in my family has tons of allergies…including leaf mold.

Interestingly, my Dd had the same mystery illness after family trips to two humid, visibly moldy countries in recent years. We assumed it was something she picked up on the plane but now I’m second-guessing everything.

[Anonymous]

This sounds so familiar. Every year in elementary school I got sick the week between Christmas and New Year's and then my brother would catch it and get sick the first week in January. Eventually we grew out of it.

[Anonymous]

I take allergy meds now, I used to always get a respiratory illness every December without fail.

[Anonymous]

You traveled and now wonder why she's sick?