Photo: SXC/melbia

A new mom with a three month old child and two school age children probably summed it up best when she said, “I think it is very scary. I’m afraid to go outside.”
 
So what do new moms do to keep their babies safe?
* Screen friends. Ask the neighborhood kids if they feel sick before they come in to avoid the, “Oh, I don’t have Swine Flu. My brother does!” comments after you ask a child who has been playing with your kids for the last half hour if he is sick because of his sneezing fit. (True story, folks.)

* Don’t go to crowded locations. If you have to shop, head to the store at off peak hours.

* Have a hands off policy, especially with strangers who want to coo over your child.
* Institute a rule that your kids and everyone else in the house have to wash their hands as soon as they arrive home.

* Talk to your older children about sneezing or coughing into an elbow instead of into their hands.

* Discuss further precautions with your doctor and then decide what is best for your family. The CDC is currently recommending that anyone caring for or living with a child under six months of age should get an H1N1 flu vaccine.

This post was written by Katelyn Thomas, to view more of her stuff head on over to Katelyn’s page.

Post from: Babylune

IMG: Courtesy of Bryan Post

Valerie has never met her newborn daughter, Norah, instead family has been taking care of her and big sister Trinity as dad, Bryan, goes back and forth between the family and the hospital every week.   On September 13th it marked day 37 in the hospital for Valerie Post, she has missed turning 24 (in this short time period), her 2 year anniversary, her husband’s 24th birthday and watching her little ones grow.

Here’s a brief story of the two of them (written by Bonnie):

Bryan and Valerie are a young couple who got married for all the right reasons, they are in love. They planned both of their beautiful little girls.They had good jobs. They had money in the bank. They made a choice to move to South Dakota by his dad and his sister. The truck was packed and ready to go. Bryan would drive with all their belongings, Pregnant Valerie and little Trinity (17 months old) would be flying.

IMG: Courtesy of Bryan Post

As you all know the trip never happened, instead she went to the hospital and had her baby. Baby Norah would be immediately flown to the St.Joseph’s hospital in Tampa while mom lay in a coma. This doesn’t end here, instead it gets worse and better at the same time for them. There are days where they get to see the silver lining of hope, but there are others that worry them as they stare at all the machines (well over 10) that are keeping her alive, all but her brain and her heart. She went into the coma because her lungs collapsed and they had hoped by putting her on the life support it would help fight that, her lungs will never work on their own.

She will need oxygen for the rest of her life. She will need rehabilitation to learn how to walk, talk, and eat. She will have to be weaned off the addiction from 37 days of hard, heavy narcotics keeping her pain free and in the coma.

Bonnie goes on to say that she has the best doctors at Tampa General Hospital and they aren’t ready to give up on her. As you can see, neither is her family who has been going back and forth. This past week she had heart surgery, which she showed slight signs of healing, luckily they were given rooms at the Hampton Inn for free so they could be there during this trying time and Bryan could be near his daughters and wife, not to mention the family for support. But this hasn’t always been the case, here is a small look at what Bryan has been dealing with on a weekly basis:

- First he hasn’t been working during this time. But he was offered his job back and he will go as soon as his wife comes home.
- $25 day in fuel (to go back and forth)
- He needs to eat, pay for parking too.
- diapers (both girls are in them)
- Trinity was int he potty training stage until this happened.
- newborn Norah uses baby formula which costs $18 per day and lasts 3 days.
- Trinity needs breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

There have been days where instead of going to visit with the girls he stayed at the hospital parking garage to cut down on costs. But that only made him miss his precious daughters. This is a family that really needs everyone’s thoughts going there way. Bonnie says that her son never meant for this to get so much attention but he wanted other pregnant women to know how serious the swine flu is to them, especially since he’s seen it first hand.

She also stated that he will not ask for help, but he could always use gas cards, diapers, formula and good thoughts. They will be doing a poker run in October, I’ll write more about that later.

(Thank you to Bonnie Jones and Bryan Post, who supplied me with this information.)

Post from: Babylune

IMG: Sxc.hu

The baby was in distress and they immediately did a caesarean section on August 7.  The hospital states the mom was placed on a respirator, had swelling and seven blood clots from her c-section opened up. The hospital waits for her to get better but no one knows for sure.

Bryan Post, husband of Valerie Post, has been having to run back and forth between the hospital and family since that day. While Valerie is laying in a hospital bed in a coma, her little baby has already been released from the hospital. The couple also have another child, a 16-month-old-girl named Trinity. When this all happened she went to stay with family members, currently they are also helping take care of the newborn while he tries being in two places at once.

While laying in this coma, Valerie has already been through emergency surgery after surgery, but it hasn’t gotten better.  I’ll continue to watch this story, hopefully I’ll be bringing a new update that she is home with her little girls.

Here’s some info from Tampa Bay.com:

Changes to the immune systems during pregnancy make it harder to shake the virus. During the second and third trimesters, as the mother’s lung capacity is reduced, a respiratory infection can become more serious.

When the mother has difficulty breathing, the baby is at risk too, noted Dr. Robert Yelverton, chief medical officer for Women’s Care Florida, a network of more than 100 doctors. But he stressed that pregnant women should not panic, as cases like Valerie Post’s are rare.

Tip:  Many people forget that the Swine Flu is a vicious thing and that while it may be mild in the average person, a baby or a pregnant woman are more vulnerable.  If you are pregnant and find yourself experiencing fever, couch, sore throat or difficulty breathing seek a doctor immediately.

Post from: Babylune

IMG: Sxc.hu

with the swine flu. The baby is not suffering from the flu but being born too early. The mother is critically ill and no updated news has been released, the baby is being cared for in the intensive care unit. Hopefully we’ll hear good news in this case soon. Congrats to the new mom and dad, may your baby gain weight quickly.

Also in the swine flu news, a 14 month old baby is being treated in Glasgow. Currently in the UK there are 541 cases of the Swine Flu, 21,940 in the entire world that has been reported and yet it keeps spreading. While it seems to have become a quiet subject it is still going around so you may want to continue keeping those sneezes to yourself.

Post from: Babylune

Post from: Babylune

IMG: Sxc.hu

Many people are starting to think, “it’s not going to happen to my family” or “it’s not a big thing.” But now it’s starting to make me think twice, currently we don’t have many cases where I live so I feel a bit safer, but others that have cases all over the place seem to be in danger of catching it if they come out of their homes. In the case of the newest toddler death it seemed to strike suddenly, yesterday morning he got a high fever his mom took him in to the hospital that night, he died an hour later. Now I have no clue how fast this strikes but for this little one it was rapid. The tests won’t come back until later today or tomorrow at which time they’ll announce if it was for sure the swine flue that killed the toddler and not something else.

To make matters worse, my husband came down with a fever and dizziness yesterday. My first thought was the swine flu, it just goes to show even when you try pushing it away it’s always in the mind.

Here’s the list of those that have died: (2 Arizona, 3 Texas, 1 Washington, 2 New York)
- Toddler from Mexico, died in Texas April 27, 2009
- Judy Dominguez Trunnell, pregnant woman (gave birth to a healthy little girl via c-section) May 5, 2009
- had a heart condition (Washington)
- a woman in Arizona with a lung condition died
- Man from Corpus Christi, age 33. (Texas)
- assistant principal Mitchell Wiener (NY)
- 16-month-old toddler, Jonathan Zamora (May 18, 2009) (NY)
- I know I’m missing one here but can’t remember.

Judy’s husband is currently trying to sue the farms in Mexico that started the swine flu. To learn more about the swine flu please check out the CDC page on H1N1 flu.

Post from: Babylune

IMG: Sxc.hu

UPDATE: It has now been confirmed 18 kids have it at the New York City High School. Delaware is stating 4 UD Students have it as well.
They believe the Swine Flu began in Mexico but have stated they do not believe we should shut down the border since it is already in the United States. However other countries have decided not to allow flights in or out of Mexico to keep their own countries virus free. The virus has swept over into Germany, Canada, Austria, New Zealand, Israel, Spain and Britain.

Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, believes as we move forward we will see more deaths. This flu I think caught us quickly and while they are trying to find a cure one wasn’t ready for it.

Here’s a list of symptoms in case you think you have it or think someone you might know does. Keep in mind these are the same symptoms as the regular seasonal flu:

- fever of over 100 degrees
- stuffy nose
- cough
- chills
- head & body aches
- fatigue

You can read more information on the Swine Flu at the CDC. (Click the link)

Post from: Babylune