This morning was a blur with everyone in the family getting ready for work and school at the same time. By the time I got into school my worries from last night had disappeared and even moreso after I'd finished teaching 4T.
Then it happened - just out of the blue. I was called to the headteacher's office. In his room were two policemen and my doctor. They explained that my friend's daughter, Jenny, had died in the night and that they would like me to return home as a precautionary measure. I didn't mention that my own daughter had gone to a party with Jenny when she'd got back from Thailand.
I just felt as if the floor had opened when they said that our entire family was to return home and remain in isolation until they confirmed the cause of death. They tried to reassure me that this was normal procedure in such cases but my mind raced back to what I'd been reading last night.
When I got home my two daughters and son were already there. Kirsty, our eldest daughter and best friend of Jenny was inconsolable and just kept asking if she was going to be alright. What could I say?
This isn't what I thought I'd be writing about when I started this blog last week and I'm not sure if I can keep writing given the circumstances. Our doctor is coming around to the house in 30 minutes with some people from the health department. I'm trying to be upbeat and positive in front of the family but underneath I'm going to pieces.
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Pandemic; Survival; and Education
Visitors
Background
My name is Anne Browning. The Flu Pandemic reached Edinburgh in early January 2008 and caused us personal devastation when it took my husband, Graham, and my daughter, Kirsty, in the first two weeks. I recovered from the infection as did my two other children, twins, Libby and David. Before the outbreak I was a Religious and Moral Education teacher who worked in an Edinburgh secondary school. I decided to go back to work as soon as soon I was fit to help provide some care and support for the children who have survived the pandemic. We are creating a different kind of education system more suited to our new reality. To date nearly 185,000 people have died in the city.
Blog Archive
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2008
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January
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- Education comes in second place
- Crocus
- Families
- Our School
- Ready?
- An invitation
- When you're down....
- Sandy Robertson
- "Let us learn"
- Isolation
- Child protection
- Bathtime
- Going back
- Together
- Expected to work
- Fear
- Guilt
- Part of me.....
- Mum
- Nightmares
- David and Libby
- John Docherty
- Spread
- Kirsty
- Suspended Animation
- Guilt
- No
- In shock
- It's true!
- Isolation
- Avian Flu in Thailand
- Phone call
- Back to work
- The Dominie's Chronicle
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January
(34)
Links
The Dominie's Chronicle
Dominie: n. Scottish Schoolteacher (18th century)
Chronicle: v. Record in chronological order, make a historical record.
Chronicle: v. Record in chronological order, make a historical record.
E Mail
anne.browning1@btinternet.com
Disclaimer
The Dominie's Chronicle is a fictional exploration of how the education system might respond to a flu pandemic.
1 comment:
At this point, knowing that your daughter was exposed to a pandemic victim recently, you could hardly just cross your fingers and hope for the best.
What would you do?
Restrict physical activity temporarily.
Increase intake of antioxidants and liquids.
Start a preventive strategy with Vics Vapo Rub. It's surprisingly effective as an broad spectrum antiviral agent, it increases effective mucous movement to decrease viral cell invasion, and it acts to locally increase immune function in the lungs.
These are important for combating an upper respiratory virus that has adapted from its typical role as a nonpathogenic gut virus.
It's worked for past pandemics, and in liu of a government vaccine, you use what you got.
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