My daughter’s chicken pox came without a warning. It just erupted on one fine day without her getting a fever. I should have taken note when she mentioned that a few of her friends were off from school because they had chickenpox.

I was picking her up from daycare as usual in the evening after work. Suddenly the teachers stopped in their tracks as they sent my daughter out to the gate. They appeared concerned as they looked at her face. I thought she had another episode of epistaxis. Then one of the teachers brought her to me quickly and said, “We just noticed this on her face but she was well today”. A quick glance showed several vesicles on her face. It was undoubtedly chickenpox. I reassured the teachers that it was okay, she is bound to get it one day and that I was actually glad she caught it now. At least I don’t have to worry about it once she gets into formal schooling.

I messaged my husband to bring back some calamine lotion from his place of work. If I knew earlier, I would have written a prescription at my own clinic. I brought her to see the doctor at a nearby clinic the next day as my own place was closed on Saturday. The reason being I wanted to collect a letter to certify that my daughter has chickenpox and that I needed a few days’ leave of absence to take care of her. It was a straightforward process and we were done in less than an hour. I then informed my superior via phone regarding the leave and uploaded the form onto HRMIS. It was also my first time downloading my e-GL from HRMIS for that clinic visit. Things are so easy nowadays with the technology that we have.

My daughter is well with a low-grade fever. The vesicles are coming out very fast and drying up just as quick. Her appetite remained normal although I do have to remind her from time to time to keep hydrated. One thing that is giving me a headache in the morning is that she wakes up at 2am asking for cookies and a glass of water. It is usually very hard for me to go back to sleep after that. Anyway, there is always a silver lining to the cloud. At least I get to polish my assignments and do my revisions for this exam month peacefully for the next few days.