As my kids head back to school, I must prepare for inevitable illnesses

This morning, at an unholy hour, our family awoke to the sound of alarm bells. Well, not bells, but rather the gentle yet insistent sound of one of Alexa’s alarms. Actually, we changed the name of our bedroom device to Ziggy, so we can’t simply roll over, still half asleep, and tell Alexa to stop the alarm. Instead, we have to call the imp by its true name, which requires a certain amount of wakefulness to remember.

Why the unusually early wake-up? A new job? The first appointment of the day with the neurologist? A morning departure time for a family vacation? Unfortunately, it’s none of the above. Instead, today is the first day of school for our three boys.

Our oldest is starting middle school (that means fifth grade where we live), and I’m not sure how that happened. He turned 2 the same year I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which often seems like yesterday. He’ll be in a new building, but with the same peers, just down the road from the elementary school his brothers still attend.

That’s the only big change this year. The boys’ schedules will be a little different, but their friends and environment will remain essentially the same. I’m sure we’ll all quickly settle into a school-year routine.

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Bracing for an influx of sick children

However, as a parent with multiple sclerosis, there’s one more difference I can look forward to: the new and improved illnesses that my little petri dishes will bring home. I’m beside myself with anticipation — and that’s a good thing, because with MS, even the most common cold is enough for two.

I’ve written before about the magnifying effect that MS seems to have on illness, so I won’t harangue you with it now. What I will note is that the most common thing my children bring home is an upper respiratory infection — which is exactly what my Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) tends to make me extra susceptible to. That doesn’t really fit the definition of irony, as far as I can tell, so it isn’t cruelly ironic, but it’s still cruel.

That’s OK, though, because as the old English proverb says, “forewarned is forearmed.” I never thought I’d become one of those people who have a favorite cold medicine, yet here we are. I’m well stocked on those, especially ones with a fever reducer (antipyretic), because multiple sclerosis and increased body temperatures do not mix. In the past, I had the luxury of an “If it gets worse tomorrow, I’ll take something” approach. Now, I try to get ahead and stay ahead by relieving symptoms at the first hint of illness.

I’m going to take reasonable precautions and practice good self-care, but not at the expense of not being involved with my kids. They won’t be kids forever, and a little discomfort is a small price to pay to be a part of their lives — and for them to be a part of mine.

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