So Sad

I just read an e-mail from Brian's principal at his school. A seventh grade girl got a non-contagious form of pneumococcal meningtis and died yesterday. It apparently started as an ear infection and there was something that compromised her immune system so that the infection spread to her blood and then to her spinal fluid and finally to her brain. She went to the same elementary school that Brian does and her younger brother is still there; she also has a younger sister in the middle school. I am in shock. I don't know the family well, but the mom was a year younger than me in high school. I cannot even begin to imagine their grief and sorrow right now.

Things like this are so scary to me. Especially when they hit so close to home. This girl was from my town and at one time went to my kid's school. I know it is not contagious, but it still worries me a little. I want to know the details of what happened in case I have the chance to prevent something in the future. I have heard of other cases of meningitis on the news, but when they happen in other communities it is not the same. It reminds me how fragile that life is. Bad things happen to good people and that just plain stinks.

It is hard for me to even process this. Tears come to my eyes for the family. I have experienced a different kind of loss, so I know a little of how they feel. But on the other hand I have no idea what they are going through. Once I got pregnant, was able to stay pregnant, and had a healthy baby the worrying was supposed to end. But it didn't and it doesn't. Sometimes it is worse, sometimes it is better. It is hard to let your kids out into the world of unknowns. It is hard for me to see them enter their school buildings each day. I watch the door close behind them and I worry, just a little. They are out from under my care and I have to entrust their safety and well being to people that I barely know.

Before I turned in for the night, I went to check on the boys one more time. I felt their heads to make sure that they were fever free and then went to bed feeling a little better. I kissed and hugged on them a few extra times today. Just because you never know what lies ahead. There are a lot of quotes about living each day to the fullest and like it could be your last. It makes sense to me.

I know the boys have little chance of getting meningitis, and that most cases are curable if caught early enough. I will list the main symptoms in the hopes that maybe another person can catch it early enough and be saved. Watch for a high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, feeling overly tired and sleepy, confusion, and neck pain. It is hard because it is almost the same symptoms as the flu. I say better safe than sorry and if you know someone that has these symptoms and especially if they are getting worse day by day, get them to a doctor right away.

For more information go to www.meningitis.org and www.musa.org .