Ugliness

Yesterday, I felt the first, though I am sure not the last, feeling of what I like to call Mama Bear syndrome.  You see, my son - my beautiful, sweet, 21 month old baby boy, was "quarantined" at school for no reason. 

Let me back up.  My son was battling a cold last week (in chilly weather which causes his skin to chap).  He is a pacifier lover so when he doesn't feel well, he gets it - a lot.  He also tends to rub his face a lot.  Over the weekend, this caused a perfect storm of all of the chapped areas around his mouth (where his pacifier is) to become infected.  Let's just say it looks terrible.  Almost like he is a burn victim.  It doesn't hurt him nor is it spreading, so we took him to daycare.  Once the other parents saw him, we were asked to pick him up and take him to the doctor (to ensure that he wasn't contagious).  We did so.  That day he spent with me in my office at work watching movies and playing.  The doctor confirmed what I just explained, gave us some antibiotics and cream to help it go away faster and said, most importantly, HE ISN'T CONTAGIOUS.  The next day, I took him back to school.  When I picked him up that afternoon, one of the owners pulled me aside and told me that some of the parents were still concerned about their kids being around him so she quarantined him with her for a few hours.  Basically my kid was punished and not allowed to play with the other children because some parents are ignorant and refuse to trust our doctor and the daycare owners.

This hurt my heart, probably more than it should have.  It isn't his fault that his face looks like it has been burned.  He is still the same beautiful, sweet, 21 month old baby boy. 

So what did I do?  I called my brother to come stay with him for a day.  My mother-in-law will keep him the rest of the week.  I will not have my child quarantined at school for the sake of a few parents.  I called the doctor and asked her to fax over a note stating her diagnosis.  I hope they post it on the wall for all of the parents to see.  

Am I angry?  Absolutely.  While I understand, as a parent, any concern such as this, I would also think that if I was told that it wasn't something my child could contract then I would trust that those people that take care of my child everyday are not trying to start an epidemic within their business.

I will get over this.  Canon will get better.  His face will clear up (as it is already doing) and he will be back to his old self again.  Those parents?  They will still be ignorant and close-minded.  And ugly.

This picture was (obviously) taken before all of this began.  You can, however, see the beginnings of a cold and chapped cheeks.

Here's to praying for patience for me.