Typhoon Kampasu is a coming

Just when you think you get back on track, another curve ball comes at you.

Email sent at 9:00 pm on Tuesday night:

To all Concordia parents,

School is close tomorrow, Wednesday 9/1/2010 by the order of City of Shanghai due to typhoon.

Best Regards,

Head of School

Typhoon!!!!! Yes its name is Kompasu and the city was partially shut down today. Which means the labor workers did not have to come to work today and China public schools were supposed to start today, but didn't. Of course today was the day I rescheduled my look around town with the Orientations consultants. You know the one that was disrupted last week when AC had a fever. He is doing much better by the way, but there have may have been more cases of the flu at school since. I am still on the fence. He looked to good to be that sick, plus thankfully no one else at home got that sick. ER has been a little punky, but no fever.

Sorry, I digressed. Back to the weather. Not only did the school email me, my phone company text me, JP's teacher called me personally. Talk about being connected, it was impressive. Given school was closed, I thought for sure we were going to have to batten down the hatches an hunker in. But no, we had beautiful clear blue skies, a rarity in Shanghai as it is usually pretty hazy, until noon. Then we had some thunder storms, which were impressive but we didn't have the winds that were expected. I don't think it was necessary to keep the kids home from school, but better safe than sorry.

The hardest part about all of this is that it is not like I can watch the local weather to know what is coming and how concerned I should be. Yes I can go online, but me reading the Doppler radar is not the same as a local weatherman that you trust and are used to watching. Again, here in Shanghai you just learn to roll with everything. So we spent the afternoon at the gym in the kiddie playland. I am still waiting to get into a routine, but there seems to always be something going on.

Flu awareness

So we have officially been in China for a month now. It has been a long month with a pretty steep learning curve. Just when I thought all was well... I have the kids in school, I have started exercising, I am less overwhelmed when I go to the grocery store... The call from school. Of course it happened on the one day I was away in Puxi for an IBM sponsored orientation session to Shanghai. Anderson has a high fever 39.2 C (or about 102.6). Normally, I wouldn't panic, but this is the first illness in Shanghai, and this open's up a whole can of worms in my mind. Where do we go for urgent/emergent care? How does the system work? Can I trust any of it? Will they take insurance?

First I have to call the driver to come all the way back to get me so I can collect AC, who by the way was fine when I dropped him off at the bus stop. In fact they were learning about germs and hand-washing in preschool, so he was discussing proper technique and then some on the way to meet the bus. Once he gets on a topic the chatter never ends. So, needless to say I was a little alarmed and wanted see for my self how he looked ASAP. Interestingly the school nurse asks if she can give him something, I respond yes Tylenol, a little surprised that they could administer any medication. I felt like a doctor again giving a verbal order....Flashback, residency, call for fever, response tylenol.... Then she corrects me. Oh 39.2 very high fever, Motrin better. You know, she is right, motrin works much quicker and more effectively for kiddos temps...back to being Mom, oh yeh, I don't have to worry about complications of motrin on a general medicine patient, it is my kid.

I arrive at the school, I have no idea where the infirmary is... ok it's in the middle school. I barely get in the door, and I hear poor AC's cry Mom!!!! He is my sensitive one and gets a lot better with mommy hugs. Sizing him up, he doesn't look too bad. In the states, I would have collected him and off we go, but we are not in the states. So I talk to the nurse, about any other symptoms, has any one else been sick. "Oh other boy in same class also, has very high fever, but had vomiting as well."

Since this is our first medical issue, I made an appointment with a pediatrician at the local expat clinic. He looked good, but I felt like this was as good a time as any to check out what medical facilities are available. Plus, I didn't want his condition to change, and I would be without a medical contact. So off we go to the clinic. It is clean, the front desk people are nice and helpful. They were even able to track down my insurance as we have not received our new cards, so I didn't have to pay cash to be seen. For China standards, I was pleased. Diagnosis, viral illness.

AC is doing well, I decide to keep him home the rest of the week. They have a great policy, that the kids have to be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school. Then, I get the email. Two children in Miss M's class were sent home with fever one confirmed case of influenza. Gulp!
O.K. I have one sick kid, two other kids at home one only 18 months old. The flu? It is only August! Again, I am not an alarmist, but influenza can be a scary illness, and I may be harboring patient zero!!!! Although, in my heart of hearts, AC looks way to good to have the flu.

A little research later. I have learned that in Southern China, there are two peaks of influenza one right about now. The northern part of China, is more typical to the US with a winter peak season. Shanghai is right in the middle, so I guess we could go either way. (I haven't done that research) I was pleased to find that China as a weekly report on cases of the flu. This week is week 31 with 53 confirmed cases of H1N1, no severe cases or outbreaks. So at least the government is on it. I bet by next week, because of Miss M's preschool fever frenzy, the manditory temperature check may be re-instituted at the school. Apparently a previously mandated practice in response to last years H1N1 pandemic.

Hand washing, Hand washing, Hand washing in China.

http://www.cnic.org.cn/eng/