Ill

I take my daughters hand into mine, her face flushed with fever she lies sprawled on the sofa watching the television through half-lidded eyes. I try everything to keep illnesses and infections at bay; a diet of good organic foods, exercise and sunlight. Yet despite every effort, you simply cannot prevent your child from getting sick. Hypersensitive, I must administer Panadol suppositories as Elizabeth would gag and chock on any medicine taken orally. Along with plenty of fluids, the Panadol is the only defence we have, short of being admitted to hospital and being placed on a drip.

I learned this the hard way last year, just before she was diagnosed with ASD. She caught a virus that induced very high fevers. I tried to give Elizabeth some Nurofen but she gagged on it and threw up all over the kitchen floor. Desperate I tried to put it in her bottle but after one sip she refused it and every other liquid we tried to give her. A couple of hours later her temperature had reached 40 degrees, at which time she was also very dehydrated. I called my Dad and raced straight up to the hospital. By the time we saw the triage nurse thirty minutes later her temperature had reached 42 degrees. At this stage Elizabeth was crying unceasingly. A drip was put her arm to re-hydrate her and a suppository was administered, but not until they attempted to give her some painkiller orally, despite our protests, for which she threw up immediately. It took two days for her take a bottle again and three days before she began eating. Altogether she spent four days in hospital. Other little ones I knew who came down with the same virus recovered quickly with regular painkillers and plenty of fluid.

The Panadol finally taking the edge of her fever, Elizabeth sits up and gives me a beautiful bear hug before climbing down off the sofa and dashing over to her toys.