Will's school takes Year Six on an annual trip to New York. It is a long anticipated trip by all the year six kids. It was something Aisha missed out on as she went from Australian Year Five straight to UK Year Seven.
With everything paid for, visas sorted and return UK visas put into his new Australian passport it looked like he was all set to go. Until......
On the last day of our trip to the Isle of Wight, he developed spots.......
They weren't acne.
Despite being immunised as a kid he had somehow caught chicken pox !!!
'Yay !' we thought 'He can go'.
Until that night he came up with more spots.
he had a great time.
They went to the UN headquarters.
and, appropriately, saw the death star - which Will last saw in the Vatican....
With everything paid for, visas sorted and return UK visas put into his new Australian passport it looked like he was all set to go. Until......
On the last day of our trip to the Isle of Wight, he developed spots.......
They weren't acne.
Despite being immunised as a kid he had somehow caught chicken pox !!!
We were sure we would have to pull him out of the trip and geared ourselves for the worst. Mark took him to our local doctor who said the spots were 80% certain to be the pox and that Will would not be allowed to fly.
'No !' we thought. 'He can't go'.
Mark wanted to make sure though and asked if the pox could be definitely confirmed, especially as Will had been immunised. The doctor confirmed it could and gave a referral for a blood test. Mark booked the appointment and was assured over the phone that yes, the test could be done and yes, the results could be fast tracked. However, at the Whittington Hospital (as in Dick and his cat) AFTER Will had provided blood samples, they were told that the tests couldn't confirm the pox, only whether at some stage in his life Will had been exposed to the virus. As a result of this mix up though, we ended up being seen by a fantastic senior doctor who went above and beyond. She did a special swab test which could confirm if the spots were the pox and promised to fast track the results, but basically she said he should be OK to go as the period of contagion was limited to 5 days. He should just be able to make it.
'No !' we thought. 'He can't go'.
Mark wanted to make sure though and asked if the pox could be definitely confirmed, especially as Will had been immunised. The doctor confirmed it could and gave a referral for a blood test. Mark booked the appointment and was assured over the phone that yes, the test could be done and yes, the results could be fast tracked. However, at the Whittington Hospital (as in Dick and his cat) AFTER Will had provided blood samples, they were told that the tests couldn't confirm the pox, only whether at some stage in his life Will had been exposed to the virus. As a result of this mix up though, we ended up being seen by a fantastic senior doctor who went above and beyond. She did a special swab test which could confirm if the spots were the pox and promised to fast track the results, but basically she said he should be OK to go as the period of contagion was limited to 5 days. He should just be able to make it.
'Yay !' we thought 'He can go'.
Until that night he came up with more spots.
'No !' we thought. 'He can't go'.
According to the doctor though, who had given us her E-mail details and kept in touch, the contagious period was five days after initial onset.
According to the doctor though, who had given us her E-mail details and kept in touch, the contagious period was five days after initial onset.
'Yay !' we thought 'He can go'.
But then we were concerned that he might come out in more spots, especially on his face, and that the airlines, or more likely the notoriously fussy USA immigration people, might refuse him entry.
'No !' we thought. 'He can't go'.
Throughout all the uncertainty William was very stoic. He said a couple of times that if he didn't get to go it was OK because New York will always be there and because this time last year Sally was getting ready for breast cancer surgery, and chickenpox is nowhere as bad as that.
What a kid !
Mark had asked for a doctor's certificate stating Will was clear to go. It was only the day before his scheduled departure that Mark was able to collect the certificate.
'Yay !' we thought 'He can go'.
And he did.
But then we were concerned that he might come out in more spots, especially on his face, and that the airlines, or more likely the notoriously fussy USA immigration people, might refuse him entry.
'No !' we thought. 'He can't go'.
Throughout all the uncertainty William was very stoic. He said a couple of times that if he didn't get to go it was OK because New York will always be there and because this time last year Sally was getting ready for breast cancer surgery, and chickenpox is nowhere as bad as that.
What a kid !
Mark had asked for a doctor's certificate stating Will was clear to go. It was only the day before his scheduled departure that Mark was able to collect the certificate.
'Yay !' we thought 'He can go'.
And he did.
 |
| Good, but not as good as business class ...... |
he had a great time.
They went to the UN headquarters.
and, appropriately, saw the death star - which Will last saw in the Vatican....
Will stayed at Pablo's place, click here to read about Pablo's visit to us. Pablo's family took Will out and about in & around New York city.
At the end of the week in New York, and after taking the red eye flight to London, Will arrived home at around 11:30 am. He was fine for a while but then .....it all caught up with him.
What a kid !
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