This is the question that I asked my child's nurse last week after the school called and told me to come get Noah from school.  That was followed up with "He's ok, but everyone else is dropping like flies.  We think you should come immediately to get him and keep him out the rest of the week.  There is a huge outbreak of the flu and a bad stomach virus".  I said "I'll be there as quickly as I can, please keep him isolated the best of your ability".  Within 30 minutes, I was at the school to sign out my child.  The teacher brought him out a back way and I hussled him to our mini van.  Minutes later, I was on the phone with the nurse and asked my question, "Where can I buy a bubble?". 

You are wondering why in the world my child gets out of school because of an outbreak of illnesses.  If he's not sick, then why does he get to go home?  Other kids would probably love to be able to sit out of school, but not be sick.

The answer is that Noah is sick.  He doesn't have cancer and he doesn't have anything that most people know about.  On all outward appearances, Noah looks fine and at 44 lbs and almost 4 years old, he's a right good size.

Noah started his life with a severe case of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.  He had surgery and we thought that would be it and he'd be fine.  After the surgery, Noah was diagnosed with a motility disorder called Chronic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction.  Just a month ago, he was also diagnosed with a probably mitochondrial disorder due to a defect in the Complex V.  Don't even begin to ask me to explain this in this post!  But, it means our lives have changed forever.  The slightest of illnesses could be life threatening.  We are in the process of learning and have our first big appointment on Tuesday.

So, where can I find a bubble.  We put Noah in school for social interaction, as Noah's medical problems are complex and recently we found out he is on the Autistic spectrum.  In doing this, I realized we can't keep our children in a bubble forever.  Sometimes, keeping them well isn't worth the sacrifices of holding them back socially.

However, for this little week in time when illness seems to be causing "healthy" children to drop like flies, we will form the best of bubble we possibly can, but while it's expensive in that we get to lose some normal things that we take for granted when the kids are well, it's a small price to pay for the well-being of our children. 

How?

No public appearances from my boys.  We get take out from places that offer curbside service so none of us must go inside.  We take little trips in the van to get the boys a change of scenery.  We use antibacterial wipes on everything.  We wash hands.  No exposure to people who have been sick or around others who have been. 

Today, I went to the grocery store, and the greeter laughed at me with my wipes.  I just smiled and in my head thought, you do what you have to do to keep your family safe and I came for groceries, not germs.  It made me sad because it's the first time in a long time that I went to the grocery store on a Sunday afternoon without my whole family.