Will a warmer climate help?

[patric]

Hello everyone!

Thank you for all of your expertise and counsel! My ds8 was treated with ivig last June and was completely "cured," that is until this winter when he has had one infection after another followed by pandas flare ups. My question is if anyone knows of any info to support living in a warmer climate for the winters to lessen the odds of infection? My parents live in Hawaii and I could take my son for the winter and home school there. However my husband can not leave his job to be with us 100 percent of the time, but could still be there quite a bit. We are even checking into the family medical leave act to see if he can come without any repercussions. The thought of another winter in chicago and all of the illness scares me! I know he could potentially get sick there as well, but iam thinking a lot less. My extended family and friends think I am nuts to even consider it, but honestly I value the opinions here even more! Please let me know your thoughts. Would you do it?

Thank you,

Sharon

[MomWithOCDSon]

Well, not that I'd ever be one to discourage someone from taking an extended leave in Hawaii, and I can appreciate the health concerns involving your DS and the viruses and microbes that can invade us particularly in the winter, I wonder if you've been able to quell some of the fear and emotion to think somewhat objectively about this decision. The things that come to my mind with regard to this situation are:

 

1. We're in the Chicago area also, and it really has been an incredibly mild winter thus far, and though the cold and damp will likely extend through May, like it usually does. However, the relative lack of snow and ice and milder temperatures have allowed all of us to be out and about more, rather than cooped up inside, huddling for warmth and spreading germs. So, when it comes to "Chicago winters," I think this one has been pretty bearable thus far!

 

2. Despite some potential physical health advantages, uprooting your DS for an extended period may have other consequences. Have you even lightly introduced the idea to him, more in the "Wonder what might happen if . . . ?" sort of way that's neither a commitment nor a threat? How would he feel, do you think, about leaving home for an extended period, leaving his friends, his neighbors, his house, his room and even his dad (for periods, anyway)? Mental and emotional well-being, I think, is an important component in PANs healing, and I know that my DS wouldn't take too well to a long-term upset of his familiar world. He would certainly enjoy a good, maybe even somewhat extended, vacation, but after about 2 weeks, he'd want his room, his stuff, his "comfort zone" back around him.

 

3. If you're thinking of homeschooling in Hawaii, does that mean you're homeschooling now, in Chicago? If so, then your DS's exposure to strep and other nasties must already be better controlled than it would be in a typical school environment. If not, and your DS is still attending a regular school, maybe homeschooling here is an option though, again, there's a balance to be had in terms of what he wants, how much he would potentially miss his classmates, his independence, etc.

 

4. If you pick up and go to Hawaii, even with your parents, you'll be leaving some of your support system behind, too. How will you manage that?

 

5. And, finally, as much as we want to protect our kids, unless they're going to live in a bubble, they're going to come across threats. Going to Hawaii isn't going to entirely put an end to opportunities for exposure for your DS, and in fact, he might come into contact with new strains of various microbes that, being from a distant part of the country, his immune system hasn't seen before or had a chance to develop any immunities to. I don't know where, exactly, in Hawaii you're thinking of landing, but I do know that warmer, more tropical climes can harbor a variety of bugs that more northern, cooler climates have never seen.

 

I don't know . . . to me, I guess, moving to Hawaii would feel kind of extreme. Though I'd LOVE to go for a couple of weeks, no doubt!

[patric]

Thank you for this valuable input! You did raise some points I hadn't thought of. We go to Maui quite often as a family and even have a small business there, so my son is all for the idea as we go every christmas and he loves it. I don't currently homeschool but have thought of that as well, but trying to keep him that isolated from all of the neighbor kids would be tough. I am just thinking his quality of life would be better in Maui, but this could be wishful thinking as it has been a miserable winter for us with one of us sick after another.

Incidentally, I was wondering if you know of a Chicago area support group where pandas families get together like they have elsewhere? I am sure there are a number of us here.

Thank you again for your thoughtful post!

Sharon

[airial95]

While Florida is not Maui - it certainly isn't Chicago either, and I can tell you - we've had over a dozen infections in less than 2 years - so if you ask me, the weather has not helped!

 

Although - if you're looking for a tutor to go with you and teach your son if you do make the move...let me know!

[dcmom]

Sharon-

 

I am going to kind of agree with Nancy.

 

I do not know your story, or what your son's symptoms have been- but I will assume things have been similar to most of us.

 

Immediately, I do think your post sounds a bit like you are panicking, and who doesn't. But, I think the fact that your son responded so well to IVIG, should actually calm you. We have been on this path for exactly three years now. In the beginning (lets say the first two years) I really wanted to put my kids in a bubble. I kept them home from school if there was illness, we avoided family members with even the slightest cold, and they took daily antibiotics to ward of illness. I have since learned that the reality is, we cannot keep kids from getting sick. Even if they were in a bubble, I am sure something would find them.

 

So- over the last three years, we have worked at developing a protocol to allow them to live a normal life. This "normal life" is VERY important to them, and important to me also. They go to public school, sleepovers, parties, and we occasionally sociallize with sick people! We deal with the consequences. They get sick, on average, twice a year- sometimes this causes a flare up, sometimes not.

 

Hawaii sounds so very tempting for many reasons But I do wonder about the long term effects of splitting the family, leaving your home, and homeschooling. I wonder if it will make your son feel less "normal" or even feel guilty.

 

I also think, with the prospect of this being an illness we have to deal with long term, that facing it, figuring out how to treat it medically and maybe with therapy, is something I would like to do while my kids are still minors, under my control.

 

If the "surf" is still calling you, I might consider telling your kids this is so they could spend more time with their grandparents, rather than focusing in so much on your son's illness.

[MomWithOCDSon]

Thank you for this valuable input! You did raise some points I hadn't thought of. We go to Maui quite often as a family and even have a small business there, so my son is all for the idea as we go every christmas and he loves it. I don't currently homeschool but have thought of that as well, but trying to keep him that isolated from all of the neighbor kids would be tough. I am just thinking his quality of life would be better in Maui, but this could be wishful thinking as it has been a miserable winter for us with one of us sick after another.

Incidentally, I was wondering if you know of a Chicago area support group where pandas families get together like they have elsewhere? I am sure there are a number of us here.

Thank you again for your thoughtful post!

Sharon

 

You know, I'm not aware of a Chicago-area group, though yes, it seems there are quite a few of us in the area. I've spoken to several via phone over the last ocuple of years, and some of us traveled down to Indy in November and met up with other Midwesterners for the PANDAS Parents meeting there.

 

I suppose we could try getting one going?

[Kiera]

Reporting from the arid desert climate of Arizona, I can tell you that those school letters of strep notification keep on coming just about every month through out the school year! Together with pink eye, head lice and all the lovely school age afflictions! We have 17 families on our support group e-mail list and we just got started! And Maui has dengue fever, but lovely to visit!