On Being Rash

Sam has been mildly out of sorts for the last two weeks. First he had a lingering head cold, which resulted in a free flowing stream of snot from his face. Then he had a slight fever over the weekend. During all of this, he would intermittently refuse to eat for a meal or two, and he seemed to be having some balance issues. I took him to the doctor's two weeks ago, and aside from a little un-infected fluid in one ear (probably the reason he falls over while waking in a straight line across a room free of obstacles) he was fine.

This morning, Sam slept in a little bit (side note: why does he only do this on days when his father is in charge of him or on Jesus school days, when we have to be out the door by 8:20?). I went to wake him at eight, and when I took off his pjs, I. Freaked. Out. His entire torso was covered in a red, icky looking rash. My mind started racing. Did I feed him something weird? Did I use a new lotion or soap? Also, I'm currently reading a book on the history of the development of vaccinations, and almost every disease they discuss is accompanied by a rash. Random statistics on mortality rates for rubella kept floating through my head. Not helpful.

After waiting a half an hour until the doctor's office opened, I secured us an appointment at 10:15. Turns out, he has roseola. The rash is not contagious and it's not a big deal. In fact, the it's pretty much the last stage of the sickness, so he probably was contagious last week when I was trotting him all over town letting him put his fingers in other kids mouths. It's a little yucky looking, but he doesn't seem to mind, so I guess it's business as usual.