For most of us, catching a cold is a regular occurrence. It usually happens when the weather gets colder. Our noses start running. We get all sniffly. And our throats get sore.
It's never fun to get sick, but we tend to just take some cold medicine, sleep a little extra, and have some chicken soup, then move on with our lives.
Some people aren't so lucky. People who have weakened immune systems can get desperately ill from just a simple cold.
Mom Maria Jordan MacKeigan knows this too well. Her young daughter, Jordan Grace, has Down syndrome, which makes her less able to fight off infections and illnesses.
Jordan Grace can become extremely ill from just the slightest cold, which means being around other sick kids can be seriously detrimental for her.
When Maria found out that other parents were sending their sick kids to school without thinking twice about it, she posted a photo online begging those parents to be more aware of the potential consequences for Jordan Grace and other children like her.
[H/T: BoredPanda]
On October 26, 2017, Maria turned to Instagram to write about the issue.
She wanted to make other parents aware of the effects their sick children could have on other, healthy kids.
Maria shared a picture of Jordan Grace in the hospital and wrote:
Tears and anger both flowed for me at school today. I took Jordan Grace home. When my child gets the simple cold she may end up like this!
I can’t for the life of me understand why people would put others at risk “because they have so many things to do” (FYI school is not the babysitting club) not only are others at risk but your own child needs you to cuddle them, to love them, to care for them back to health.
When Jordan Grace is sick, I think of her first, and how miserable she would be at school.
How she needs her mama by her side caring for her.
But I also think of others, I don’t want my child to go get others sick especially those who may end up in the hospital because their little bodies can’t fight the sickness off on their own.
Later, she shared the following update:
SORRY. I need to clarify. Jordan Grace is healthy, other children are at school completely sick because their parents have things to do!!!
Another mom commented on the Instagram post and wrote:
Right there with you. My son had down syndrome and was just hospitalized a fee [sic] days ago (he is out now), but there is a mom in my older son’s kindergarten class that has sent her child to school with a fever. Fully acknowledge that she was incredibly sick and had a fever. How do people not even know this is not acceptable?
Many parents shared the same sentiment, writing about how their kids also have underlying conditions and can't cope with normal sicknesses.
It's scary to know your little one could be hospitalized for something that would be so minor for other kids.
One woman wrote, "Common colds present much more serious to the little ones with underlying conditions and can result in devastating consequences. Unfortunately many people will not understand and it becomes a mission for us to educate the importance of managing sickness."
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