My daughter’s preschool was very concerned and organized about the chicken pox reporting. They noted on each child’s folder whether he or she had already had chicken pox. They told each parent individually about the dangers to Katy, and then frequently reminded everyone in the monthly newsletters. The parents were absolutely great, and we always had time to keep her out of school until there were no new cases. With the help of these parents, teachers, our neighbors, and friends, Katy dodged exposure for almost 3 years. She caught chicken pox 7 months after treatment ended and had a perfectly normal case.

My son was diagnosed at age 14. He was starting ninth grade, the last year of junior high. He missed about a third of that year. He was able to keep up, thanks to some terrific teachers and a very cooperative administration, not to mention being a really motivated kid. He hated missing school and would go even when he didn’t feel very good, just to say he’d been to school that day, even if only for two periods. Our oncologists gave him the okay to be in school, saying that infection in kids his age was usually from bacteria they were already carrying around, so other kids were not a big threat, provided they weren’t sick.

We asked the two ladies in the office to write down the illness of any child in Mrs. Williams’ class. That way the teacher could check daily and call me if any of the kids in her class were ill.