I definitely could be kicking myself later for my current state of paranoia. As of this minute, I’ve made the 
decision for my family to cancel our long and eagerly awaited trip to Florida. My husband, though gravely disappointed, supports my decision even if only to avoid my extreme anxiety. And what brought on this anxiety and subsequent overhaul of our non-refundable vacation plans?
decision for my family to cancel our long and eagerly awaited trip to Florida. My husband, though gravely disappointed, supports my decision even if only to avoid my extreme anxiety. And what brought on this anxiety and subsequent overhaul of our non-refundable vacation plans?Zika Virus
Or in reality, I should say, the potential threat of the Zika virus. As of this moment, there are no known cases of locally transmitted Zika virus via mosquito bites. If you haven’t heard about the Zika virus, here’s the scoop in a nutshell:
- Zika is a virus that is spreading like wild fire in South America and Latin America.
- Zika has been known to cause major birth defects including microcephally.
- Zika rarely causes problems in adults, and many go completely symptom-free, unaware of having the virus. Although, if you do contract Zika, the most common symptoms include fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes.
- There are 426 travel-related contracted cases of Zika in the U.S. (96 of which are in Florida).
- Florida is the predicted hot-spot for any local mosquito-related outbreak to occur some time this spring or summer.
Wow, so yeah, I’m paranoid about a virus that isn’t even reported in the United States! But, to be fair, so is my OB. About a week before our planned trip, I started freaking out about the virus and telling my husband that I wanted to cancel the trip. So, he lovingly suggested that I put my fears to rest by calling my doctor to see if there would be any precautions or warnings against such a trip considering we would like to continue to grow our family. I called my children’s pediatrician, my general practitioner, and my OB’s office.[quote] The pediatrician naturally said there was no risk to the children and that I would need to talk to my doctor about any risk for a pregnancy. [/quote] My general practitioner said that they did not know what to tell me about the Zika virus as there are too many unknowns about it. Then, the nurse from my OB’s office said, “I would not go if I were you.” OK, that solidified my decision. Done and done!
Looking back on this, yes, I do agree with my husband that the person speaking on the phone to me from my OB’s office is probably just as paranoid as I am, because I’ve since heard from several other doctors including my sister’s OB and a Florida health department official that there was no need to worry about traveling to Florida and the only precaution is to wear bug spray. Oh well. I can’t live my life regretting the decision to not go to Florida for a week. And, I do feel justified in that I would have felt miserable the entire time, sick with worry about every little insect or speck of dust brushing against my arm to the point that I would have made my family have a terrible time.
So, we decided to have a stay-cation since my husband had a week and a half of planned vacation time from work. Our family did some fun at-home activities including taking family walks in the neighborhood, dance parties, games, and movies. Also, we hit up some fun activities outside the home, going to local restaurants (no cooking = vacation for Mom), swimming at the Centerville rec center, visiting the Cincinnati zoo, and taking small outings with only one child at a time (instead of three on one) to stores or some local garage sales. Oh, and ice cream and donuts…there was lots of Bill’s Donuts going on. Yes, we had a fabulous time. It was not the beach. Nothing compares to the beach. But, we got some greatly needed relaxation time in and lots of wonderful family time.
