When illness descends on Hermione, I get a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Like most parents, you never know how bad it'll get, or how long they might be ill for.
Sadly, Hermione has been dealing with a bad ear infection for a week, which has meant another round of antibiotics.
Hermione's nasal tubes are smaller than an atypical child's, and so any type of congestion/infection can inevitably affect her ears, nose and throat.
I knew this information, but still I did not think it was an ear infection.
We started with congestion, then a lot of mucus which Hermione struggles to expell due to lower muscle tone internally as well as externally.
She stopped eating and would barely entertain water.
I know from previous experience, that Hermione's condition can quickly deteriorate, and so we took a trip to the GP.
When it was discovered that Hermione had an infected and inflamed ear, it reminded me why I get that horrible pit-in-the-stomach feeling whenever Hermione gets ill.
She cannot fully communicate at this stage where abouts it hurts, or how she is feeling.
We've taught her the Makaton sign for 'ill' and amazingly, she did use this sign this time.
But we do a lot of guesswork, and so I forever worry that I've made the wrong call.
I did not consider her ears this time.
I guess it's that realisation that when Hermione's vulnerable, like when anyone is vulnerable, you just want them to be understood.
And sometimes she might not be understood.
And sometimes I can guess wrong.
I think that pit-in-my-stomach feeling is telling me that I hope as Hermione grows up, and in any situation where I, or her dad, or her sister is not there, someone would try to understand and work out where it hurts and what she needs.
I hope that Makaton sign language becomes more and more common in a variety of social situations, including more common use by GPs, nurses and most medical professionals.
When you meet someone in the medical profession who knows basic Makaton, or simply knows to use short, clear sentences with Hermione and to give her time to process the information, your heart does a little internal dance.
You realise that there are a number of people already out there who are learning the specific ways to help people with learning disabilities, when they might be feeling at their most vulnerable.
I hope that as we move forward with our understanding of Down Syndrome, and all types of learning disability, that more and more medical professionals are provided with the training and time needed to really understand Hermione and her peers.
I know, in time, this would start to reduce the depth of that feeling in my stomach.
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