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My son Gabriel and I in Bogota, Colombia. |
Imagine the stress of moving to a foreign country when you aren’t fluent in their native language, and you have a toddler. If that doesn’t seem stressful enough, imagine that less than a month after the move your toddler gets sick. I experienced just that scenario.
My ex-husband is in the Army, he took an assignment in Bogota, Colombia. We joined him there a few months after he left, our son was about 18 months old. There is no U.S. military base, so we lived in the city.
We had the recommended vaccinations before we left, neither of us were routinely sick. My son had never even had an ear infection.
Less than a month after our arrival, I awoke to an unhappy toddler. He had a low grade fever which rapidly progressed. He developed a cough, congestion, and a high fever. He was crying relentlessly. Thankfully, I had brought Infants’ TYLENOL® from the U.S., it helped to alleviate his fever.
His father and I were growing concerned, and we called Tricare SOS to find out what our healthcare options were. We were directed to one of only two approved emergency hospitals in Bogotá. Healthcare was substandard at best, but I was grateful that my son had healthcare at all. He was diagnosed with “grippa”, which is what they call the flu.
He was prescribed rest, fluids, some homeopathic medicine routinely used in South America, and TYLENOL®.
I was relieved when I heard his happy little giggle, and I saw a smile that next afternoon. TYLENOL® helped to manage his fever and gave me peace of mind. I am immensely grateful for access to healthcare for my son, and to have options such as TYLENOL® for treatment. Many other families and children are not as fortunate, and the makers of TYLENOL® recognize that.
TYLENOL® created the SMILING IT FORWARD™ campaign to support families who need healthcare access. They are pledging to donate $1 to Children’s Health Fund for each image shared on the SMILING IT FORWARD™ website from now until January 31, 2014. They pledged a minimum donation of $75,000 and a maximum of $100,000.
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Gabe and I shared our Smiling It Forward moment. |
There is nothing that quite compares to seeing your child smile after an illness. You can help parents and caregivers see their children smile just by sharing your picture on www.SmilingItForward.com.
I have received information and products from McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., the makers of TYLENOL®. The opinions stated are my own. This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks.