This is the first year we are dealing with MoyaMoya during cold and flu season and to be honest I am completely Freaked out!! With my daughters neurologist telling us if she starts vomiting take her to ER to rehydrate (which I understand) and if she has a high fever to also take her to the ER.  Then I had her in for a sore throat which ended up being Strep but her pediatrician telling us that if she gets the flu with the amount of aspirin she is on her liver could fail!! We did get her the flu shot to help but my daughter goes to public school how do I keep her from ending up back in the hospital???  Am I overreacting to be so worried all the time about her getting sick? 

Jeni

  I can totally understand your fears. We have been living with MM for 11 years. Our daughter was 5 when she was diagnosed, she had several strokes and surgery on both sides. My biggest worry for the first year or so was that she would get sick and have a stroke. We are still very careful about hand washing and staying away from sick people as best we can. We all get the flu shot in our house. One year we got the swine flu(before we were able to get the vaccine). It was aweful!!! We were sick for a long time. Kathleen recovered quicker than all of us did. Be sure your daughter gets the vaccine and not the nasal spray, the shot is not a live virus the nasal spray is. How old is your daughter? One of our concerns has been about getting a serious virus(the flu or chicken pox for example) while taking asprin. there is a slight risk of Reyes Syndrome under 17 years old. You would want to contact our neurologist about that if she's under 17.I assume she had the chicken pox vaccine, but have you tested her to see if she still is immune? There was an outbreak at her school when she was 6 and we tested her immunity and she had none the shot either didn't work or wore off, I kept her out of school until the outbreak was over. We did eventually re vaccinate but watched her carefull because the vaccine is a live virus. In time you may be able to relax about al these issues, we used to think about it everyday but over time as we saw she handled illness OK without strokes we don't think about it all the time and worry as much. If she's sick we are very careful to make sure we keep her hydrate. Not just drinking but adding things like jello, more fruit, frozen yogurt, soup, etc. One Dr. explained it to me that ut it in better perspective, we don't have to keep her overhydrated just not let her get dehydrated. The tongue is a good place to check for hydration. I think it gets easier over time. I don't know if any of this is helpful but if you have an specific question please post up.
Mary Grace