Beware this seemingly innocuous looking blob of blue. It has been known to attempt to ruin a perfectly good Christmas and dash many a peoples enjoyment of this holiday. It's known as a norovirus and hundreds of thousands of people in Britain were affected (or infected, as it were)....along with a family celebrating in the small New Hamphire hamlet of Hollis.
Sit back and let me spin a yarn on how it affected this family in the granite hills of New Hampshire. Picture a new, small family of three: mother named J, father called N and a little girl about the age of one, we'll call her G, on their way north to visit and spend Christmas with the grandparents of the young girl. They were waiting for their mode of transport to arrive and as they were about to be called to board, the little girl wakes from her slumber in mother's arms to blankly look around and reach for her father. Not a minute had passed since Daddy pulled her to him before this poor child vomited down the front of her new, fresh pajamas, down Daddy's shirt, pants and shoes. The parents look at each other in shock...where do we go? How do we travel with all these people covered and reaking of vomit? "To the family bathroom," cries father! And they all ran for it. Mother changes the babe back into her old, dirty clothes from earlier in the day, the father strips to his undershirt and pants and soaks his jacket and shirt in the sink, wiping off the sickness from his pants and shoes.
We next find the family in the home of their relatives, with more family on its way. Thankfully the small child would not be tormented by more sickness, but this was not the end of this nasty bug! Onward we march to the arrival of the mother's only sister and her family. This family was comprised of the mother, E, a husband, S, and two children, a boy of 3, B, and another little girl of one, L. Tired from travel the whole, large extended family slept, but a creature was stirring...the norovirus was awake. It crept into the bedroom of B and L and was thrilled with the new possibilities of raucous behavior. It jumped and attacked with vicious abandon! The two children vomited all through the night and because of their young and unaccustomed body's, continued to be sick for days thereafter. G's mother also was attacked, but by that time the dreaded norovirus was tired and exhausted from his earlier work, so he did not lay waste to her. She only needed a day's rest and was relieved of its symptoms. Mother E did not fare so well. She was attacked the following night and no one in the family saw her for over 36 hours, for she was so wrecked by the attack that she badly needed rest and was bedridden.
The sweet, snowy morning of Christmas was upon them. Each person came creeping slowly from their rooms. Was anyone still sick? Did Old Saint Nick deliver the gifts and drag off that nasty norovirus? Had the family been saved on Christmas? Could it be a Christmas Miracle!? As they talked and took stock of the situation, it appeared that the bug had shown mercy on Christmas Day. The morning was sweet with the children happily opening their gifts and the parents and grandparents looking on in delight. As the day went on the families began to feel the relief of being rid of that vicious virus. Christmas dinner was prepared and much merriment was made at the table. Yummy morsels of Yorkshire pudding, delectable dishes of casseroles and potatoes, and last but not least, a large platter of wonderful Roast Beast was being past around! Fruit drinks, Ales and Wine were all for the taking. Toasts were made and laughs were shared. It was a wonderful Christmas after all!
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