If you are in Malaysia, you would know about this flu season that is going on in the Peninsular at the moment... It's scary! H1N1, Flu A, Flu B and any nasty little bugs that is causing a bit of hysteria among the people, the flu vaccine was sold out, and apparently all the beds were taken in the hospital! Two of the boys' cousins were hospitalized, 1 for the H1N1, the other for pneumonia, complication after a prolong chest infection.
Being a mom of two, and 1 of them in kindergarten, (where it might as well be called a Petri dish of all Germs) this is obviously quite scary for me. On top of that, my job being a newborn photographer gave me more reason to be extra cautious about the whole situation.
This is also the reason why I always remind the parents to notify me if someone who is going to be in the photoshoot is feeling unwell. I am happy to reschedule, instead of risking spreading the germs around being in close proximity of someone ill. Likewise, if I am feeling ill, or even if one of my kids unfortunately is unwell, I will always reschedule any appointment I have to a later date, just to make sure I don't accidentally pass on the germs to the tiny little baby whom I will be handling. Being sick is not worth the trouble, having a sick kid is worse, but nothing beats how terrible it is for having a sick baby! No amount of beautiful photos are worth taking the risk.
Of cause, this flu season WILL pass, just like it has so many times before. In the meantime stay safe everyone, drink lots of water, avoid crowded space, and most important of all, if you are sick, do your best to avoid spreading it further: take a few more days off from work/school, cover yourself when you are coughing/sneezing, and stay home!