Emily has always attended both CF walks that we do each year. I, too, feel that it's important for our walkers to see her, and as she gets older, for her to take ownership of her role in the event.
That being said, if there were concerns about cross contamination I wouldn't take her. One of our walks is very small. There have never been other children with CF there, There are a few older teens who keep to themselves, and some adults. No one, even other CF'ers family members have ever come within 5 feet of Emily at that particular walk, during the indoor part of the event. Our family sits together at a table as do the other teams. Food is brought to the tables by volunteers wearing gloves, apron, etc. (I'm a volunteer, I serve my family before I serve anyone else<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> ) There is sanitizer everywhere.
The other walk is held entirely outdoors. We set our team up well away from the others during the gathering portion of the day. (Sadly, we always end up with smokers near us in the parking lot...why do people SMOKE at these things???) Emily does not approach the registration table where tons of people congregate, and we wait until everyone else has gone into the zoo to start the walk before we go in. During the walk, we are in the public zoo, and we go at out own pace, enjoying hte animals. It's easy to tell the "teams" as you are viewing the animals, and we try to keep a distance. It's not like Emily will be sharing drinks with anyone or hugging total strangers. Her daycare friends always attend this one, and she hangs with them!
We take all the precautions we ALWAYS take when heading to the zoo or another event. I feel OK about this, and will continue to take her to the walks until I DON'T feel safe, for whatever reason!
That being said, if there were concerns about cross contamination I wouldn't take her. One of our walks is very small. There have never been other children with CF there, There are a few older teens who keep to themselves, and some adults. No one, even other CF'ers family members have ever come within 5 feet of Emily at that particular walk, during the indoor part of the event. Our family sits together at a table as do the other teams. Food is brought to the tables by volunteers wearing gloves, apron, etc. (I'm a volunteer, I serve my family before I serve anyone else<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> ) There is sanitizer everywhere.
The other walk is held entirely outdoors. We set our team up well away from the others during the gathering portion of the day. (Sadly, we always end up with smokers near us in the parking lot...why do people SMOKE at these things???) Emily does not approach the registration table where tons of people congregate, and we wait until everyone else has gone into the zoo to start the walk before we go in. During the walk, we are in the public zoo, and we go at out own pace, enjoying hte animals. It's easy to tell the "teams" as you are viewing the animals, and we try to keep a distance. It's not like Emily will be sharing drinks with anyone or hugging total strangers. Her daycare friends always attend this one, and she hangs with them!
We take all the precautions we ALWAYS take when heading to the zoo or another event. I feel OK about this, and will continue to take her to the walks until I DON'T feel safe, for whatever reason!