[Sportschosun Reporter Jung Yu-na] Singer Sleepy shared the story of enduring nine difficult days of childcare while his first daughter, U-a, battled hand, foot, and mouth disease.
On the 3rd, a video titled "The Ultimate Contagious Illness, Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Even U-a Couldn't Avoid It" was uploaded to Sleepy's YouTube channel.
The video showed the family's daily life, from caring for U-a after she contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease to receiving confirmation that she had recovered and sending her back to daycare.
Sleepy said, "My daughter U-a first developed mouth ulcers. But I heard that hand, foot, and mouth disease can follow when mouth ulcers appear. Once you catch it, it's highly contagious, so you can't go to daycare. It's the worst."
Sleepy said that U-a had been kept home from daycare for nine days and was receiving care at home. He confessed, "The scariest thing is seeing your child in pain. When mouth ulcers come first, the entire throat becomes raw, so she can't even swallow her saliva. Since she can't swallow, she cries with saliva in her mouth. She just keeps crying." He continued, "She can't eat or take medicine," adding, "The child is in pain, we're exhausted, and our hearts hurt too—and she can't even go to daycare."
Footage showed U-a crying and struggling, evoking sympathy.
He also worried that the illness might spread to his second child. Sleepy said, "On top of that, we have a second child, so I was worried about what would happen if the illness spread to the younger one too." Fortunately, he said, the second child showed no notable symptoms.
Sleepy also discussed how the infection may have spread. Recalling that the daycare had held a group water-play activity, he explained, "One child was first confirmed to have the illness at daycare, and then the number gradually increased until six children in the same class had been diagnosed."
Later, the family visited a hospital to check whether U-a had fully recovered. Fortunately, the examination results were positive. After checking U-a's condition, the medical staff told them, "She's completely recovered. She can return to daycare." After receiving the all-clear, Sleepy expressed his relief, saying, "It's heaven. Heaven."
Sleepy said the experience gave him firsthand insight into how difficult hand, foot, and mouth disease can be. He said, "These nine days were the hardest part of childcare I've ever experienced," adding, "The child is irritable 24 hours a day and can't sleep well. Now I understand why people say hand, foot, and mouth disease is so frightening."
Meanwhile, Sleepy married a non-celebrity eight years younger than him in 2022. They have one son and one daughter.
jyn2011@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
