Steve Tyrer and his wife Collette with their children, Dayna and twins, Jorga and Kiera

Steve Tyrer

Public sector worker Steve Tyrer, 34, lives in Lawley, Telford, with his wife Collette, 39, and their children, Dayna, six, and twins Jorga and Kiera, three.

Steve writes . . .

When we watched the news back in April I caught a report about Mexico and a strain of influenza H1N1 also called swine flu. People in Mexico were contracting the virus and some people were dying from it.

We went on holiday to Bulgaria for two weeks and while we were there we heard the news that the first case was diagnosed in the UK – Scotland.

Over the next few days we heard of it spreading down the UK and the first case in the Midlands was announced, closely followed by the first UK death.

I think it was only when we received a letter from Dayna’s school saying a case of suspected swine flu had been reported that it hit home – plus Dayna came home upset saying her friend was not in school as she had swine flu.

We spoke to other parents and I found it was a friend’s child that was suspected of having it. I contacted the mother that night and asked if she was ok and what the symptoms were so we could look out for the same symptoms if one of our children were going to get it. I also asked if she required anything from the shops as she was not able to go out.

That night I purchased lots of children’s medicines and researched it on the internet just in case our girls caught it – were we over-reacting? Only time will tell.