Wednesday night I noticed that Madalyn had a good many bug bites. She has had bad reactions to them before; they get as big as quarters, hot, and hard. So I put some cream on them and band aids and put her to bed.
Thursday afternoon, I get another text, what's going on with Madalyn's legs? I said bug bites. When I got to Kevin's mom's house, and looked at Madalyn's legs, I was like that's not what she looked like this morning.
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So, we thought maybe she was having a reaction to the band aids, the latex. Thursday morning, at 2:00am, Madalyn woke up with vomiting and diarrhea. (which could be related and could not be related to this)
Friday morning, Kevin's mom took Madalyn to the doctor to see what was going on with her legs. They drew blood to test for this bruising condition as a possible reason for the spots. ( I would have taken her, but knowing I will have to be out with the baby, I'm trying to save as many days as I can, if possible). The blood work came back fine which was good.
Friday night, we went out to eat and Madalyn kept complaining about her knee hurting. But when I would ask her where it hurt she would point to her ankle. When we got home, she had Kevin carry her inside because she couldn't walk. Inside the house, she was hoping around on one leg and wouldn't put any pressure on her left leg. I put her in the bath tub and realized her left ankle was very swollen and it was hot to touch.
This morning her ankle wasn't as swollen but she had more "spots". So for the third time this week we headed to the doctor. Her pediatrician doctor opens the practice for a few hours on the weekends. As soon as she saw Madalyn and check out the spots and saw her ankle, she said that she had "HSP-Henoch-Schonlein Purpura". Which is inflammation in the blood vessels. That is what is causing the spots -which is her blood vessels bleeding under the skin and her joints to swell. This can last anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 weeks before it clears up and there's nothing you can do for it really. I can give her medicine if her joints are swollen to help with the pain and I can put cream on the places because they itch.
They did a protein test on her urine and did find a small amount of protein in her urine. She has to drink lots of water. She will have to have her urine tested each week until this clears up. If she develops high protein levels in her urine, she will have to be hospitalized.
They also checked her blood pressure because this causes hyper-tension (high blood pressure) and if her blood pressure is up, she will have to be hospitalized. It was fine this morning.
I have to watch for blood in her urine or stools, stomach cramping, and headaches. With any of these symptoms I had to take her to the ER and call her doctor right away.
They said once this clears up, that at it could come back within 6 months. After that she shouldn't get it again. There's no reason as to why she has this or where it came from. You can get this from bacteria, a virus, after having a cold or upper respiratory infection, medicines, insect bites (which is probably where Madalyn got it from), vaccinations or exposure to chemicals or cold weather.
We go back on Thursday afternoon to get Madalyn checked again. Talk about in shock. I thought it was just a swollen ankle or something. But I'm sitting there trying to comprehend all that she's telling me and trying to keep it together, while texting Kevin, my mom and his mom about what's going on. This reminds me of last September with Kevin...we went thinking he had a severe case of heart burn or an asthma attack and find out he has a heart infection. Then on top that I'm almost 23 weeks pregnant and dealing with blood pressure issues of my own...and having this going on with Madalyn. We are praying Madalyn gets well soon, and doesn't have any of these other severe symptoms or has to be hospitalized. What a week it has been and it's not over yet. This Mama can't take much more this week. Talk about my blood pressure raising!
Playing "I Spy" while waiting on the urine results. You wouldn't know she was sick; she's her normal happy self.
4 comments:
Jill, that is soooo scary!! We will be praying! Also, I am so excited about your new baby girl on the way! We love you guys!
Thank you. We appreciate all the prayers.
Thank you so much for posting about this. We are Americans living in West Africa and my son, Micah (age 12) just started showing these same symptoms a week and a half ago. He'd been to several doctors before one suggested HSP and then I sent photos to an American doctor, who also thought this might be it. We've begun testing his urine but no one mentioned his blood pressure so we'll start checking that as well. When I told the doctor at the school what we suspected, he researched some and came across your blog post.
I am curious if your daughter has had a recurrence. And has the rash healed on its own without any further complications (ie. kidneys)? It's definitely scary but, considering where we live, the endless (and unknown) possibilities were even scarier so at least we know what we're up against and what to look out for.
So thanks again for sharing and God bless. Sheri
PS. I'm not sure if I'll know if you respond so I'll check back, but here's my email if you'd rather message me: thomastravelers@gmail.com
I am sorry to hear about the mishaps you have encountered that week. At least you finally knew what was causing the red patches on her skin. On a different note, Madalyn is such a darling! It’s great that she didn’t get scared during those medical tests, as most kids are wont to be. Anyways, I hope everything is better by now. Stay strong!
Candace Hudson @ MedCare Pediatric
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