HSP

Since the end of December, sickness has plagued our family. Everyone was sick at some point. Cherish and Andrew had strep.

On day eight of Cherish's antibiotic (amoxicillin), she broke out in hives. She was covered in hives and was immediately put on Benadryl every 6 hours until she could see the doctor. Then, her pediatrician put her on Zyrtec for 12 days.

The following night (January 30th), I noticed Sammy had swollen glands. Really swollen!

I called the pediatrician the next morning, and he was seen right away.

Since he has been constantly sick for as long as we have record, he was never vaccinated in Ch*na nor here. So, the doctor got a senior doctor to look at Sammy to ensure he did not have mumps.

Both agreed it was probably not mumps but instead was probably mono.

We were sent home to wait it out.

The doctor's office called us the next day, but since there was no change, we stayed home.

The following day, the doctor's office called again. Since Sammy's glands had hardened, we went back in. By the time we got there, Sammy's feet had begun to bruise and swell a bit, and he had developed a fever.

The doctor immediately sent us to the ER. By the time we got to the ER, Sammy had a rash of red dots that showed up on his toes.

While waiting to see the ER doctor, the swelling in his feet got worse, and the rash spread up to his ankles.

He was tested for strep and found to be positive--though he had been tested two days prior with a negative result.

Normally, the doctor said she would have sent him home with a prescription, but since he is always sick, she gave him an IV antibiotic and sent him home,

When we got home, Sammy's rash had spread up to his knees, and he could not walk.

The next day the doctor called us, asking why Sammy had not been admitted.

I had no idea.

So, the doctor's office of eight doctors took Sammy under their care. We were receiving daily calls and going in every day or every other day--so they could monitor him.

Sammy began swelling, and in three days had gained three pounds of weight from his swelling.

He was constantly sleeping or screaming in pain.

He could not walk unless his Motrin did not lapse.

One of his tests showed he had blood and protein in his urine, so we headed to Nemours to the infectious disease specialist.

The specialist diagnosed him with Henoch-Schonlein Purpura (HSP), which is a disease that affects the blood vessels in the body.

Many people had been praying for Sammy, and the disease did not attack his heart. We are so thankful!

His recovery has been remarkably quick, and we are hopeful it will not relapse in the next 4 weeks.

Next week he will have some blood work done to see what immune deficiency he may have that prevents him from getting and staying well.

In the meantime, we are enjoying seeing Sammy feel better. He has 3 more doses of his antibiotic, and we are hopeful he will come off it with ease.

Thanks for caring, Friends!! You bless us immensely!!