KAWASAKI!!

Sorry about the light blogging lately. And sorry that we haven't had much of a grand opening for our new basement. We have a good excuse, though.

So, about two weeks ago, Tori came down with a fever and a bit of a rash. We also noticed her eyes and eyelids were really red. Well, the fever didn't subside after the first day, and she was really irritable and doing weird things with her legs, like flexing them non-stop, or pulling them totally into her chest. It was weird, so we went to the pediatrician.

Well, he was convinced that it was an infection of some kind (he specifically thought it was a bone infection), so he sent us up to Primary Children's hospital just to be safe. We were admitted, and they started running just about every test known to man on our poor little girl. Unfortunately, everything came back negative. They had no idea what was going on with her. Finally, after about two more days of high fevers and still no solution to the puzzle, they diagnosed her with an atypical form of Kawasaki disease.

No, not that kind of Kawasaki. It has nothing to do with motorcycles or jet skis. Apparently it's a little-known autoimmune affliction, only in children, that causes inflammation of the blood vessels. They don't know what causes it, but it's not hereditary or contagious. It's most common in boys, and in Japan, so we have no idea how our little American girl could have gotten it. Luckily, like I said, it was an atypical form, meaning that she didn't exhibit all the symptoms. That's why it took them so long to diagnose it. A lot of kids with it get cracked lips and mucous membranes and swollen hands and feet that crack and peel. Luckily Tori didn't have any of that.

Anyway, after being admitted on Tuesday, they finally started treating her on Friday. She immediately improved. The fever broke, and she became her normal, happy self again. For the whole week she had basically been crying non-stop, so her little voice was all hoarse and sad. The main concern with Kawasaki's is that the coronary arteries may become inflammed, which can cause aneurysms, clots, and heart attacks. She had an echocardiogram, and they said her coronaries looked a little enlarged, but not severely. She was finally released on Sunday night, which made for an unbelievably long week.

Yesterday she had a follow-up echocardiogram, and her coronaries were completely normal. Pffew. The good news is that since they caught it early, she shouldn't have any long term complications or side-effects from this. Now, it's like it never happened. She's a completely normal kid now, and doing all the things a 6-month-old should do. She's sitting up on her own, rolling all over the floors, and chowing down on rice cereal. See, here's an "After" picture to prove her health.

We're just grateful to have a children's hospital so close by, and for doctor's that are so well-trained. Several patients at Primary have to travel there from surrounding states to find a hospital that can treat random children's maladies like Kawasaki's. We're also grateful for a good job that let me have a couple of days off, and good insurance to cover the bills. And lastly, thanks to good neighbors and grandparents who were so helpful with Madeleine while we were in the hospital. Thanks again to all! Now we'll have to see what we can do about that basement-warming party . . .