my sick little girl.
the last few weeks have been rough.
It all started when my daughter came down with what seemed to be a textbook flu case. All the regular symptoms. Lots of waking up in the middle of the night turned into lots and LOTS of waking up in the middle of the night. An Inconsolable little girl, unable to tell us what was bothering her. Sometimes she could get back to sleep for a few hours. Othertimes, she would be awake in 20 minutes - just as we would be drifting to sleep.
After two visits to the doctor we thought we were dealing with a flu, or flu-like virus. Stella dealt with the blood draws bravely, and her waiting-room manners impeccable. Good kid.
She refused to eat. It seemed like she ate a handful of food that first week, and dehydration was the main concern. We got a special Care Bear cup with a big straw and kept her pumped full of pedialite by setting goals - “Ok! Drink down to the Care’Bear’s foot!”
Still, not a whole lot of sleep for anyone in the house.
Then came the spots. Little red dots on her legs, and ankles. A phone call to the doctor didn’t cause any alarm. They were probably just a rash caused by the virus. The little spots grew into patches onher ankles, and behind her knee.
And then she seemed to have a sprained ankle. Poor kid wasn’t catching a break. We tried to catch naps in the day.
On our third trip to the doctor’s in two weeks, the spots got a lot of attention, and warrented a refferal to another doctor.
Diagnosis: Henoch-Schönlein Purpura, a not-too-common blood disease which primarily affects children. It all fit: The lack of appetite, the spots, and the ankle - not sprained, but a rhuemtoid arthritis. There is no specific treatment, it is all supposed to go away. The main concern is watching her kidney functions. Apparently, HSP can cause the kidneys to get sludged up (non-medical term). Up to 1% of have kidney failure - so it is a very real concern.
Last weekend, we saw a marked improvement. She was eating like a horse, playing, laughing, dancing. We had our girl back.
The doctor called to schedule a follow-up yesterday, and last night stella was up complaing about her stomach. And again tonight, she was up crying and unable to tell us what was bothering her.
And now I can’t sleep. And I am trying to beat back the “what if” scenarios. Chances are that she’ll sail through this without any major problems. Typing it out helps my mind from wandering too far away, and maybe I will actually get some REM sleep yet tonight.
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