This is getting . . . unnerving

[pegkerr]

Delia's fever tonight was 102.6. She has a rash all over her chest and arms.

She has lost a little weight, because she just has no appetite--she's barely eaten anything since Thursday. I'm pushing liquids, but it is very uphill work. Thank you for your ideas for keeping her entertained. I bought a kit at Creative Kidstuff with pipecleaners, feathers, pompoms, plastic cutout pieces, popsicle sticks etc, and she spent some time yesterday and today gluing together pompom creatures.

But she is so lethargic and woebegone.

I have a little knot of worry deep down inside. What is it? Why isn't she getting better?

The doctor told me to call if she is feverish tomorrow, and given her temperature at bedtime, I suspect she is going to be.

I'm sure my employer is not very pleased about this, but what else can I do?

Comments

[kokopoko.livejournal.com]

Is it the Fifth Disease with that rash and fever?

Since Rachael just got diagnosed with bronchitis and pneumonia I am sharing your motherly plight of worrying and being up most of the night.

[moony]

It really, really sounds like mono. The rash, especially. She sounds like how I felt about a month ago.

They need to do that mono test again. It does take about a week for it to really show up. Is her face/neck swollen at all? I didn't realise what was happening to me until I looked like a puffer fish.

Poor little thing. Keep pouring water into her, and keep her warm. Sweat that fever out, that's what i did. I had a fever every single night for two weeks.

*hugs*

[moony]

And then there's what was suggested before, Fifth Disease.

[psychic-serpent.livejournal.com]

Poor thing! I hope this ends soon. Sometimes doctors don't seem to be much help at all, do they? When Rachel had a fever for WEEK in February the doctor just told us to keep giving her Tylenol and call him if she wasn't keeping her food down or anything else of note happened. The Tylenol brought the fever down to the 99 deg range temporarily, then she'd go and spike over 101 again overnight. She never got any other symptoms, just the fever. And because she had been out two days the previous week with a head cold she logged seven absences in two weeks, which sends up a red flag for the school district, evidently. Because I kept her home while she was sick. Because most folks don't do this, evidently, for fear of being fired. Which, for reasons that escape me, makes us Possibly Bad Parents.

(I missed FIVE out of six studio classes during that time, which was actually supposed to bring my grade down by one letter, but my teacher is a fantastic guy and understood my situation, so I ended the term with an A anyhow. Phooey on college regulations about attendance. I worked at my drafting table at home between taking care of her.)

Anyway, I was wondering--why don't you write something for her? But get her to determine what it will be. Have her give you the main characters' names and and ages and backgrounds and a problem or mystery they have to solve. Involve magic or cutting-edge science. Write alternate endings and let her choose the one she wants. When you're done with pipe-cleaner projects, they may be kept for a while before ending up lost or in the trash, but a story you've crafted together is something you'll treasure for the rest of your lives.

[kerri]

Woe, I can just imagine how stressful this must be for you, and her. I hope that she's feeling better very soon, and I'll be thinking of you both.

Maybe this is something you're already doing...

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

While reading your post I flashed on a memory of interviewing a guy for Lavender Magazine - he'd written a nutrition/cooking book for people with AIDS, and one of the things he mentioned was using sports drinks when someone didn't have much appetite. If I'm remembering correctly they helped keep the electrolytes (sp?) up where they should be.

I dunno if this is gonna be of any use, but I hope Delia is feeling better soon.

Re: Maybe this is something you're already doing...

[whapnoggin.livejournal.com]

The version for kids is Pedialyte.

[innerslytherin]

Sending hugs and prayers your way.

When I was a kid I had some horrid thing that kept me in bed for nearly two weeks with fever, headaches, vomiting, etc. My most vivid memories of that time are my mother's reading Miss Bianca to me, and watching lots of Reading Rainbow on TV.

I hope you get some rest yourself while caring for Delia.

[ame-chan.livejournal.com]

hope she feels better, hang in there mama.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Let me know if there's anything a near-random near-stranger can do.

this became rather long; I apologize --

[sternel.livejournal.com]

Peg --

I was swatting at mosquitos while walking home from the train yesterday, and suddenly had a thought. (unusual, I know) -- didn't you go camping not that long ago and have a huge mosquito problem?
Is it possible Delia was bitten by a mosquito infected with West Nile?
The tests for that are a pain in the tuchus -- my family doctor thinks my sister and I both had it but we were never tested to confirm, because the testing is so intrusive, and we'd both begun to recover by the time West Nile entered the discussion as a diagnosis.

My experience was basically a week of fever-delirium, no appetite, a terribly swollen throat that made swallowing slightly more painful than disembowelment, and an incredible legthargy. My sister's experience was similiar, but she also developed a severe sensitivy to light. We each ran through our symptoms in about a week, and made full recoveries -- I have noticed, however, that it took me months for my system to return completely to normal, and in my reading I've found that that is apparently a normal pattern.

There's also a couple of other mosquito-born diseases that could likely be at fault here -- I think encephalitis is another one my doctor had tossed around. In the end, they'll never likely be positive what my sister and I had but West Nile was picked as the most probable diagnosis.

In any case, my heart goes out to you. I remember my flatmates and my boyfriend at the time nearly tearing their hair out in worry over how sick I was, and feeling horribly guilty. But I got better; it was very sudden -- within hours I was devouring food and bouncing off the walls as my energy returned. I hope Delia follows the same course, and returns to her usual little sunshine self soon.

Tell her I hope she feels better --

-Abbie

Yes!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I did discuss West Nile virus with the doctor, yes. I can't remember what made him rule it out, but yes, the subject did come up.

Anyway, I'm going to call him again today. Delia still has a fever.

Re: Yes!

[sternel.livejournal.com]

Oh, the poor kid. ::hugs Delia, but very carfully. And Peg too::

I'll have my fingers crossed that they figure it out, and that she doesn't go mad with boredom in the meantime.

I'll be twenty four in a week and I still pull out coloring books and crayons when I get sick. There's something about a fresh box of crayons, even when I can barely keep my eyes open.

Re: Yes!

[porphyrin.livejournal.com]

Peg,

My apologies for leaving a comment-- as a near-random stranger, you probably don't give 2 beans what I think.

But here is my recommendation as a peds resident: go straight to Minneapolis Children's ED for evaluation. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. They have the facilities to do a complete work up, including chest XR if there is any suspicion she's got a pneumonia, and all sorts of bloodwork that the office labs generally can't do.

Delia has now had a fever for 5 days-- and from what I understand, a high fever (102-104). She's developed a rash.

Could it be Fifth Disease? Fifth disease has a 'slapped cheeks' rash, and in general, I guess I'd expect it to be getting *better* by now.

Could it be Mono despite the negative test? Yes. Although most children who get mono have mild cold symptoms, some will get huge swollen glands and have high fevers.

Could it be Lyme disease? 85% of the time, kids who get Lyme get the characteristic rash. Regardless, that test is being processed, and it has a pretty high sensitivity and specificity rate.

Could it be West Nile? There have only been a handful of cases in MN this year, and I would consider it to be unlikely in light of her symptoms. West Nile, in its more severe form, has more neurologic involvement.

What *could* it be? Anything from a pneumonia (does she have a cough? Is she breathing a lot faster than normal), to a urinary tract infection (although I'd maybe expect her to complain that it hurts to pee), to an enteroviral infection of the lining around the brain (does light hurt her eyes? does she have a headache?)...

The list goes on. Kawasaki disease is a possibility, as is rheumatic fever, as are a dozen other things.

Regardless, she deserves a good evaluation in a place with the facilities to do anything that might need to be done in the way of tests, with nurses and lab techs who are *good* at drawing blood from little bitty veins. I think VERY HIGHLY of the docs in the ED there.

Regardless, good luck. Please keep us all posted on how Delia is doing.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I do very much appreciate your input. I talked with the doctor, and he agreed that it's probably a good idea to take her into Children's at this point, so we're leaving momentarily.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

One thing worse for a parent than having a sick kid is having a sick kid and not knowing what the sickness is. I hope this resolves itself soon, for both your sakes.

Paperdolls. Would she like paperdolls? It's kind of labor-intensive to cut out the clothes, and she might not be up to that, so think about whether you want to do it before offering them! I could bring her some if she and you want them.

[boniblithe.livejournal.com]

As a mother I feel your agony. I hope the new doctors can tell you something that will ease your worry. And I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers.

[airemay.livejournal.com]

*hugs* My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I hope she feels better. :(

[averagegirl.livejournal.com]

Poor doll. I hope this ends soon, for her sake and yours.

[kishmish.livejournal.com]

I hope she feels better <3

from another mom

[dancingwriter.livejournal.com]

Oh, poor Delia. And poor you!

I'm glad to read that you are taking her in for more testing. I so hope they can figure out what her ailment is and get down to treating it properly. I am thinking of you both!

[seeker101.livejournal.com]

You and Delia are in my prayers.

[jemyl.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of Fifth Disease and I am too old to be up on most of the diseases, but I have had mono at least three times confirmed. The lehtargy fits, but not the rash. Quite frankly, and I know she is up on her immunizations, it sounds like the way I felt and when I had the old fashioned measels. Oh, the check for mumps used to be could she eat a dill pickle and for measles, the old fashioned ones, do her eyes bother her re; light sensitive. {Sigh} Sometimes I think our modern disease control is great and then at other times I think we may have been better off letting our children get some of the old childhood diseases like mumps, measles and chicken pox! You are both still in my prayers.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Both the doctors who saw her agreed that the rash did look very much like measles, but she had been vaccinated, which eliminated it as a possibility.