Here's my Sweet Nate! Poor thing has been put through the wringer over the past few weeks. He's all better now, Praise The Lord!!
Wow, where to begin. It all began with a simple virus that the only symptom was fever. Feb 28th, the day of cousin Madi's 1st Birthday party, Nate seemed under the weather but every time I asked if he felt bad he'd respond that he was fine. However, when we got home, he had a low-grade fever and slept from 330 PM til 830 AM the next morning. He still had a fever all day Sunday so I had made up my mind to take him to the doc on Monday. Well, Monday morning he woke up and said that he had a bit of a sore throat. I thought it was definitely strep throat. So, we went to the doc. In office lab test said no strep, but we got antibiotics just in case the sample they sent off to culture came back positive. Lab culture said negative for strep as well. Well, by Wed. I thought he was ready to go back to school. Fever was gone & he was acting normal again. But, Wednesday night, he started limping on his right foot saying it hurt. We quizzed him over & over as to how he hurt it and he never had a clear answer. So, I thought maybe somehow he had fractured it. Thursday AM I took him on into the doc b/c he was still limping and not putting weight on it and he was complaining of abdominal pain. So, the doctor sent us to Xray to see if it was fractured and said the stomach pain was constipation. Well, Xray revealed no fracture. I was frustrated. He was clearly in pain and I had no answer as to what was going on. I mean, I was having to carry a 48 pound boy everywhere b/c he couldn't walk. The doctor called and told me to encourage him to walk on it, but if he wasn't walking on it by Monday to call him back and we'd go to an orthopedic doctor to further investigate. Mind you, it's Thursday. Ok.. so at first, I was like there is no way I can listen to his whining (I know, bad mother) for that long, nor can I carry him around for that many days. Well, that afternoon he took a nap & woke complaining of not one but both legs hurting. By this point, I was starting to think he was reallly milking it. I mean, c'mon...now he was saying both legs hurt?? Surely he's not really hurting like that. Well, he sat and watched TV and was fine, but still wouldn't walk. That evening as we were getting ready to put him to bed, I insisted that he take his jeans off so he could rest better. He pitched the biggest fit I'd ever seen, crying like mad, insane. So, upon my pushing, we took the pants off and thank God I did! His legs were so swollen, particularly in his knees, ankles & feet. They looked as if they were bruising and had little bleeds underneath the skin. I started shaking instantly because I KNEW this was not normal & that it definitely could not wait until Monday. We instantly prayed for Nate and felt more peace and comfort knowing God was in full control of the situation.
So, we took him to Gwinnett Medical Center's Children's ER. There, thank God, our friend was our nurse and she was a huge comfort for us knowing that she'd take the best care of Nate. She assured us of the doc that we were with was great. The GMC Doc wanted to send us on to Scottish Rite. But, before they'd transport him, they needed to be sure he had no blood clots in his legs. So, they ordered an ultrasound. Well, I can tell you I just about had to break bad on the ultrasound techs. Nate was in an obscene amount of pain in his legs and one of the techs felt the need to hold him down by his ankles and he was screaming like mad. Finally, they gave him a dose of Morphine. Too bad it didn't kick in until mid-ambulance ride. He was pretty stoked that he got to ride in an ambulance. So, at 330 AM, we got transferred to Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta Scottish Rite. Man, I tell you, that is where you want to be with sick kids! They were awesome & I can't say enough about them. I (HEART) Scottish Rite!
Once we got there, they gave us a sheet explaining what they were diagnosing him with. Henoch Schonlein Purpura . WHAT? That was my first thought. Then, I read up on it more and realized that basically it was inflammation in his blood vessels. Almost an allergic type reaction of his immune system while trying to fight off the simple virus he had to begin with. It heals itself with time. However, I know God is in control and after doing a bit of research on it, I realized how gracious God was because looking at pics on the internet, Nate had a very, very mild case. Thank You Lord! It is also apparently common in boys ages 2-11.
Allan & I were so humbled by all the prayers, phone calls & emails of encouragement, offers for meals and offers to watch our kids while we tag-teamed staying with Nate in the hospital. We are so thankful for such loving & caring friends & family. Even his sweet teachers came to the house to visit him & brought him yummy cookies & a get well pail full of great things to do while laying in bed! He thought it was pretty awesome that his teachers were at his house! While in the hospital, I told Nate about how several people were praying for him and several of his classmates & Sunday school friends were praying for him. Nate thought it was awesome that his friends were praying for him. His eyes just lit up when we told him. The first night we were in the hospital I read James 5:13-16 to Nate and he lit up again because he knew God would heal him b/c I had told him about how everyone was praying for God to heal him!
James 5:13 Anyone who is having troubles should pray. Anyone who is happy should sing praises.14 Anyone who is sick should call the church's elders. They should pray for and pour oil on the person[a] in the name of the Lord.15 And the prayer that is said with faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will heal that person. And if the person has sinned, the sins will be forgiven.16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays, great things happen.Sunday afternoon around 6, we got discharged. Nate had regained full use of his legs, swelling was gone & he was in good spirits again, just seemed a bit weak.
Well, once we were home, we couldn't get him to eat b/c he kept complaining of stomach pain. This was another symptom he had b/c the stomach & other abdominal organs become inflammed. We were having to give him Ibuprofen every 8 hours to keep the pain gone. Well, since he hadn't eaten he was also experiencing acid reflux. But, low & behold, Wednesday evening, his legs started to swell again and again he wasn't using them. So, back to Scottish Rite's ER. There they gave him Zantac, Lortab & Orapred (Steroid) through an IV. He wasn't none to pleased to have to get an IV again, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. It seems as though there's a divide among peds on who likes steroids & who doesn't. But, so far, the steroids have seemed to work. And, apparently, he could experience symptoms like this for up to 2 months. We're believing God to completely heal Nate so he doesn't have any more symptoms. He's already done mighty things and we know he'll finish the work he started!
So, thankfully, today he's great. He's ending his steroids either tonight or tomorrow morning. But, I tell ya, it has been extremely tiring. But, again... we are so thankful we serve a mighty God who is in control & gave us peace & comfort during such a stressful time.
So, here's a few pics of what HSP looks like.
And, now, I think I've set the world record for longest Blog Post!! Hehe!! :)
Well, we finally arrived safely back home last night around 8:45PM. Soon after we hit I-85, Nate says from the back seat, "So, we decided to take the long way home, Mom?"... mind you this was after 8 hours of driving. Pretty funny.
