Second trip to ER within 24 hours of the first trip

Okay, if you haven't read about the first trip to the ER you really need to. So go read it and then come back to read the rest of the story and the second trip to the ER in the same day.

I left off on the last post stating that after changing Lil Kiwi I noticed the rash had spread to other parts of her body. We put her to bed at 5:30 in the afternoon and there was no rash on her belly but by 9:30 it was covering half of it.

Panic? No.... At first I figured it was normal.... maybe... Then I started to go over all the events of the past few hours... Thought about what the Doctors had said... What I had read on the internet about allergic reactions... and it started to seem not so normal....

So,  I called the ER to ask if it was normal or if I needed to be worried.... The nurse that answered the phone remembered us from that morning even though she never talked to us... She informed us that everyone she asked told her to have us come in ASAP...

We bundled up and headed back to the ER.

Since I was able to sneak in the back/side door last time I still had no clue where the ER really was. Thus, we had to walk through a parking lot and then up and around a building to get to it. We signed in and by the time I turned around to go to the waiting room one of the nurses from the morning told us to come with her.

This time we went to the Pediatric Triage instead of the general ER... Never even knew they had different ERs so I learned something new....

I had to answer all the same questions and got Lil Kiwi ready for another stay at the ER... Little did I know it wasn't going to be as long as last time. We were in and out in two hours...

The doctor walked in and was looking at Lil Kiwi sitting there... I gave the whole yada yada story and blah blah facts... He told me that he knew what was wrong and that she was misdiagnosed the first time.

He had an answer within the first few seconds he saw her!!  Erythema multiforme

The reason they didn't catch it sooner was because the first doctor wasn't a pediatric doctor otherwise he would have known. It is almost always misdiagnosed in children because it looks like an allergic reaction at first because in a way it is one. Since the treatment is the same it either gets better OR like with Lil Kiwi it gets worst.

Now the problem is that it will continue to get worst before it gets better... Plus, it moves! Yes you read that correctly... It moves across the body at will... Which is why it was suddenly on her belly a few hours after it wasn't... In the picture below you can see that it moved and is no longer on her belly but now on her chest.

The game plan is to treat it with steroids and try to keep her as comfort as possible... We also have to be watchful because if it gets worst it will turn into Stevens-Johnson syndrome and that will be very very bad.. Most likely it won't but since it is possible it was the medicine she was on they want us to keep a close eye on her.. So, for the next 2-3 weeks poor Lil Kiwi will have a moving rash. It's kind of eerie because you can almost see it move before your eyes.

In fact, I don't have the heart to take any more pictures of her right now because it's so hard to look at her and not feel bad... When I gave her a quick shower/rise off earlier she looked like a child that had been abused... It broke my heart.. The photos I posted are the good ones because the others are just too much to post.

They don't know what caused it since it could have been a number of things. So, now I'm a nervous wreck because I know I will be wondering what really happened; since so little is actually known about Erythema Multiforme and how/what causes it.

Here is an example of how it moves... These two pictures are from the same day just a few hours difference.. You can see what use to be red isn't anymore... It's the opposite...

A few quick facts about Erythema multiforme.

• Erythema multiforme is a skin disorder due to an allergic reaction or infection
• The exact cause is unknown
• The disorder is believed to involve damage to the blood vessels of the skin, followed by damage to skin tissues
• Occurs primarily in children and young adults
• One third of EM sufferers will have a recurrence of the disease

What is so scary for me is that this is something that might happen to her at anytime. Plus, it states that normally it takes days for it to spread that bad the first time and yet it was hours for Lil Kiwi. There really is not a treatment for it other than just being careful and catching it before it gets bad. It's rare for children under the age of 3 years to get this so, of course, Lil Kiwi just had to add it to her list of medical mystery issues. I swear when she starts school the nurses are going to hate dealing with me.  Speaking of which, I wonder if I need to get her a medical alert bracelet.

Why do I have this feeling that I am going to be that mom, like in the commercial for the baby wipes, that has her baby in a bubble... or be hauling around my own EMT bag which I might actually do since we have one for the dogs... Don't judge me..LOL...

So.... if you are at the play ground and you see an auburn headed mom with an EMT bag chasing down a bubble baby....... It's ME..... Come on over and say HI and join in the shenanigans....

How the Shenanigans bring in the new yEaR

*Since writing this we ended up back at the ER with Lil Kiwi... I will update as soon as possible...*

What do you do when it is 10:30 at night and your youngest wakes up screaming?

Well, if you live in the Shenanigans household it really is not out of the ordinary since Lil Kiwi usually wakes up at least twice a night in screaming fits. However, this time it was a tad different.

DH uses the night light to change or check up on Lil Kiwi while I sometimes pull the Mean Ol' Mommy and turn the room light on... Sorry but sometimes I like to see what I am doing...

So, I turned the light on and got ready to change Lil Kiwi when I noticed something was wrong. Wrong as in I had one of those moments when time stops and you can feel the energy racing through your body. I called to DH to get in the room I needed to ask him something. His jaw also hit the floor when I pulled her pants completely off.

Little welts all over her legs... Off with the socks... Little hives all over her feet.... Hands... Face!!!!

You can just barely see the small red spots...

With in seconds we had her crib stripped and in the wash. Bugs? Spiders? Hives? What in the world....

Lil Kiwi was screaming as we rushed her into the bathroom for a powder pat down and boo-boo cream. DH and I were running all possible reasons for what could have caused this. The medicine for her double ear infection (oooo yes I haven't posted about this yet... After three days with a 100 temperature we find out Monday that she has a double ear infection... It has been a long week thus the lack of posts and comments), new foods, bites, mites, etc..

Every thirty minutes I was snapping photos so I had something to show doctors if she didn't get better. By this time she had a dose of Tylenol and some Benadryl....

We put in Tinkerbell and sat down on the couch to watch a movie so we could monitor the swelling.

 DH finally took a small nap while I stayed up and kept watch. At about 2:30 in the morning we all headed to the bedroom to see about sleep. With the alarm set to go off every hour for Lil Kiwi checks.

By 3:30 we were up and calling to see how bad the ER was. We decided since I have always been the one at her appointments and such that I should take her. We also checked in to make sure Wee Man wasn't having an allergic reaction also; which thankfully he was not.

This is where the morning events got worst. I get in the minivan and nothing... I try again and nothing.... Remember that ooo something is wrong moment from before... Well, it was ten fold now....

Rushing back to the house I had the keys over to DH to try... Nothing... So, he gets his truck ready for us... Well, the only problem is that I have been telling him over and over that we need a second carseat for the truck.. AHEM... So, he had to get the carseat out of the minivan which was refusing to open the side doors... Over the front seats and to the truck...

Did I mention that it was about 10 degrees outside not including the windchill...

Finally an hour later Lil Kiwi and I were on the way to the ER... I would love to say I RUSHED to the ER but it's not true... I followed the speed limits... I called my mother even though for her it was like 3 or 4 in the morning and told her how nothing was going right and please pray and send warm thoughts... I caught every red light as soon as I was near the ER...

I followed the signs and parked at the parking garage. Then it got worst....

I couldn't find the ER.... It was cold... Lil Kiwi was screaming as the wind blew... I finally called the hospital to ask for directions to the ER... My cell phone beeping at me that the battery was about to die... The operator was confused and had me walking everywhere be where I needed to be...

"Get to the front of the building and then take the stairs down" (after I just was told to walk up them) etc...

I stopped two nurses that were leaving a building and asked where to go. As they started to tell me up and around the corner, one of them saw Lil Kiwi and then buzzed us in a side door. I walked in and asked where the ER was. Only to be greeted by nurses that looked up and asked how in the world I got in that door and then followed by OMG come with me.

She actually looks GOOD in this picture..

Lil Kiwi was a trooper like always. The nurses handed the job of temperature taking and medicine dispensing to me since Lil Kiwi refused to let any of them near her. They think it might be the medication she was given for her ear infections but they are not sure..

Everyone that walked by looked and commented on how horrid Lil Kiwi looked. *pout* It was so hard sitting there listening to nurses and EMT people say how bad she looked... Don't they see worst things everyday?

Being told your daughter that already has a list of medical issues is possibly allergic to a medicine that has penicillin in it is tough... One more thing to add to the list of thing I have to tell doctors... I can not begin to imagine how difficult it must be for those parents with child that have more serious issues...

We left the ER the same way we sneaked in thanks to the nurses.. All I wanted was to get home and let both of us get some sleep and food. It was still dark out when we got to the ER and it was now as bright as it could be.

Just miles from home we got stuck at a railroad crossing as the longest train in history went on its merry way.

No sleep all night/morning takes a toll on Lil Kiwi. At least someone got to nap on the drive home.

Finally home we spent the rest of the day napping and I got to eat around 5 in the afternoon.... Lil Kiwi is off the other medicine and is now taking steroids. While she is not as swollen as she was the redness is spreading. They said that she will have a rash for 3-4 days and if it isn't better to bring her in.

Well, I just changed her and now she is covered in red rash where she wasn't before.

My plans for this week are being cancelled; minus Thursday when I have to go fight the school to make sure Wee Man gets more speech therapy and the correct classes he needs.. Hmmm I think we all need a nice long vacation... Even though Wee Man was just out of school her a week and a half... *sigh*

We still have a rough week ahead of us since they are not sure what the reaction was too so we have to be watchful....

Mom thank you for being there for me at all the crazy hours...

I'm sure I have forgotten parts and I'm sure my sentences/grammer are atrocious but it's been a long week and I am running on a few hours of sleep (if that)....

*will update about our second trip to the ER that same day as soon as I am able... Currently, we are trying to make sure Lil Kiwi is as comfortable as possible.... Thank you to those that sent us prayers and warm thoughts...*