This morning as I scrolled through my Instagram feed, the below photo gave me some much-needed humour. Oh, how I wish our current circumstances with Oliver, were blue sticking dots instead of the real deal.
Oliver has an unknown viral infection.
A week ago, Saturday we returned from a relaxing two weeks in St Lucia. Oliver slept most of the way home, which isn’t uncommon. One thing stood out in my mind, he had no appetite whatsoever. One thing led to another and we had a soaring fever by Saturday night.
Oliver’s fever eventually broke early on Sunday morning.
Sunday started okay, however, my midday, Oliver’s fever started building. This time relenting with perseverance. Monday morning we visited an alternate GP, because the doctors we normally go to, hadn’t opened for the year.
The GP tested for malaria, even though she was confident that Oliver had German Measles.
By Wednesday, Oliver started vomiting.
Thursday morning (the morning I was supposed to be back at work), Albert told me to phone the doctors and confirm if vomiting was normal for a German Measles or Rubella diagnosis. After I flipped my lid (they hadn’t returned my call the previous day after vomit #1), Albert and Oliver made their way to the doctor’s rooms.
By this time, the rash had spread from the face and neck all the way down his torso including his arms and legs.
Albert gave me the news and made our way to the Emergencies section of our local hospital, mainly in hope of an IV drip to manage his dehydration.
Could it be Measles?
Once we walked into the emergency section, we were seen by a lovely doctor, who confirmed with the paediatrician whether Oliver should be admitted of simply given the drip?
Thankfully he was admitted.
After the paediatrician’s evaluation, she was confident that we were sitting with measles and not Geman measles as originally suspected. More blood was drawn to confirm the diagnosis including the IGG and IGM count for measles.
Unknown Viral Infection
Saturday we received the news, that Oliver doesn’t have:
- Measles
Through the course of this week, all of the below have been ruled out
- German Measles
- Epstein-Barr Virus (blood results confirmed that he has had it before)
- Kawasaki Disease (ruled out on Thursday)
- Tick bite fever (tested twice) and malaria (tested twice)
More tests were done over the weekend and yet we are still none the wiser, as to what caused the rash or fever.
Oliver is Getting Better
We have been pulling our hair out and fighting with Oliver most of the past 3 days. He looked much better, despite being exhausted. The fever has broken and he finally started eating.
Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis
Oliver was diagnosed with Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis in 2015. LCH (for short) isn’t a viral infection, but rather an auto-immune disease and rare cancer. One of the organs affected by LCH is the skin. Symptoms are presented as a rash – so technically LCH fits the symptoms.
I will chat with the doctor about it later.
Hospital can be a place of hope
This post started out as a way for me to declare my fear and guilty thoughts – especially when it comes to Oliver. I am either overly paranoid or struggling with every ounce in me, to not be paranoid.
There is no balance.
While I have been here, I have had so many little encounters with other patients, that has given me hope. As I am sitting here, I am relieved that Oliver is feeling better and I am hoping and praying that we won’t have to revisit our LCH days.
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