Zamora's Story
It was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and 3 weeks before her third birthday when I noticed that Zamora had a low grade fever. I gave her some Motrin and went on with our day as usual. Thanksgiving came and she didn't eat anything, slept all day and had high fevers (103 & 104). Once Saturday hit, she had a rash all over 80% of her body and her lips were just starting to crack and peel in the corners. I called the advice nurse and he said to take her to our pediatrician Monday morning if she still had a fever. Monday came and by then her lips were cracked and bleeding all over. Her fever and rash wasn't getting better and her eyes were bloodshot, which we assumed was from all the crying she had been doing.
The first thing that came out of our pediatrician's mouth was "Kawasaki's Disease". She sent us directly to Children's Hospital of Colorado South Campus. The ER Doctor also said that she had so many symptoms of Kawasaki's (6+ days of a high fever, rash, lip swelling/cracking, red eyes, and irritability). She also didn't want to rule out the possibility of Steven Johnsons's Syndrome. We were admitted to Children's Hospital of Colorado's Main Campus where we met with the Infections Disease Team and Cardiologists. It turned out that Zamora did have a constriction in her heart vessel.
We immediately started IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin) and Remicade. After 24 hours, her rash, fever and red eyes had subsided. Everything looked great and we were being prepped for discharge. We had one more echo to check her heart and the vessel in her heart was even more constricted than before the IVIG treatment. So, the doctors decided that she needed another dose of the IVIG.
That seemed to do the trick and we were discharged after 5 days at the Children’s Hospital of Colorado.
Misdiagnosis?
Current Conditions
One day after discharge: Still slightly irritable, but all other symptoms have subsided!