Isaiah's Kawasaki Disease Journey

January 26th, 2015 marks the 5th annual Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day.  I know many parents of KD survivors (myself included) and survivors themselves who are KD advocates and raise awareness on a daily basis.  I am sure there are people that wonder why we are so passionate about this cause, and given that it is considered rare, why it is such a big deal.  These are the reasons why everyone needs to know about Kawasaki disease: 1. It is often misdiagnosed.   Many of the symptoms associated with Kawasaki disease are also associated with numerous other childhood illnesses, making it difficult for doctors to determine the true cause of the symptoms.  To complicate matters even further, the symptoms may not show up at the same time (as in Isaiah's case) or many of the symptoms may not show up at all (incomplete KD).  Currently, there is no diagnostic test for Kawasaki disease.  It is typically diagnosed using a combination of clinical features, bloo...

After we received the diagnosis from the doctor, she explained that a treatment would be administered via an IV. At the time everything seemed very simple and the risks minimal. Little did I know what lay ahead. Diagnosis  There was a shift change and another ER doctor came to see us. She examined Isaiah again and we had to repeat the order of events all over again. As with the first doctor, she also brought in her senior to take a look at Isaiah. They took some time pointing out various symptoms to each other. They proceeded to tell us that Isaiah's symptoms were not "textbook.". He was missing some of the classic signs of Kawasaki's disease, including the red hands/feet and red whites of his eyes (conjunctivitis).  It was possible that he was an atypical Kawasaki case or that his illness was due to some sort of bacterial infection. They decided to start him on antibiotics in the event that it was in fact an infection. Blood work would need to be completed to hel...

Here goes my first post.  I suppose it makes sense to start at the beginning and give a sense of the order of events leading up to Isaiah's diagnosis. October 12, 2011 Seven days into Isaiah's preschool career he comes down with a fever.  I assumed that it was just a virus that he caught at school, as everyone knows that daycares/preschools are a basically germ-filled petri dishes.  I give him Tylenol to try to keep the fever down. October 13, 2011 Isaiah continues to have a fever (between 38C and 39.5C), so more Tylenol is given.  He then has two episodes of diarrhea, so I decide to reduce the variety of foods he is eating.  My pediatrician always recommends that we take our kids off dairy when they have diarrhea, so don't allow Isaiah to have any milk. October 14, 2011 The fever returns as soon as the Tylenol wears off, so we continue administering the maximum dosage allowed per day.  Isaiah also continues to have diarrhea and not much of an app...