An Update on E

It's been awhile.

The last months have been busy and full and scary at times.

We had an experience that has made us unbelievably grateful for public health care. It's not perfect, but when we needed it, it was there.

Back in April, after a barrage of tests in the ER and an order to go to the Stollery Children's Hospital the next morning, E was diagnosed with HSP. HSP is a self resolving illness that affects blood vessels which in turn causes nasty rashes, intense joint pain, and bad stomach cramps. It can take a few weeks to a few months to clear out. The only treatment is supportive, giving Advil several times a day along with ice and heat packs. We seem to be mostly out the other side. He still needs to be followed up with his doctor for a year (it reoccurs in about 50% of cases, usually more mildly), but besides a few instances of stomach cramps a few times a week, he is much better.

He was in so much pain. He couldn't walk or bend his legs. Some days he couldn't close his hands. He would be curled up in a ball holding his belly in agony. His legs looked like a picture you would see when you google image search "children's rashes." My heart broke as there was nothing more I could do to ease the pain. He'd have a dose of Advil but before I could give him another dose, he'd be in pain again. Crying.

When we were referred to the Stollery, my heart raced with "what ifs." When I sat in that Stollery ER room with 4 kids, waiting for the doctor to return, I imagined all of the worst case scenarios that it could be. The other hospital hadn't been able to figure it out, even with multiple rounds of bloodwork and xrays and nose swabs. I prepared myself to be strong in front of my kids if I needed to be. When the doctor  came back and explained her diagnosis, part of me breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't something worse. It was bad, but it wasn't something that needed serious treatment and it wasn't contagious or life threatening. And then after she left, I thought of all the other kids in the Stollery whose parents were not getting relieving news and I felt guilty.

But nearly 6 weeks later, he seems to be past it all unless he has an overly active day. So, we continue day by day, week by week, grateful for public health care, and hope that he is not in the statistic of kids that have it reoccur.