Isaac awoke and the swelling was down considerably. He was hobbling around. I took him into the doc first thing and he was seen immediately. Our regular pediatrician was out and so we saw the doc who had helped us on the phone the night before. He confirmed two things: First the little bumps on Isaac's bum did look like Hand Foot Mouth bumps and second that the spots on Isaac's legs coupled with the swelling looked exactly like HSP.
Some blood was taken (to confirm there was no cancer) and some urine was taken as well. The urine was tested for blood and protein levels. Blood in the urine is normal for this disease and high levels of protein indicate damage to the kidneys. Isaac had no blood in his urine and the protein levels were slightly raised, as expected, but not dangerously high.
This doc had only seen two other cases of HSP in his 30 years of practicing. He said that every case presents differently and there was absolutely no way to predict how long it would last.
I actually left feeling pretty good. Isaac was doing okay that day and I naively assumed that he would have a "mild" case! HA!
By late afternoon the swelling was back in his feet and ankles and he didn't feel like walking. And so we carried him. And this is how we lived for the next 5-6 weeks.
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