ugh....strep returns in our house
Last week, Hunter missed Friday at school due to a short-lived stomach bug/fever. He was fever free by dinner time, thankfully, with no change in behavior. He actually was in great spirits- and he RAN A FEVER...we used to pray he would let us know physically he was ill, instead of behaviorally.
Monday night, Peter and I had tickets to a sporting event, and Hunter was very upset that I was leaving. He told our sweet sitter he "hated" her (we do not use that word- one of those he picked up and got a reaction, so now it comes out when he is upset) and slammed several doors before we left. He hasn't had separation anxiety like that in a long time. I didn't think too much of it, as he had a "purple" day at school on Monday.
Last night, when Paige came in from playing outside (she had been out since school ended), Hunter had an atypical time giving back the ipad he had earned following his ABA session. Lately, it hasn't been an issue when time is up- he hands it back and has few words about it. For some reason, last night was a different story- he slammed doors, shouted, and pouted for almost thirty minutes (on the plus side, there was no hitting). After a great day at school and a productive ABA session, it was a surprise to have such aggressive behavior.
When it was bedtime, Paige had crawled under her covers before I had even made my way upstairs. I asked her if she felt ok (she had the "sick eyes") and she told me she was just tired...but then as we went to brush her teeth, she started to cry. "My throat has been hurting and I had the chills today. But I don't want to miss school!" I took her temperature and it was just over 99. She usually has a 97 temp, so I was a little alarmed, but after a busy weekend and field trip, she could have just been run down. We checked it again before we went to bed, and it was 100. However, when she woke this AM, it was 98 and I was sure this little bug would be gone...until I heard her muffled voice and saw her temperature rising to almost 101 a couple hours later. I looked in her throat, and those poor tonsils were almost touching her uvula. We were able to get into the pediatrician very quickly, and after swabbing her throat, the nurse came back not more than a minute later and said, "Wow- it's already positive."
The strep monster returns.
I emailed Hunter's teachers at school to inform them and asked them to let me know of any negative behaviors in the next couple of days. However, if IVIG is working like it should, that threshold for overactive antibody production should have increased, and we shouldn't get the same reaction we have had in the past (as long as he stays strep negative).
It makes me extremely nervous, though, since last time we had strep in our house (and he was never throat culture positive), he regressed for two full months. Door slamming, separation anxiety, clothing removal, aggression...our sweet boy had fallen to the strep monster's evil ways.
I remember last year, after finding out Paige had strep, he had tried to jump out of the car as we waited for her script in the pharmacy line. He banged on every window, climbed in the trunk...the kid was going absolutely nuts and I had to leave without a script because I seriously thought he would harm himself if we waited in that line any longer. I buried my head in my hands and just sobbed- why is strep such a nightmare for us??
I went back to my blog entry from the last round with strep in the house and a few days after her diagnosis, this is what we had this to deal with when I attempted to take him in for a throat culture due to the dramatic change in behavior...
We had been at Barnes and Noble earlier in the day, and he had picked out a new book; I wouldn't let him have it because he had screamed "how dare you" over and over at the checkout counter as every patron gave me the heated stares. He wanted to take the book into the doctor appointment, but I shut the door before he could get it. You can guess what happened next...shoes off, screaming, all in the middle of the parking lot. I basically had to drag him in the building to keep up with the other two kids. When we walked through the automatic doors, he screeched to a halt and screamed, "I'm going to kill you!"
Ugh. Can't begin to tell you how many feelings came over me, again, as people stared at this six year old boy telling him mama he was going to kill her. Embarrassment, anger, confusion, sadness...and of course, to follow through the way I should so as not to give him the attention he was looking for, I grabbed his hand and marched him down to the office.
He sat grumbling his phrases at me as we waited for the nurse to call his name. As much of a germaphobe as I am, I didn't even make him put his Crocs back on his feet. He walked toward the door with his bare feet when we heard his name, but stopped short before entering and started hitting and kicking me. As I again dragged him to the room, he raged like never before. The nurse even left and said she would be back when he calmed down. He had torn all the paper off the table, threw the toys, banged on the walls...I am not joking when I say three of the female nurses knocked on the door, one after the other, and peeked their heads in asking if they could do anything for me. The last one, who has been with us from the beginning, pre-PANDAS, pre-Autism, saw the tears in my eyes and said, "Oh Erika, I am praying for you. I am really, really praying for you. It works!"
Sure hope so, because my arms were stinging from the punches being thrown- and my heart hurt just as bad.
So for today, Paige is quarantined to our bedroom. I cannot take any chances at regression...his teacher had emailed me last week saying that Hunter would have been named student of the week last Friday if he hadn't been out sick.
Please, almighty God, do NOT take this child from the state he is in right now.
He is happy. He is content. He is intrinsically motivated to do well and to please.
He is who we remember he was prior to PANDAS/Autoimmune Encephalitis and Autism...
and he is who we had always dreamed he would be, once again, when we started IVIG.
Prayer warriors- we need you now. Please pray that we do not experience the dreaded regression that accompanies strep in this house.
I can't imagine losing this boy again.
Monday night, Peter and I had tickets to a sporting event, and Hunter was very upset that I was leaving. He told our sweet sitter he "hated" her (we do not use that word- one of those he picked up and got a reaction, so now it comes out when he is upset) and slammed several doors before we left. He hasn't had separation anxiety like that in a long time. I didn't think too much of it, as he had a "purple" day at school on Monday.
Last night, when Paige came in from playing outside (she had been out since school ended), Hunter had an atypical time giving back the ipad he had earned following his ABA session. Lately, it hasn't been an issue when time is up- he hands it back and has few words about it. For some reason, last night was a different story- he slammed doors, shouted, and pouted for almost thirty minutes (on the plus side, there was no hitting). After a great day at school and a productive ABA session, it was a surprise to have such aggressive behavior.
When it was bedtime, Paige had crawled under her covers before I had even made my way upstairs. I asked her if she felt ok (she had the "sick eyes") and she told me she was just tired...but then as we went to brush her teeth, she started to cry. "My throat has been hurting and I had the chills today. But I don't want to miss school!" I took her temperature and it was just over 99. She usually has a 97 temp, so I was a little alarmed, but after a busy weekend and field trip, she could have just been run down. We checked it again before we went to bed, and it was 100. However, when she woke this AM, it was 98 and I was sure this little bug would be gone...until I heard her muffled voice and saw her temperature rising to almost 101 a couple hours later. I looked in her throat, and those poor tonsils were almost touching her uvula. We were able to get into the pediatrician very quickly, and after swabbing her throat, the nurse came back not more than a minute later and said, "Wow- it's already positive."
The strep monster returns.
I emailed Hunter's teachers at school to inform them and asked them to let me know of any negative behaviors in the next couple of days. However, if IVIG is working like it should, that threshold for overactive antibody production should have increased, and we shouldn't get the same reaction we have had in the past (as long as he stays strep negative).
It makes me extremely nervous, though, since last time we had strep in our house (and he was never throat culture positive), he regressed for two full months. Door slamming, separation anxiety, clothing removal, aggression...our sweet boy had fallen to the strep monster's evil ways.
I remember last year, after finding out Paige had strep, he had tried to jump out of the car as we waited for her script in the pharmacy line. He banged on every window, climbed in the trunk...the kid was going absolutely nuts and I had to leave without a script because I seriously thought he would harm himself if we waited in that line any longer. I buried my head in my hands and just sobbed- why is strep such a nightmare for us??
I went back to my blog entry from the last round with strep in the house and a few days after her diagnosis, this is what we had this to deal with when I attempted to take him in for a throat culture due to the dramatic change in behavior...
We had been at Barnes and Noble earlier in the day, and he had picked out a new book; I wouldn't let him have it because he had screamed "how dare you" over and over at the checkout counter as every patron gave me the heated stares. He wanted to take the book into the doctor appointment, but I shut the door before he could get it. You can guess what happened next...shoes off, screaming, all in the middle of the parking lot. I basically had to drag him in the building to keep up with the other two kids. When we walked through the automatic doors, he screeched to a halt and screamed, "I'm going to kill you!"
Ugh. Can't begin to tell you how many feelings came over me, again, as people stared at this six year old boy telling him mama he was going to kill her. Embarrassment, anger, confusion, sadness...and of course, to follow through the way I should so as not to give him the attention he was looking for, I grabbed his hand and marched him down to the office.
He sat grumbling his phrases at me as we waited for the nurse to call his name. As much of a germaphobe as I am, I didn't even make him put his Crocs back on his feet. He walked toward the door with his bare feet when we heard his name, but stopped short before entering and started hitting and kicking me. As I again dragged him to the room, he raged like never before. The nurse even left and said she would be back when he calmed down. He had torn all the paper off the table, threw the toys, banged on the walls...I am not joking when I say three of the female nurses knocked on the door, one after the other, and peeked their heads in asking if they could do anything for me. The last one, who has been with us from the beginning, pre-PANDAS, pre-Autism, saw the tears in my eyes and said, "Oh Erika, I am praying for you. I am really, really praying for you. It works!"
Sure hope so, because my arms were stinging from the punches being thrown- and my heart hurt just as bad.
So for today, Paige is quarantined to our bedroom. I cannot take any chances at regression...his teacher had emailed me last week saying that Hunter would have been named student of the week last Friday if he hadn't been out sick.
Please, almighty God, do NOT take this child from the state he is in right now.
He is happy. He is content. He is intrinsically motivated to do well and to please.
He is who we remember he was prior to PANDAS/Autoimmune Encephalitis and Autism...
and he is who we had always dreamed he would be, once again, when we started IVIG.
Prayer warriors- we need you now. Please pray that we do not experience the dreaded regression that accompanies strep in this house.
I can't imagine losing this boy again.
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