What a Week

Well, it's been quite a week for the Frierdich Family! It all started last Sunday when Tyler woke up crying and telling us he needed a bandaid. At first, Tony and I just dismissed it and told him to go back to sleep. But as he persisted with the need for a bandaid, I decided I better check it out. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting this!!!


So at first we were thinking...it's hives of course. What else does a kid his age get that looks like this. I racked my brain trying to think if he had anything new to eat the day before, did I switch laundry detergents, etc. Nothing came to mind except the round of antibiotics (Omnicef) he had finished 2 days before for his second round of strep throat. I called his pediatrician and he told me that it was most likely hives but that the Omnicef would no longer be in his system.....just give him some Benadryl. I e-mailed pictures to my Mom, brother, friend....they all said....looks like hives. That "mother's intuition" however, told me it was a lot more than hives! Then as we sat down to eat lunch, Tyler started crying that his knees hurt. He stood up at the table and his knees were very swollen and hot. He had also spiked a temp. Needless to say, I called the pediatrician again and of course he said I should take him to the ER. I debated taking him to an Urgent Care center (cheaper co-pay) but am very thankful that I decided to take him to the pediatric ER at St. John's instead (thanks to persuasion from my pediatrician).


The ER doctor walked in and immediately diagnosed Tyler with Erythema Multiforme Minor.

He explained that this was most likely due to the antibiotic he just finished, but could be from the infection itself or some other virus. Unfortunately, this is a rare reaction and not completely understood. He told us the only thing we could do for Tyler was make him comfortable with Benadryl and Zyrtec and the rash would take 2-6 weeks to resolve itself. When we got home that evening he was acting great and playing like usual.

Then he woke up Monday morning and looked like this.....



I was a little surprised because I wasn't expecting the rash to get worse. I call the pediatrician again and they told me I should follow up with his pediatric allergist (also an immunologist) this week. Then the fever spikes again and now he is complaining that he can't walk because his ankles hurt. Always a scary moment for a parent! My pediatrician called me back and said he would call the allergist/immunologist immediately and get back to me. The allergist's office called me right back and said to bring him right over. We ended up seeing a new allergist (that I love) and she confirmed the diagnosis of EM Minor. She explained that his immune system went into overdrive and essentually started attacking his skin. It could get even worse before it gets better. More importantly, it could progress into the Major form of EM (also known as Stevens Johnson Sydrome)....this is very serious. She did not expect this to happen by any means and it would be rare, but we still needed to check his mouth and eyes several times a day to check for lesions. If it spread to his mucus membranes (mouth and eyes) then it was most likely progressing to the major form.

I went to bed Monday night with a stomach ache and suspecting that my nerves were getting the best of me, however, when I couldn't go to sleep because I felt so nauseated and then got chilled.....I realized my fears were coming true...I was getting the stomach flu. It hit with a vengeance and on top of that Tyler was up crying in the night saying his tongue hurt. Of course this was very scary because we were afraid the EM was going to his mouth. So, at 2:30am, what else would I do but call my own Mom and tell her I need her to come down. And like all good Moms, she said of course, I'll be there first thing in the morning. We were very relieved that she was coming down to help so I could minimize my exposure to the boys and Tony.

As it turned out, Monday proved to be Tyler's worst day. We saw slight improvement on Tuesday and every day after that things got better. By Friday, he looked great and only his legs really showed any signs of remaining EM. We feel very fortunate and blessed that Tyler recovered so quickly - less than half the time it takes most children. Now we are just on guard because once EM strikes, it is likely to recur at some point.

The saga isn't quite over yet though because we are now faced with the challenge of what antibiotic will Tyler take when it's necessary. He has now reacted to penicillin, zithromax and now cephalosporins. This only leaves sulfa and one other thing (I am severely allergic to sulfa which doesn't bode well for Tyler). So, we go back to the allergist in 6 weeks and will undergo an antibiotic challenge. Not sure exactly what will happen yet, his allergist is doing some research and hasn't quite decided what she wants to do yet. Wish us luck on May 10!!!