A worried mother is speaking out after her young son was suddenly diagnosed with measles and a rare blood vessel inflammation at the same time.
Natasha Durling, of Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia, took to Facebook, where she told other parents what her son went through after coming home from school on Thursday.
Although the little boy, Oliver, felt run down and tired, Durling didn’t think anything was wrong with her son until he started suffering from diarrhea and vomiting.
Once Oliver was rushed to the hospital, doctors struggled to find an accurate diagnosis for the little boy, and his symptoms soon began to worsen.
“He was weak, red eyes, (I assumed from the frequent vomiting and lack of fluid intake) high fever, sore muscles, sore stomach and would just sleep. I become worried because he's never been THIS sick before and usually shakes off viruses by now,” Durling wrote on Facebook. “Sunday morning he's the same, no energy, just sleeping, has a cough, sore throat, still vomiting and constant diharia. He's not drinking much, he won't eat, he's in pain.”
After taking Oliver to the hospital once again, Durling learned that her son might have measles, but because Oliver had already had his shots, doctors determined that it was unlikely.
“[Despite] his high fever, rash, dehydration and being in absolute agony, he [was] sent home, and I was instructed to give him Tylenol and Benadryl, and if he gets worse to bring him back,” Durling wrote.
Eventually, Oliver was in so much pain that he virtually could not get out of bed by Tuesday morning.
Doctors finally realized something was seriously wrong with Oliver when he came back to the hospital covered in an angry rash from head to toe.
Then, after plenty of tests, doctors discovered that Oliver did in fact have measles.
After the shock of the measles diagnosis settled, Durling realized that her son’s problems still weren’t over.
By Friday, doctors told her that Oliver had measles and Kawasaki disease, a type of inflammation that manifests itself as a severe rash that lasts for at least five days.
“He goes through blood infusions, and screams in pain all night from his inflamed blood, stomach pain and inflamed joints, and he throws up several times,” the mom wrote. “The next morning his rash is gone, and he's feeling a lot better!”
At the end of the day, Durling is urging parents to “trust their gut” if they know something isn’t right with their kids.
“I have one strong, brave little man! I couldn't be more proud of him ! I know Ollie, Amelia and I are excited to get out of the hospital and get back to our lives!” she said.
