I took this to try to diaganose why he had a rash(notice the blotchy legs, tummy etc)-since then he's been hospitalized and diagnosed-systemic juvenile arthritis. Hes not even two yet. I suppose i could have lightened the image some, but i kinda like it like this.
Hi CorrieLynn I'm real sorry about your sons arthritis .. and am happy that everything is under control for now and that the medication's working .. hope everything stays well forever for you all .. never give up ur hope .. all we USEFILMIANS will be praying for you and your son ..
Nice shot .. well done .. great composition .. tones and contrasts ..
Thanks Kay, I replied to your comment a few days ago, but now i see that it never showed up! Im so sorry... That is interesting that your son had a similar thing, i wonder if it was the same, and if he just outgrew it. The symtoms are usually high fevers, usually in the evening, and they can come and go quickly. The rash usually comes with the fever, and just kind of rotates, it can show up all over the body, or just in certain areas. Its only slightly raised bumbs, with no centers, and they look like welts that spread until they become one giant welt. Even when they go away, you can tell where they were for several days.
It IS possible to outgrow it, so im hoping he does. I havnt seen a sign of a rash or fever in weeks, so im hoping that his medicine will continue to work and that he WILL outgrow it. Thanks again too for the prayers!
CorrieLynn, I'm so sorry to hear about your son's trauma. We have young children too, and know about the worry factor. Fortunately, it sounds like you chanced upon a good doctor, and things are looking up.
This is a great shot, and thanks for sharing your story. I'll be looking for the similar shot where the rash is all cleared up.
CorrieLynn, I am so sorry to hear about the arthritis, who would have guessed. He will defenitely be in our prayers. I read your response to David and I can't believe what you two went through. The shot itself is beautiful and pensive. Alison
Oh good lord, thats a horrible story. But I can understand you so well. Although our kids never had something as serious as your we had to go through similar yourneys at hospitals and docters. Its so frustrating. Your child is suffering and all they do is patrionizing you and don't take it serious. It drives me crazy but at the same time you can't do much since you need them at some point. It makes you feel so helpless trying to beat a system making a fool out of yourself knowing the longer it takes the longer your child has do go without getting help.
My wife always asks me to do all the doctor appointments with the kids for a couple of reasons. But to a degree it works well since they seem to have more respect of a 6'4" father who is not just nodding to anything they say :)
Its good to know the health care system works so wonderful. ARGGGGH. The should've brought him in sooner comment, would've sent me thru the roof. I am glad it got diagnosed. I've had 104 fever and I couldn't remember how to dial the dam phone. 108... I can't even to begin to imagine the emotions you went thru and his pain.
Thanks Kay, They say that it does often go undiagnosed-so it is quite possible that your son could have experienced the same thing. Its not genetic at all,so there's no risk of my other son getting it(it would be pure coincidence if he did). Im told its less common than asthma, but more common than cystic fibrosis...if that gives you any idea.
If you google search 'systemic juvenile arthritis' you'll come up with all kinds of signs and symptoms. I am curious to know if your son had the same symptoms. And yes, it is possible to outgrow it-but there's really no way of knowing if that will happen. It can become like a dormant disease for a while, but then flare up out of nowhere.
Yes, it CAN cause pain, especially in the joints, but luckily weve caught it before it had done any joint damage at all. He's so little, so if he was hurting i dont know if he would have been able to tell me where... Theyve now done all kinds of xrays, bone scans, and ultra sounds, and so far his organs are fine. Mind you, they may have been swollen earlier before we caught it, but we really dont know. All we know is that right now, the medicine is doing its job.
I know that fevers alone can cause all kinds of aches and pains, with or without arthritis. The rash got pretty itchy when it was flared up, it looked like someone had whipped him, big raised line like welts all over him. It ALMOST looked like slap cheek virus, but much worse. He gets the weirdest looks from people, other parents try to keep their kids away from him..(i dont totally blame them, it did look like a terrible contagious desease..) Thanks again for the concern and prayers!
I just read the bit you wrote- wow- what an ordeal. My son had a very similar kind of thing as a small child and it was never diagnosed. I wonder if it could have been that and he outgrew it? Bless you all!
Oh my- how would you ever know? That is so sad- I will keep him in my prayers and you too as you care for him. Does it cause him any pain? BTW- congrats on getting a MF camera. I wouldn't know the slightest thing about using one- but I bet your images will be great!
Here's a better picture of the actual rash...and this is on a GOOD day.(it's been SO much worse, he has been unrecognizeable with it..sometimes its just on his tummy, sometimes its all over) The medication must be working now though, because its gone away completely-at least for now.
He's on medication, so far its the most basic medication for this condition, and it seems to be working. (thankfully, because the next step is steroids...) The doctors say he may outgrow it, he may not. Its kind of a 'play it by ear' situation. The scary thing is that this kind of arthritis can effect his organs as well(i had never heard of such a thing...)
It causes inflamation all over the body, not just the joints. It shows itself in a rash and fever(he got as high as 108.6-i didnt know that this was humanly possible.)He has no sign of this condition OTHER than the rash and fever-meaning no joint inflamation, or organ inflamation either. So we REALLY have to watch it. Im rather angry about the whole sitiuation, i had to FIGHT to get him in to see a doctor. This rash will come full force, and go away in 20 minutes(and so can the fevers). So when the doctor said "i can see him in two weeks", it really wasnt any help. Even when i explained to them WHY they had to see him, NOW. I took him to emergency wards, numerous times, and they all said "see your family doctor". GOOD GREIF! This went on for months.
I had to battle with the receptionist, who would never let me in, and i even asked her to refer us to a pediatritcian, but she couldnt, not without a valid condition-and i had to see the dr to get a diagnosis...
3 Months went by where i was giving him tylonol every 4 hours every day, because they all just said "hm, yup, looks like a childhood virus, good thing it doesnt seem to be contagious".
And they did blood work, that read that he had low iron.(which now ive found out goes hand in hand with systemic arthritis) and they freaked on me for not "feeding him" properly.(he eats like a horse, and loves his veggies, so i was a little ticked)They put him on iron supplements, which did NOTHING.(and there isnt any blood test to confirm arthritis..so we still didnt know about that part)
Well, finally, one day, his fever got so high that he turned blue-and i rushed him to emergency, and FINALLY, there was a doctor that just happened to be there and said "hey, i know what this is! Why on earth didnt you bring him in earlier?" (at this point i wanted to claw his eyes out...not his fault, but man, i have NEVER been more frustrated in my life) Anyway, after a long hospital stay, and a lot of medication, it seems to be under control, for now anyway. Now its just a waiting game.Im just going to try to live life as normal as possible and hope for the best, not dwell on it too much. Its been rough though...any prayers are welcome!