Fourth of July - gone spotty

The Fourth of July this year looked like it might be a wash out. We had been getting strong storms one after the other all week and more storms were expected. We brought umbrellas and our pop up canopy to Becky and Erik's in case. But aside from some drizzles, the day stayed clear in our area. We dropped Rachael off at her friends house, so we were a Kehrman short through the festivities. We made rocket pops the day before, painted our nails patriotic colors and Jim packed the van with the usual stuff, chairs, cooler, sweatshirts. I sprayed the girls down with bug spray and we walked over to the parade.

The parade was full of bands this year, which is my favorite part. We stood to honor the color guard and the veterans with flags as they walked past. Johanna stood up with us and put her little hand on her heart. When the fire trucks sounded their sirens she covered her ears. Bridget settled into a chair next to Sarah, and Megan squeezed into the wagon next to Savannah. Emma  and Melanie shared a chair as only girl friends can do. Jim and the Dads had the back row covered. I brought a chair and I even got Hanna to sit in my lap for some of the parade before she started walking behind our group. The girls got a good collection of candy, balls, and other stuff. And we parents scored my favorite "Life is great in 21228" car magnet.

We got back to their house and settled into cookout mode. More cousins and family arrived, food was set up, and conversation were started. Bridget came to me complaining about a itchy patch of red bumps on her leg. We got her some itch stick and I re-sprayed her. She is always the tastiest and no one else was being bitten. We ate and the kids played. As the sun started to get lower we got out the desserts and the rocket pops. Bridget came back again covered in more bites, this time on her thighs and arms. She was pretty miserable.

We moved to the front year to watch Catonsville's great fireworks display. The kids all gathered on blankets and the adults pulled over chairs. It was past 10 by the time it was over and we headed home. Johanna fell asleep in the van as soon as the doors were closed. Poor Bridget had bites all over her exposed skin and was exhausted and itchy, so we gave her Benadryl and she crashed quickly.

They still look a bit like bites here

The spots were still bad the next day, Sunday, so twice we had her soak in a baking soda bath and we put cold towels on her legs as she lay on the sofa. We went to the mall for Hanna's haircut and then to the pool where we ate dinner, regularly offering itch relief. At the end of the evening Bridget came over to complain that her hands and feet hurt. Her joints were swelling. We decided these spots, which had begun to coalesce over the day and looked more like hives, were not going to wait for a Monday appointment. I dropped people home from the pool and we headed to Urgent Care.

Bridget was a trooper and was hopeful to get some answers. The doctor looked her over, reviewed the rash and told us we would have to go to the ER because they didn't know what it was. Bridget wasn't feeling well and was really tired by now. She was full of questions about what they would do to help her in the ER. We arrived at the ER on the Sunday of 4th of July weekend and humanity was on full display. It took forever to get checked in but as soon as we did and got to head back to the pediatric ER it was much better. Our nurse Katie was great and the doctor was also fantastic, both young compassionate women who knew their stuff. The doctor checked Bridget out and asked lots of questions. She went to look some things up and came back again to verify what she suspected. She brought me a medical book of conditions and showed me the page on Henoch Scholein purpura (HSP); it seemed to match. The doctor wanted to rule out some other things and make sure that Bridget wasn't suffering from some of the more serious parts of HSP. Bridget asked me lots of questions about maybe having to stay at the hospital and wanted to be sure I would stay with her. The doctor ordered a lot of blood work and Bridget gave a urine sample. By now it was after midnight and Bridge was falling asleep in my lap. Katie came back to draw blood. Bridget was such a trooper. The first stick did not go well and she had to wiggle the needle around. She got a few vials and started an IV. Bridget didn't yell or cry but she did keep asking to take it out. Katie then had to stick the other arm. She still had 7 more vials to fill. Bridget sat still again and this stick went better but after 5 vials the vein collapsed and the wiggling for the last 2 vials began. I was so proud of Bridget, she suffered through, holding her Lamby in my lap.

Bridge feel asleep almost immediately in my arms and we stayed that way for an hour or so. The Dr came back with good test results around 1AM and said Bridget wouldn't be admitted overnight. This could last over 4 weeks and we would have to check her urine and blood pressure weekly with our pediatrician. There isn't any treatment, just managing symptoms and staying alert to bigger problems. It wasn't a clean bill of health but Yeah we could go home. An hour later the IV was out and I was carrying Bridget to the van. She fell asleep almost immediately upon getting home.

Iv and 4th of July nails

Watching her sleep on the ER bed was a tiring but peaceful time. I leaned my head in and rested against hers and sang her favorite bedtime song "Twinkle Twinkle" in my head. This is the most natural thing for me to do by her bedside and I smiled at my tired self.  They don't ever know what causes HSP but it is usually in response to the immune system being assaulted previously. We are guessing that the bee stings triggered the event but no way of knowing for sure. I am grateful for her health and for the amazing girl she is.