NOT Hand Foot Mouth

Sister has not been well since the beginning of January. I had just gotten over a sinus infection, and pretty much everyone in town was sick with something. Mike took her to Urgent Care on January 3rd to see if she had ear infections...or something that was making her so sick.  The doctor told Mike she *might* have a virus, but he really thought she was just teething. I just shook my head...and we moved on. About a week later she was coughing and still full of snot...and not sleeping. 

Around that time Blip got a sinus infection. He was fine after a few days of rest and antibiotics. Sister was still sick. So back to the doctor she went...and she was diagnosed with a sinus infection, too. Poor baby.

During that week I got another sinus infection and that same cough. It was diagnosed as an upper respiratory virus. I was down and out for two days...it was awful. The fevers are always really hard on me. Mike had to take off work to care for me and both kiddos. It was really awful.

A week passed and she wasn't any better. That Monday Mike called me at work and said that Sister had a rash. He sent pictures...it was all over her body. He called the doctor to get her in, but the nurse triaged him over the phone and said it was Roseola. Sister's rash looked just like the pictures we found of Roseola...and it didn't seem to be bothering her. She was still sick and full of snot...and still not sleeping.

On Tuesday I was at work when Mike called to tell me Sister's rash was much (much) worse. He was very concerned and was calling the doctor. When he was finally able to get an appointment he called to tell me I would need to be the one to take her. I left work and met Lisa and Sister at the doctor.  

A very young doctor we had never seen before walked in and immediately said Sister had Hand Foot Mouth Disease. I wasn't so sure, so I asked a few questions, but could tell the doctor didn't want to be questioned. We were concerned there was something going on with the Amoxicillin, too. I didn't know much about HFM, so I let it go. I pulled up the Mayo Clinic's page on HFM and started reading about it. Sister's rash was AWFUL. It was red, raised, hot, and EVERYWHERE. She looked like a hot mess...although the rash didn't seem to be bothering her. Her rash looked NOTHING like HFM.

I finally sent pictures and a quick story to my cousin Anthony.  He agreed it wasn't HFM. He thought it was something called Erythema Multiform. He asked me lots of questions and told me he would consult with another doctor on Wednesday. When he did that, he let me know that's what it was. There was nothing to do except let it run its course. He said it would be better in a fews days to a week.  By Friday Sister's skin looked mostly back to normal. She still had some of the rash, but NOTHING like the first few days.

Sister and I are still getting over our cough...and she is still full of snot, so I'm not sure she is really getting better yet. But it will be nice for her to feel better and start sleeping through the night again. We are exhausted.