Now is Streptococcus what???

Fever persisted for the second day. Ryan has got used to taking the medication through the IV needles in his hand but stuffing the Volteron into his butt was still a battle every time.

I've some time to do some research on kawasaki disease and found out more about it.. Apparently, this disease is most common among Japanese and Koreans (hence the name) and affects children between the age of 1 to 5 years old. They have yet to discover the cause nor vaccination for it. There are some common telltale signs like persistent high fever exceeding 39 degrees, rashes, swollen hands and feet, lymph nodes, strawberry tongue (all of which Ryan had), red eyes, skin peeling off hands and genitals and ultimately swollen heart arteries.. If left untreated, it could be fatal or if treated too late, could lead to unrecovarable damages to the heart.. http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/heart/kawasaki.html

That was the reason that a heart specialist has to perform an echo test on his heart to check if there are any abnormalities. On the second day, the rashes has not subsided, the tummy ache persisted with very smelly loose white stools.

The heart specialist finally came on the second day afternoon. The sight of the big machine scare the hell out of him and he was screaming and yelling away as we forced him down on the bed to do the echo Test. Because he was crying so much and so loud the test took extra long. There was nothing we could do to calm him to a point where both Cat and I have to walk away so that the nurses, doctor and a good friend who happened to be around could try calming him down. He was so scared that he even asked to doctor to hold him! Poor boy. It was such a heart wrenching experience.

The test was negative which was a good sign. But then what is the problem now if it is not Kawasaki.

The doctor took a look at his blood test and got a shock. Apparently, there was an index to test bacteria infection, was 3 times higher than normal. It showed 630 when the normal reading would have been 150. He said that in his 20 years career, he has not seen anything higher than 400! We were getting worried but he assured us that there is nothing to worry about. He would consult with Dato Dr Musa on the next course of action.

Later that evening, Dr Musa came and said that although they are not discounting Kawasaki yet, they are looking into any possibility of blood infection. They found high concentration of Streptococcus bacteria in his blood.

Streptococcus what????

Apparently this bacteria known as Group A Streptococcus (GAS) would normally affect the throat and skin and would normally cause mild illness such as strep throat or impetigo. However, under severe situation where the bacteria would find their way into places where they are normally not found like blood, lung and muscle where they could do serious damage and even life threatening. This is known as invasive GAS disease. It can so severe that it could destroy muscle tissues, hence also known as ''flesh eating bacteria'.

These bacteria are spread through direct contact with mucus from the nose or throat of persons who are infected or through contact with infected wounds or sores on the skin. Ill persons, such as those who have strep throat or skin infections, are most likely to spread the infection. Persons who carry the bacteria but have no symptoms are much less contagious. Treating an infected person with an antibiotic for 24 hours or longer generally eliminates their ability to spread the bacteria. However, it is important to complete the entire course of antibiotics as prescribed. It is not likely that household items like plates, cups, or toys spread these bacteria.

Ryan is unfortunate to have contracted this in his blood.

I' m writing this in the hospital now on the fourth day. He has responded well to the antibiotic and fever has finally broke. The rashes has mostly disappeared and his tummy ache gone. He is back to his jumping hyper active self which is beginning to drive us up the wall! hahaha. He will still have his medication and they are still monitoring his progress. If everything goes well, we should be going home tomorrow.

For those who have supported us in your prayers and all your well wishes, we thank you. Will keep you updated on his progress.