Thank you so much for the sweet prayers from all of you after my last post on Riverson’s HSP. I’m really happy to report that he’s doing much better.
How Is He Doing Now?
We’re not totally back to normal, but we’ve come a long way from this.
And this.
And this.
It’s not without the help of these.
When I wrote that first post about HSP, I was scared to share a single one of the pictures I’ve taken since this all started. I don’t know why. I guess I just didn’t want people seeing him like that.
That thought changed when someone contacted me after reading my post online and thanked me for sharing pictures because there were not many to be found online. She’s right.
She sent me pictures of what it looks like for her daughter and it definitely looks similar to what we’ve been dealing with. It got me to thinking that as moms, when something is wrong, and we are unsure, we turn to the internet. I know they say it’s bad to google about medical issues, but we all do it. I’ve been researching the internet like crazy trying to learn as much as I can about HSP.
I’m hoping these pictures might help another parent when they, too, start scouring the internet for more HSP information.
What Do I Think Caused This?
When we were in the ER on December 23rd, the doctor asked me if he had been sick within the past two or three weeks with a cold or anything similar. I said “no” but then remembered he DID have a strangely high fever 2 weeks before that lasted less than 24 hours.
After putting some pieces together and with a big help from my mom, who was also avidly researching, we made the connection to a vaccine.
Deep in my heart, I really think this HSP is a response to the chicken pox vaccine (varicella) Riverson got on December 13th.
We noticed his spots pop up on December 22nd and that puts it less than 10 days out from the vaccine. My step-dad’s cancer doctor, who looked at pictures of Riverson, agreed with us and said if there was to be a reaction, it would happen within 7-10 days.
I’m no doctor and have no medical experience. This is just one mom’s guess after doing a lot of research.
I think I would have rather him have the chicken pox than this mess.
We are now a little over 2 weeks from the first sign of HSP popping up on Riverson’s body. This is what he looked like on Friday.
If I could just keep him from itching all of these spots, we’d be in good shape.
Fortunately, the swelling has gone down and he’s returned to his usual silly self.
A neighbor of ours came to the door the other day and saw Riverson. I could tell she was trying to act like it was no big deal, but she kept looking at him, out of concern for him. I had to explain everything we’ve been through so she knew a) she didn’t need to call CPS and b) it wasn’t contagious. 
And that’s probably not the last time I’ll have to explain things to a stranger. I’m still debating on whether he will go to school on Tuesday or not. If so, he will be completely covered up.
To sum it all up, this has been a pretty awful experience and our family has been through the ringer.
Jeff and I are done. No other child in this family is allowed to get sick.
That is final.
Twitter: momsvictories
says:
Poor punkin, it must be so hard to watch him go through this. I am always nervous giving kids vaccines even though I do. It’s supposed to be peace of mind that they won’t die from something that could be prevented but mine usually get high fevers after also. Nothing like HSP. Is it coincidental that HSP looks like chicken pox or is this something that could happen no matter why vaccine he gets? I hope for all your sakes it’s a one time thing and it clears up quickly! Prayers are still with you.
Tanya @ Mom’s Small Victories´s last [type] ..2013 Book Blogger Recommendation Reading Challenge
Was this his first dose of the chicken poc vaccine? I think now they give a second dose at 4-6 yrs to start school. Don’t think I’d want to chance him having another reaction. Eeeek!
Kriss stewart´s last [type] ..I’m so behind!
Sweet sweet riverson. So thankful he’s on the mend…the prayers are working!
Katie Dotson´s last [type] ..Christmas 2012
Bless y’all hearts. I’m glad he’s doing better. I’m sure that was a very scary experience. It’s never a dull moment when you have kids, huh?
Now that you mention chicken pox his sores do look like that. Michelle and Brian had chicken pox at the same time (before the vaccine) and the way Riverson is covered looks like Brian did. He looked like someone took a pin and pricked him from head to toe. I had to sit with him naked on my lap with a diaper under him for days. And this was the first of January in St. Louis. Prayers still coming for Riverson and your family.
The only way I know this is not the chicken pox is because he had no marks on his chest and back. It was only on his legs, rear, and arms. He also had a lot of joint swelling in his ankles and knees, causing him to be unable to walk at times, which is very common for HSP.
Twitter: thenerdswife
says:
I’m glad he’s getting better. Thank you for sharing these photos. I had no idea how serious it was! And to think it was a reaction to a vaccine… so scary! Hang in there girl!
Arena´s last [type] ..Finding His Independence
Would you send me a pruvate email? I found your blog when googling HSP and chicken pox vaccine. We are going through this with my daughter. I’d live to hear more about your research.
Dear Jamie,
thank you for sharing your pictures, I came to your blog thaks to a google research, I am trying to get infos regarding purpura. Sorry for my english not perfect but I’m writing from Italy.
My baby girl 13 months old has a similar rush. I found a doctor specialized on this illness by reading a medical text on the Net (thanks Google!). The fact is that more than 10 days passed and new edema continue to occur. I wanted to know after how many days the new spots stop.
My baby 10 days before the rush had fever for 3 days, no vaccine since months, but we found some days ago her to be positive for streptococcus and I truly believe this is the cause.
Have the HSP recurred?
Thank you
ciao
Francesca