discoveries

i can't help but be sympathetic for the sudden death of john travolta's son. the pain of losing a child is immeasurable. but i was also quite alarmed by the fact that travolta's son had kawasaki disease and later on developed asthma as reported. last year, january 25 to be exact, euan was diagnosed with kawasaki disease. good thing the doctors (after a week-long deliberation) were able to give him the (very expensive!) IVIG medicine before it hit his arteries. when he was discharged, he was under aspirin until such time that his blood tests would go back to normal. he was out of aspirin the latter part of the year but had to undergo 2d-echo every 3 months to monitor his heart for any abnormalities. but the summer of last year, we also learned that euan developed asthma. hereditary probably because richie, richie's mom and my father all had asthma.

but with the news about travolta's son made me a bit paranoid about the similarity. according to the news, he also had a history of siezures. i just can't help but worry - is this common to all kawasaki kids?

i knew that KD is a rare disease that had adverse effects to the heart if left untreated as what was explained by euan's pedia-cardio and infectious pedia doctors. all the while i thought that once infused with IVIG, it will be cured. and so he was treated with the IVIG, 8 small bottles plus 2 small smaller ones (dosage computed according to his age) plus the aspirin therapy. but with this news, i got anxious of what this would mean to euan's health. so for my own peace of mind, i googled and found out that there is a site for KD kids and parents, actually it is a foundation for KD kids. mostly, based from the sharing of the parents, their kids suffered from asthma, allegies, migraines and seizures years after the KD diagnosis. now that euan has asthma, it makes me think of the possibility that he may acquire the other effects of KD. although there were some KD kids in the forum who did not suffer any of these effects made me all the more hopeful that some were spared of the dreaded effects. i really hope euan would be spared from it or from any relapse (if there is such a case).

we haven't visited his pedia cardio nor the infectious pedia again but we were already planning on having euan undergo 2d echo again even before the news broke out. i think we really have to visit his doctors again, i just can't risk euan's health. there are so many things running in my mind and i can't help but worry.

i also learned that euan's condition as a KD victim should be well explained especially in school. that i have to deal with once euan starts school. but for now, i am really hoping that things would turn out differently for euan. he seemed okay - a very active and happy child. but i just the same, we have to be extra careful of his health. i don't want to make a big fuss out of it though, and make any special restrictions on his activities just because he had KD. i still want euan to do things normally just like any other kid.

if there's any consolation with these discoveries is the fact that i was able to know about it early on before it may even hit euan. scary but at least i am somehow prepared about it. that if ever these effects manifest on euan, i have something to refer back on. i would not face a blank wall again, just like what we have experienced at the onset of his KD.