It all started last Friday. Sometime in the night, my son got up, slipped on a pillow on the floor, fell backwards and landed on his child's toy. He said to himself, "wow, that is going to leave a bruise" (paraphrased). When he woke up, there was blood all over his sheets, and while trying to figure out the cause, he discovered a cut in his back approximately two inches long and an inch deep. His wife felt that he needed stitches, and asked if I could take him as she needed to get to work. My son, of course, felt it was a lot of hoopla for nothing. Nurse Henderson was here (I know she gets so sick of us asking her all our medical questions....just like Mr. Lincoln gets asked legal questions all the time...funny, no one ever seems to need my Tennessee history advice), so it was suggested that he send a picture of the cut, so that Nurse H. and I could offer our expert and non-expert opinions concerning the need for stitches. Below is the picture he sent:
Uh, yeah, I think you need stitches. I got the baby, my son called his doctor, who in about 2 seconds of seeing the cut said, "wow, you need stitches!" So after a couple layers of stitches, and a prescription for antibiotics, he went home. Except for soreness in his back, the weekend seemed to go fairly well for my son and family.
Fast forward....Monday morning. Complaints of a raging headache and a general feeling of unwellness began. I offered to let the baby play, nap and lunch at my house so my son could rest. He rested and seemed to be much better. Seems all is well, or at least on the road to well.
Tuesday morning....My daughter-in-law calls. Her hubby, my son, has a fever of 102, she has to get to work, he needs to stay away from the baby. I inquired as to whether they had checked for infection in the cut on his back. She thought it looked okay, but with such a deep wound we figured an infection could be there and not noticeable on the surface. When I picked up the baby, I asked him to please go to the doctor and have his back checked. He was so miserable that he just felt like he could not get out of bed, but conceded that if someone would work it out, he would go. Mr. Lincoln to the rescue!! He called the doctor who said to take our son to the emergency room immediately. Mr. Lincoln did. Yay!! No infection in wound, but there was definitely something going on. Tests were run.
Wednesday....Tests are back. Apparently hepatitis caused by either mono or medicine is what is causing all this misery. Temperature is still 102. He is miserable. Further testing to be done.
Thursday...It is not mono. By process of elimination, the doctor has concluded that he has Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, caused by the bite of an infected tick. What? DO NOT GOOGLE such things. Oh, my word! There is one antibiotic designed specifically for RMSF, and it is prescribed.
Friday...Our son is feeling better this morning, and much better by this evening. Improving from the antibiotic seems to confirm the diagnosis. Mr. Lincoln informed me he read that only about 800 cases of RMSF are reported each year in the U.S. Wow, I bet he is feeling really special.
Saturday morning...I have not heard anything this morning, so I am assuming the improvement continues.
The real danger of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is a late diagnosis. The sooner it is caught, the better chance of treating it. My son is like a lot of men; he does not go to the doctor often. People, die of RMSF because doctors do not recognize it, patients do not remember being bitten by a tick, symptoms are compatible with many other things.
So I ask: could it be that our son's fall in the wee hours last Friday was the beginning of events that would literally save his life? (I know and love a few people who at this point are thinking, "I love her, but she's an idiot. She cannot really believe this stuff!) I cannot help but think that if he had not fallen, when he woke up with a fever of 102 degrees 4 days later he would not have gone to the doctor in fear that his wound was infected, tests would not have been run, and while an eventual diagnosis may have been made as symptoms increased, perhaps it would have been too late.
I am not saying this is how it is, I am asking, "could it be?" I believe it could.
So for today, I wish you belief in possibilities, good health, and I wish you
blessings
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