Scarlet Fever

I haven’t posted much in the last week because I haven’t been feeling well. It all started with a sore throat. Being a mom of three young boys, I don’t have much time to think about having a sore throat. I knew it hurt pretty bad, but mostly just attempted to ignore it. Moral of the story…..bad idea!

Last Tuesday evening while Nathan was out at a church meeting, I started to feel really bad and went to bed early. Wednesday morning I woke up and felt so awful I knew there was no way I could care for the boys. I asked him to use his last sick day to stay home and help me. I couldn’t even stand without feeling really dizzy and like I was going to faint. All I did that day was feed Caleb when Nathan woke me up. Wednesday evening, though, my skin turned red. Uh oh!

On Thursday, Nathan was out of sick time and had to go into work. I am so lucky my parents are in town and are willing to help out. My dad picked up all three boys and took Elias to school, and I went to urgent care. It turns out I had scarlet fever!

Most people I tell say they though scarlet fever was extinct. Where are we, the Oregon Trail? But actually, scarlet fever is strep throat. When strep throat goes untreated, the bacteria leaves the tonsils and enters the body. It usually travels to the heart valves or the kidneys and then releases a chemical toxin that turns the skin red. Hence…scarlet fever.

I got a very stern lecture from the doctor at the urgent care about putting myself higher up on the priority list. Then I got some antibiotics. After over 72 hours on antibiotics, I was feeling much better! In fact, almost my normal self! Since I wasn’t contagious anymore, I was able to go to church and rejoin the real world.

So far, none of the boys have shown any symptoms. (Other than Nathan who had his usual sore throat for a couple days and then gets better on his own). I am still praying they’ll stay healthy! Here I am on Thursday evening trying not to breathe on Caleb: