Cael's Story
Cael's KD experience started with about five days of high fevers and four trips to clinics. He was (mis)diagnosed with a viral infection, mono, a penicillin reaction, and pneumonia. Because he kept getting worse and had begun complaining about neck pain, his parents took him in to the ER on day six, concerned about meningitis. Cael was admitted and first treated for severe mono, but his blood tests revealed that he was suffering from more. (Thanks here goes to Grandma, a lab technologist, who read his initial results and insisted that the mono test was a false positive and needed to be rerun.) After a spinal tap confirmed that Cael did not have meningitis and additional bloodwork pointed away from pediatric cancers, the PICU doctor mentioned atypical Kawasaki's. On day seven (his second day in PICU), Cael started an IVIG infusion. This treatment worked almost immediately, and Cael's symptoms subsided within hours. He has and will continue to have follow-up blood and heart checks. He's had some manifestations of the disease in his joints as well.
Misdiagnosis?
Mono Pneumonia Allergic reaction
Current Conditions
He is doing wonderfully today. He's active in soccer and golf. We do the regular checks and have been cautious with COVID, but he's a happy, healthy kid.