It's back....

I am so very upset to write this. On Monday, Rowan's fever came back. I was so not prepared for it. I guess I got too comfortable in our "new normal," and forgot just how rough it was on my little guy. We were riding home from the grocery store, and he started complaining of his knee hurting. He was pointing to the back of his knee and kind of whining. My first thought was, "oh, please no!" When we got home, he started feeling like he was going to get sick, and ended up throwing up twice. I took his temperature and it was starting to spike. I felt like I was going to get sick myself. I KNEW what it was, but was so hopeful that it was something else. I gave him some meds and had him rest on the couch. He woke up on Tuesday complaining of his throat hurting. I ended up taking him to the doctor just to check everything. I kept hoping for strep or something like that. Terrible, I know. Everything came back negative, again. We had the same pattern as before- fever spiked its highest on day 3 (never went above 103 this time- so thankful), and it took until yesterday (Friday) to come all the way down. He had sleepless nights the entire time- with lots of night terrors and screaming.
I have felt like crying so many times these last few days (could be the pregnancy hormones), but I know it won't do anything to help my little guy out. I am thankful that his language has evolved so much in the last 7 months, and he is able to communicate with us so much more. He can now tell us what is hurting and how it feels. He can tell us if he feels like he is going to get sick, or if he is starting to feel bad before the fever gets too high.
Last night I was talking to my husband, and we realized that for the 7 months we were without PFAPA, he was such a happy, healthy, sweet and compliant boy. This last week, he has been very agitated and aggressive. Lots of screaming and crying and defiance. We know our Rowan, and this was not him. It made me so sad to see him having to deal with this physically and emotionally. I know it's still confusing to him, and he doesn't understand what is happening (neither do I). I have no idea what triggered it to come back, or what triggered it to go away. I'm thankful that we had those months without it, and pray that this was a one time thing. Of course, I have no idea if it will return to every month or every other month, or be something totally different. We just have to wait and see what the future holds.
I am taking him to a good friend/chiropractor on Thursday to see if she might be able to help him. She learned of some possible successful "cures" and is eager to share. So very thankful for her. We have not had his blood checked again to see how it clots, but based on our results from before, surgery is not an option at this time. We also refuse to use Prednisone again. So the alternative medicine/ natural route is our first choice. I believe whole heartedly in alternative medicine- have had so much success with it myself. Please pray for our sweet Rowan.

 My clingy guy- resting on "the belly." Sweet sister in the back.

Back to normal and ready to play!

Fever free

I think I have been waiting to write this, because I was afraid that if I did, it wouldn't be true! Rowan has been fever free since the last post in December. He still seems to get some fever less episodes (fussy, clingy, tummy hurting, legs hurting, etc.), but nothing compared to what he had before. I continue to give him the children's chewable pepto when his tummy hurts, and it seems to help. I don't know if he has miraculously outgrown this, or if we are on a hiatus, but I am so very thankful that it's not something he is suffering with at the moment.
Rowan turns three today. I can't believe my little guys is three! I feel like in the last 6 months, without these fevers, he has been able to excell to new developmental heights! He is doing so well, and we are so very proud of him. We have been paying close attention to my daughter, being that she is the age he was, when we began to see a pattern. She has been experiencing some mid to high fevers, but so far we believe there have been underlying causes. Praying she continues to stay healthy, and our new little one on the way, will be fever free as well.
Thank you to all who prayed so hard for our little guy. Please continue to do so. We will continue to send prayers out to all who continue to deal with the hardships of PFAPA. I will continue to update this blog every few months, hopefully with positive news. Continue to have hope, moms and dads. It looks like there is a chance it can be outgrown earlier than the second decade of life! Until next time...