Happy 4th Birthday, Eddison! (And the story of his, "spots.")

Happy 4th Birthday, Eddie-O!

Dear Eddison,

Today, at exactly 5:32 PM EST, you turned FOUR years old! Four years! We can hardly believe how quickly you've left the ranks of toddler-hood and become an inquisitive, feisty, caring and crazy little boy. The 3's have been tough (for everyone!) but as your birthday drew near we could see definite progress in your behavior and ability to express yourself without having a category 5 melt-down (most of the time ;).

You love to be read to, wrestle with Daddy and Jack, play with Norah, snuggle with Beckett, eat cheese, pepperoni, chocolate milk, and apple juice, play dinosaurs and superhero's (you're always the Hulk), play with Hot Wheels cars, and do anything outside. You're still my little snuggle-bug and you always ask me to sit next to you whenever we're on the couch. You also love to have your back lightly tickled during Sacrament meeting (who doesn't?!) or while we're watching a movie. :)

I love to funny-tickle you because you still have the most contagious and adorable belly laugh... And the best part is that it begins even before I start tickling! Just knowing I'm about to tickle sets you off in anticipation and even a rock would smile to hear you.

Oh, Eddie. There's so much about you and I'm having a hard time trying to express what I want to say! Daddy and I love you SO much, little man! You are such a loving and sweet little boy. Yes, your tantrums and attitude have about driven me to the nut-house, but then you do or say something that totally melts my heart and I realize that you're just trying to figure things out in this big world and that sometimes you just don't know how to react. I'm sorry for not having more patience, Eddie-0. One thing that is particularly adorable is when you randomly say, "Mommy, I lub you." Then I'll reply, "I love you, too!" And then you'll say, "I lub you, too." It's SO funny that you always end the conversation with, "I lub you, too" - even if you were the first to say it!

Stay sweet, my little Eddie-o... Four is going to be a great year for you - I can feel it! :)

Love,

Mommy, Daddy, Jackson, Eleanor & Beckett

**************

The Story of the "Spots"

A couple of weeks ago Eddie had a raging case of strep throat. This had not only led to an ER visit (his third - the other two were not related to this incident, lol. He's the only kid we've ever had to take to the ER, too!) for steroids because his tonsils had gotten so swollen he couldn't breathe while laying down, but also (obviously) led to a prescription antibiotic to clear up the infection. NINE (yes, nine!) days after starting the antibiotic (it was a 10-day course) we were sitting in Sacrament meeting and Eddie asked me to tickle his back. I had already just noticed several little red bumps on his arm as his sleeve had come up just a little, but thought it might be dry skin related since it's been unusually cold and dry here lately. Then I reached under his sweater to tickle and felt something strange - more bumps. Lots of bumps. So I lifted his shirt to find his back was covered with the same little red bumps that were on his arm. I immediately had him stand up and looked at his tummy - same thing. Then his legs, ditto. I was thisclose to taking him right then to the ER, but Justin calmed me down by saying he thought it was the new Batman bubble bath he'd used in the tub that morning (even though it was hypoallergenic and dermatologist approved). Plus, Eddie was acting totally normal and didn't seem to be affected at all by the rash.

After Sacrament I tracked down Bro. Coleman who is a PA and showed him Eddie's bumps. He said it could be the bubble-bath or just a result of the dead strep bacteria being eliminated from his body (almost like an allergic reaction to the dead strep particles), but that nothing about it was immediately concerning to him since there was no fever and Eddie was acting fine. He did say to call and check-in with our pediatrician the next day if we felt like it was worse or needed more reassurance.

Well, throughout the afternoon and the Monday morning the rash had definitely gotten worse - though Eddie was still completely oblivious because I kept him in long sleeves so he wouldn't see the bumps and then psych himself into thinking he was sick. I decided to call the peds office just to speak with a nurse about whether we should bring him in and even after explaining to her that he was covered in a rash she didn't seem to think it was a big deal because he was acting normally and didn't have a fever (which eased my mind) and that it probably was the bubble-bath. I had thanked her and was just about to hang up when, almost as an afterthought, I mentioned, "Oh - and I don't know if this means anything, but he was in the office for strep a little over a week ago and yesterday was his ninth day on an antibiotic -"

The nurse then cut me off and said, "He's been on antibiotics? Is he still taking them?" And I replied that he was on his last day of them. She informed me NOT to give him his final doses and to bring him directly in to the office. (Office protocol is that they see ANY rash when the child is on antibiotics.) Super.

So after picking Jackson up at preschool I took Eddie (and the other three kids - go ahead, call me crazy!) in to the office. The nurse brought us back to a room and asked what Eddie was being seen for and I told her he had a head-to-toe rash - most likely caused by his new bubble-bath. Even after warning her that it was the worst rash I'd ever seen she was shocked when she actually saw Eddie's spots (which he proudly showed off!). And she wasn't the only one. When the doctor came in she had me strip Eddie down to his undies and she was amazed at how extensive those little red devil spots were. She almost immediately determined that it was not a contact dermatitis (to the bubble bath) rash, but that it was a classic (albeit on the severe side) allergic reaction to penicillin. The ultimate giveaway was how the rash covered every square inch of him including areas where a rash would otherwise never develop (tops of his ears, palms of his hands, bottom of his feet, and yes, his 'downstairs' region, E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G). And all of this even though he's had amoxicillin before and had been taking it for several days before it manifested! She said it can happen at any time and at any age - regardless of whether a person has taken it without problems before.

Only Eddie would have this happen. I almost laughed because he is seriously our 'marked' child! From infancy he's had the most bizarre things happen. NO one in our immediate family has ever had any sort of allergies (other than seasonal) so this was straight out of left field. *sigh*

Thankfully, this rash never bothered Eddie (though I'm sure it would have made me insane!) because he's so laid back. It took about seven days to completely go away (there's no way to treat it as it's not the type of contact rash that that go away with cortisone) and from now on we know to avoid penicillin based medications.

Dear Eddie,

You will eventually turn my hair gray.

Love,

Mommy

Click on the pics to see a better view of his self-named, "Spots."

(Just making sure the photo is G-rated :)