Hola mi amigas! We got back Saturday afternoon....had a fabulous time...met some really nice people (half of Canada was there)....had a romantic anniversary....the resort totally spoiled us....I'm brown yet peeling like crazy and most of the laundry is caught up. That being said, I really want to talk about that later. (I will get pictures out. We broke our camera last week and I need to do some work.)



What I want to talk about is a little boy that I don't know and now never will. His name was Paul, he was 11 and died in his sleep Saturday night. Evidently the family went to our church yet I did not know them. He went to the Christian School (FWC) so it has hit a lot of families there. I read about him in the newspaper this morning and it said that he died as a result of Kawasaki Disease. You can look it up if you want at mayoclinic.com. It usually hits children 5 and under; there is no known cause; it is hard to diagnose; has really strange symptoms; it is not contagious or hereditary; you are really sick for quite a while and it can be fatal. My older son had it when he was 4-1/2. The disease had only even been named 6-7 years before that at the time. The nurses at the hospital had to be sent over info about this disease because no on had been trained in it. The treatment is heavy doses of gamma globin within 10 days of onset and long term treatment with aspirin. That's all. Hasn't changed in 15 years. My son's fever spiked to 106. Thank God he was in the hospital at the time.



OK with that background you can imagine what a nightmare it is for a family. Hub says that I should contact this mom since most people have never experienced this disease. I guess the question of the ages keeps floating in my head.....why this mother's son? How were we blessed enough to keep ours? How can I talk with her without feeling so blessed but also guilty at the same time that her heart is broken in two. Selfishly, I'm not sure how to get through this.



I looked at the Mayo Clinic site and there is one thing that has been studied now that there has been more history. They say that this can have long term mood changes and different thought processes. My son's heart has been thoroughly checked out and even had a heart cath at 15 after he passed out running track (another nightmare). His heart seems unscarred. Now the studies are showing that moods and thoughts could be affected by the disease. He was diagnosed with ADHD and Learning Disabilities at an early age. He was given medication to help with the symptoms of these. What if this was it the whole time? I think having a known reason for this could have made a change in his life. As much as we tried, he still felt stupid and different. Having something to blame it on that was not of his control or necessarily his brain could of made a difference. Maybe.



Anyway, that is what is hovering around in my brain today. Lots of "ifs" and "whys".



Chrissa, I'm so happy for your good news; and Roxanne......what do I say? Your "TMI" made me laughed. Never heard a poll quite like that one.



Later.