Katie got this really random illness called Henoch-Schonlein purpura. (It's named after the two German men who discovered it.) It causes inflammation in the blood vessels in the skin, bowel and kidneys. This in inturn causes a rash, stomach pain, constipation, and swelling. In most of the cases the rash is first and then the others symptoms. But in Katie's case, she had the bowel problems first. She had the worst stomach pains and got really constipated. It all started the Monday which was Memorial Day. By Saturday, she had still not gone to the bathroom and was in so much pain. We went to the Pediatric ER and they gave her an enema and cleaned her out. We thought we were done, but the next Tuesday she broke out with this horrible rash. I was thinking that we would have to take another trip to the ER, but my friend's husband who is a Dr. took pity on us and looked at her and diagnosed her with the HSP. So for the entire month of June, she had an ugly rash, stomach pains and very swollen legs and ankles and was so whiny. It was a very long month to say the least. Katie has a very low pain tolerance and is not a good patient. We (I say we, because it was very hard on the rest of us to put up with her) survived and she is doing well now.
The only thing that made her feel better was to take a bath or shower. She was taking 5 or 6 a day. She even fell asleep one night in the tub (don't be alarmed I was right there watching her).
