Chickenpox scare is OVER!

[gcvmom]

My mom just called to say her brother finally got word from their pediatrician that his stepson's bloodwork was NEGATIVE for chickenpox!

Although that means difficult child 1 had to take a high-dose course of acyclovir for nothing, at least now we can breathe easy.

I just sent an email to the OR scheduler at the urologists to see if we still have the spot she got us on the 11th for difficult child 1's "procedure." I really, really hope we didn't lose it -- we both want to get this thing over with as soon as possible.

Thanks everyone for rattling beads, prayers, and good thoughts.

 

[Wiped Out]

Fantastic!!!

 

[tiredmommy]

Great news!!!!

 

[susiestar]

What a relief!!! Chicken pox can be really dangerous to a teen or adult. At some point it might be helpful to have difficult child's blood checked for antibodies to chicken pox, even though he wasn't exposed this time. The older you get the more dangerous it becomes. If he has had the vaccine he should test positive for the antibodies, but if he tests negative he may need a booster shot of the vaccine. That is how our docs have explained it. I have had chicken pox twice and have no immunity to it - ontoher oddity of mine. It meant we had to be really really careful with the kids when they were vaccinated and during any exposure before they were vaccinated.

I hope you get the spot on the 11th. The sooner this is taken care of the better. WHile I hope it is not complicated and causes NO long term problems for difficult child, I also hope it is sufficiently uncomfortable and embarrassing that he learns to not EVER do something like this again.

(((((hugs))))) NO mom should have to navigate this!

 

[gcvmom]

Susie, he has NO anitbodies, he's never had the disease, and he HAS been vaccinated (didn't take, obviously). He cannot have the vaccine because he takes Imuran, which is an immunosuppressive, to keep the Crohn's in remission. This is why we were so freaked out, and why he had to take the acyclovir for 5 days (4 x 800mg/day). Once he reaches his early 20's, we plan to stop the Imuran so he can try the vaccine again -- and see how his immune system does on its own for a while.

Honestly, half the garbage any ONE of the difficult child's here on this site pulls at any given moment is WAY more than any mom should have to navigate! It just happens to be my turn to make everyone's eyes roll in amazement this month...

 

[Marguerite]

Despte the negative finding, I think the Acyclovir was a good precaution and not necessarily a waste. Who knows what else your son was exposed to in that interval, that could have jeopardised his surgery? Plus I know personally, that sometimes antibodies remain absent even in the presence of infection.

I have been over-immunised for tetanus and my health collapsed when I had one more booster that I shouldn't have had. When my antibody titre was measured a year later, it should have been high. It wasn't - the levels were almost nonexistent.
Since then, I have often been in a situation where antibody levels have remained zero, despite obvious symptoms. And it's not just me - it does happen occasionally to other people.

So - good precautions anyway, and fingers crossed that you still have the earlier surgery date.

Marg

 

[shellyd67]

Whew ! What a relief !