Tyler

Hello All,
I am writing this on behalf of the Mckinneys. Heather and Chad have loved and appreciate all the thoughts, texts and prayers everyone has said for them and Tyler the last few days. Heather has been running back and forth between being at the hospital with Tyler and going home to feed Grayson and unfortunately has not had much time to respond to everyone. She asked me to post this so everyone can be updated about Tyler and know the story.  Hopefully I got most of this down right.

From the beginning....Sunday Tyler had a fever. On Monday they decided to take Tyler to Acute Kids because Tyler had a rash and had swollen nasal passages, ect. Oddly the doctor that cared for Tyler at Acute Care also happened to be the ER doctor at the Children's hospital when Tyler checked in there a few days later and cared for him there too. It was a blessing because he was able to see the rash when it was at its worst on Monday. Tyler went home from Acute Kids. A day or so later Tyler's normal doctor ended up calling Heather and told her that he thinks she should go ahead and take him to the Children's hospital. Good instinct! At the Children's hospital several ideas went around that Tyler had the flu, strep throat, Scarlet fever, and possibly Kawasaki Disease. Tyler, Heather and Chad stayed in the infectious disease wing.
Currently they have figured out that Tyler has atypical Kawasaki Disease. They said atypical because Tyler had all the symptoms but just not all at the same time/ to the same degree as seen in typical Kawasaki disease. The symptoms that Tyler had include: bloodshot eyes, lips cracked and swollen, rash, tongue swollen and looks like a strawberry, swollen hands and feet, throat and ear pain, headache, sore legs and losing coordination. Tyler also has flu B which is sort of like an upper respiratory infection but no Scarlet fever or strep throat.  Kawasaki disease is diagnosed through an algorithm. This afternoon Tyler had an Echo as a final piece of the puzzle. In the Echo they also said that Tyler has a big heart (not to the point of a physcial concern) and we all knew that! They put all his symptoms, irregular blood work and his Echo into the algorithm and decided it was definitely Kawasaki disease
Kawasaki disease is an autoimmune disease that is not contagious but basically means that body is attacking itself. It affects the heart, and although they can treat it now, Tyler will have to see a series of different cardiologist and will have to be monitored possibly for the rest of his life. If nothing else happens before age 5 then it's better, but even when he gets older, if he plays sports, coaches will have to know about possible heart problems and it is a concern if he gets a sudden rapid heart beat. Luckily since it was caught early there may be no long term problems since they are treating it within 10 days of getting it.
For now the course of treatment will be an IVIG which is given in an IV and will decrease the inflammation. The treatment takes 14-16 hours and a nurse had to be with him for the first hour because of side effects. Luckily, besides throwing up twice, Tyler did not have any bad reactions. They hope he will only need this one dose b/c with another dose he is way more likely to have an allergic reaction. He is also on preventative meds and an aspirin treatment. Aspirin treatments are dangerous for kids under 2 however the benefits outweigh the risks so prayers for that. It will thin his blood and help his heart.
We all know how Heather loves to have a plan, and Chad and her are happy they caught this early and have a plan of action for Tyler's health! For now Tyler will be in the hospital at least until Tues., but with the course of treatment, will hopefully be feeling better by Sunday evening. Tyler can have anything (food/drinks) but cant leave the bed or room.
Now that they know what's going on, for prayers Heather asked that yall pray for Tyler. He has had a rough couple of days and is very scared and Heather says very upset and crying/screaming everytime someone walks in the room. The poor kiddo has gone through being poked from having an IV, catheter, blood work and having lots of tests like a x-ray and Echo which are scary for a kid too young to understand. Pray that Chad and Heather keep their own health up. Heather and Chad are grateful for family friends and Heather's mom who are taking care of Grayson in between Heather coming home for feedings. Grayson is doing well!
On a cute note: the hospital gave Tyler a kid laptop to use and Tyler kissed the screen and said "happy, happy" It looks like Chad and Heather will be buying one because who could say no to that cuteness! Heather was glad Tyler had that moment! That's all for now and here is a current picture of Tyler.