My Second Son's Kawasaki Disease

There were several issues during my hospital stay.

First, after admission, my baby's breastfeeding deteriorated (though it was okay since she was on an IV), and I developed mastitis, with a fever of 38 degrees.

Having a fever means I couldn't stay with her, so filled with anxiety, I massaged and expressed milk repeatedly, wishing for the fever to go down.

A certified midwife specially came to my room and gave me a short massage.

It was truly reassuring to have someone to consult with.

Staying in the hospital with a child is really tough.

Especially leaving a small baby alone is mentally unsettling.

But that's something I can only do if I'm healthy.

My own meals were from the convenience store three times a day, or leftovers from my child's meals when I couldn't buy anything. Showers were taken whenever there was a free moment, while the child was sleeping...

Being a single parent in such restrictive conditions is extremely difficult.

The next issue was the effect of steroids.

My child weighs 10 kg, so she was prescribed the maximum daily dose of 20 mg of steroids, but after she started to feel better, for some reason, it took a long time for her to fall asleep, both for naps and at night, resulting in an average of about 3 hours less sleep every day.

She would cry even when held...

And she cried even more when put down, which was also hard for me.

This went on for two full days.

I couldn't go to the convenience store to buy my own food or take a shower, and I was on the verge of losing my mind, panicking with anxiety, wondering if it was the insomnia side effect of the steroids.

After consulting with the pharmacist, it was suggested that perhaps the steroids were causing her to feel intensely hungry, and she couldn't sleep because she was hungry.

Before that, she hadn't been very interested in solid foods, but I decided to try buying her favorite things from the convenience store and adding them to her meals.

After that, she seemed satisfied and started to fall asleep easily, which brought me great relief.

She ate more than she ever had before.

Her appetite was insatiable, and combined with the steroid side effects, she developed moon face... she was getting chubby day by day...

It had been over 10 days since admission, and the steroid dosage was to be reduced every 5 days. We were told that if she looked okay while the dosage was being reduced, she could be discharged.