Michaela’s Story
My name is…
Michaela
I am the mother/father of…
William
My child is … years old.
3
I want to help protect tiny hearts from the devastating consequences of Kawasaki Disease – the number 1 cause of acquired heart disease in U.K. children because…
Awareness is really important as I had never heard of it until we were in the thick of it. I feel we were ‘lucky’ to have acted as we did but we were only being cautious because he was small (2 at the time) and didn’t think he had anything TOO serious (beyond a standard virus). He received treatment on the 7th day and has no lasting affects on his heart, but it was a bit too close to the final day of receiving effective treatment, he could have been treated quicker had we all known.
How Kawasaki Disease affected my family …
We spent Christmas and New Year just gone in hospital and have had to go for follow up ECGs and echos. Thankfully he has no lasting damage.
The thing I wish I had known is …
The symptoms of Kawasaki Disease and the time frame to get them treated.
The advice I want to give parents is …
Follow your instincts and be aware of the symptoms.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your experience of Kawasaki Disease?
It would be really good to raise awareness of giving plasma, as much advertisement giving blood does. Everyone thinks of giving plasma helps cancer patients etc but can also treat tiny hearts.
