Mom advised to take her son to doctor only if his condition worsened; days later he screams in pain and collapses into her arms

I think we can all agree that having a sick child and not knowing what is wrong with them or how to treat them is a horrific experience for all parents. Worrying about your child’s health takes on a whole new level when doctors also have no idea what’s wrong with them.

That’s the experience Natasha had when her son Oliver was experiencing symptoms of pain, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and muscle aches.

Now, the mother of two is encouraging parents everywhere to stick with their gut when it comes to getting help for their kids.

After calling the doctor about Oliver’s symptoms, they weren’t certain what was causing the illness. They told Natasha it was likely just a virus and to bring him in for an appointment if his fever got dangerously high or lasted more than five days.

Over the next few days, Oliver’s condition got worse. Additional symptoms caused the little boy to lose his appetite and stop eating and drinking.

“I became worried because he’s never been this sick before and usually shakes off viruses by now,” Natasha said.

She rushed her son to the hospital after an unusual rash broke out across his face and neck.

When they got there, the emergency nurse put them in quarantine right away because she thought they had measles.

Oliver had previously been vaccinated with two MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) shots. Though his symptoms were similar to those of measles, it was clear that wasn’t what Oliver was suffering from. The doctor verified that it wasn’t measles and suggested Tylenol and Benadryl.

When the little boy woke up the next morning, he refused to get out of bed, complaining that his leg hurt too bad and he thought he might be dying.

Natasha says he was covered from head to toe in the worst rash she’s ever seen. Even with Tylenol and Benadryl, Oliver’s fever was 104°F, and his lips were so swollen they had begun to crack and bleed.

Mortified, the mother packed up both of her kiddos again and rushed her son to a different hospital, where the three of them were quarantined for measles a second time, only for the doctor to once again suggest it’s just a virus and prescribe Tylenol and Benadryl.

By this point, Natasha had had enough.

Her little boy was in pure agony. He had endured days of muscle pain, fever, constant diarrhea, puking, and shuffling from one doctor to another, and he had told his mom he thought he was dying.

Natasha demanded that her son, at the very least, get some blood work done and that doctors get some fluid into his “obviously dehydrated body!”

She says upon her outburst, the doctor was hesitant, so Natasha pushed further and demanded to see a pediatrician immediately.

“After some humming and hawing and getting me calmed down, they finally get Oliver a pediatrician. At this point, the pediatrician is very concerned and completely perplexed about Ollie. His rash was unlike anything he’d ever seen. He showed similar signs of measles, but he’s been vaccinated, didn’t have the mouth sores, and he didn’t have a runny nose, but he decided to have him tested just to be safe.”

Oliver was given an IV once his blood work was completed, and that’s when things turned from bad to worse.

Suddenly, Oliver began to panic. He screamed that he couldn’t see and was going blind, then became stiff and collapsed into Natasha’s arms. The nurse rushed him to the ICU, where doctors finally concluded that he wasn’t suffering from measles, but Kawasaki disease. He had all five symptoms—inflamed blood vessels that cause pain throughout the body, in joints and muscles, and affect the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart.

Kawasaki disease is considered rare but treatable. It is most commonly found in young children and infants, who recover in a matter of days if properly treated.

Oliver received blood transfusions to treat the disease, and woke up the next morning feeling much better. The rash was gone, and his fever was on the decline.

He spent one more night at the hospital before doctors decided to release him, but with the mild anemia and the multiple scares she’d already experienced because of this disease, Natasha insisted they stay.

And it’s a good thing she did.

As they were walking around the hospital wing that evening, Natasha and Oliver were approached by a nurse who said the little boy had in fact tested positive for measles despite having been up-to-date on his vaccinations.

They were quarantined again while Oliver received treatment for measles.

“Ollie is the ONLY know [sic] case of contracting measles while having all his up-to-date immunizations and Kawasaki disease at the same time. I have one strong, brave little man! I couldn’t be more proud of him!”

After being released a second time, Natasha once again refused. She fought to keep her son admitted until all of his tests came back normal. Now she wants other parents to do the same.

“Trust your gut, moms and dads. Fight for your kids if something doesn’t seem right! We know our kid’s [sic], so don’t take no for an answer.”

“If Oliver didn’t have his vaccinations, he would be dead right now. The vaccines lessened the severity of the measles while his body also fought the Kawasaki disease.”