Doctor! Doctor!

On Wednesday morning Noah woke up like normal at about 6. I started to change his diaper when I noticed a dozen or so bug bites on him (mostly around the diaper line and on his legs). I was totally grossed out and concerned as to how he could have gotten eaten alive without us even knowing. They weren't there the night before, the house had just been thoroughly disinfected, pest controlled, and bedding changed.
Then it was time to go to the airport. . . We got on the plane when I noticed that it seemed like the 'bug bites' were spreading. . . and getting bigger right before my eyes. He was EXTREMELY irratible. I'm so sorry to all the passengers on that plane. The screaming, kicking, wiggling child was mine. He wouldn't stop scratching his neck. People started asking what was wrong with him.
We get to Seattle. Phone calls to Doctor. Search for Pharmacy. Benadryl and Cortizone cream seem to calm him down.
The next day his bites are now welts that cover most of his body. We drive to the Rushton Reunion with hopes that they'll go away with some more Benadryl. They're getting worse. We find a Doctor in Port Townsend. Brett and Noah went and waited for about 2 1/2 hours to only find that the P.A. isn't quite sure what's wrong with him. Finally a prescription is given and we're told that he'll be ok, but we'll want to take him in when we get back home. After a couple of days on the prescription Noah was acting a lot less irritable. As much as we hated that this happened during our vacation, we were also glad it happened when there were so many fun distractions for him. He had a blast and seemed to forget about his welts most of the time. I was careful about how I photographed him, so that he wouldn't look beaten all of the time. When the welts were on his face I didn't take his picture, it was just too sad.
Today we finally were able to see our Pediatrician. Luckily, the only thing that's now remaining of his sad sad skin are just some marks that look like old bug bites. He told us he had Erythema Multiforme. It's a condition that can be caused by a viral infection. When I told him that he had the stomach flu the week before it just confirmed to him that it was definitely EM. It's basically like having an allergic reaction to being sick. As I read into this I found out that about 1% of dermatology patients are diagnosed with EM. It's not something that is genetic or contageous. It's victims are completely random, although it is more common in young people. Noah's chance of getting it again are just as likely as any one else's of getting it. We're just SOOO happy to have our happy boy back and hope that EM never visits us again.