Kawasaki disease diagnosed on Facebook, saves young boy's life
(CBS) "Nothing says Happy Mother's Day quite like a Sunday morning at the pediatrician's."
That's the caption Deborah Copaken Kogan included with a picture she posted on Facebook of her 4-year-old son Leo, who had woken up with a rash on Mother's Day. Little did she know at the time, the social networking service would save her son's life because he was suffering from a rare illness - Kawasaki disease.
In an editorial she wrote for Slate, Kogan describes that when she took Leo to the doctor that morning, his pediatrician thought he looked "streppy," and began treating him for that infection. Except when he woke up the next morning, his condition had deteriorated.
So back to the doctor they went, only this time to leave with a scarlet fever diagnosis. Scarlet fever is caused by the same bacteria that causes strep throat and has similar symptoms, but is accompanied by a sandpaper-like red rash that spreads throughout the body.
When she got home, Kogan posted another picture of Leo. And again the next day, his symptoms worsened. "He looks like Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor," she told her husband at the time, referring to the scene where the allergic Professor Klump eats shellfish and his face becomes unrecognizable. She took even more pictures, sent them to her doctor, and posted one more on Facebook. A few minutes later, her friend Stephanie called.
"I hope you'll excuse me for butting in," she said, "But you have to get to the hospital. Now." Stephanie's son - who had had the same symptoms - was hospitalized for Kawasaki disease a few years earlier, according to Kogan. Kawasaki disease is a rare condition that strikes children, causing swelling in the arteries throughout the body, including the coronary arteries that pump blood into the heart.
Later that day, Kogan's cousin who is a pediatric cardiologist also called and thought Kawasaki disease was the culprit. Kogan bee-lined to the hospital with little Leo, and called her family doctor again.
"I was actually just thinking it could be Kawasaki disease," he said. "Makes total sense. Bravo, Facebook."
Over the next three weeks Leo was treated for the disease and its subsequent liver complications, and is currently recovering.
Symptoms of Kawasaki disease worsen over time and can be frightening, according to the Mayo Clinic. The first phase of the disease starts with a fever, extremely red eyes, a rash, and swollen hands, feet, and lymph nodes. Shortly after, symptoms can progress to joint pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and large sheets of skin peeling off the body. One in five children develop heart disease from Kawasaki, and a small percentage of these kids die, even with treatment.
Kogan is aware of this risk, and knows her son may have to endure yearly echocardiograms for the rest of his life to monitor how his heart is doing.
"Such knowledge, to say the least, is isolating," Kogan said. "But thanks to my Facebook friends and their continuing support, I do not feel so alone."
