Laura Burk Benson

Morning after the first IVIG  Journal entry by  Laura Benson  —  May 31, 2017 Colin's transfer took approximately six hours.  Thankfully, he had no side effects and he was able to receive the entire transfer of donated antibodies.  (It's too medically complicated for me to explain, but that is the reason it took so many hours.  A lot of vital checks - every 15 minutes in the beginning, etc.) The nurses let me stay for the first hour (beyond visiting hours).  He should have two more transfers (one per day). For information about the IVIG, I have pasted a few links to some articles below:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3548378/   (IVIG for DRESS syndrome) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2958184 /   (IVIG for for SJS/TEN syndrome) Colin also had a visit from Hematology yesterday and again this morning.  The doctors will closely be monitoring not only his labs, biopsies, et...

Journal entry by    Laura Benson   —   May 30, 2017 It's been a very long, rough day. Colin is in a lot of pain. He is covered in Aquaphor ointment which is incredibly sticky/tacky. Each time he moves his skin will stick to the sheet below him and tears off a large chunk of his skin!  His blisters are popping and continue to spread. Also extremely painful.  Additionally, sadly another rash has begun. He officially is relapsing again with another "cycle"  He itched all night long, today his skin is hot and prickly on his arms, back and abdomen and the rash is quickly spreading.  His skin was wrapped in special burn medicated wraps (xeroform and silver nitrate) and a sleeve of gauze is placed over everything to hold it in place.  We met with many doctors today.  An especially informative meeting was with the dermatologist team today.  They used the phrase interface reaction and also DIHS  But still no official diagnosis was ...

My husband has given permission to me to share his current medical condition and backstory.  We previously shared his story with family and close friends only through a CaringBridge Site.  I will continue to share posts in my blog under the category " Military Caregiver " Colin’s story began March 23, 2017 when he was prescribed a Sulfa based antibiotic, Septra aka Bactrim. He took all of the prescribed medication but became lethargic and ill, similar to the flu, on April 1, 2017. For several days he had chills, body aches, high fever and sweats. We took him to the Emergency Room with a very high fever on April 5, 2017. They sent him home with Tylenol and Motrin as well as cough and cold suppressants with an assumption that he had the flu, but couldn't confirm with tests because we missed that window.  He rested at home for several days and was feeling a little better that following Saturday. He tried to go to work on Monday but could only last a couple of hour...