#also i would always get a formal diagnosis from a nurse practitioner at our church

[alliswyattonthewesternfront]

i don't talk about my mom's anti-vax/anti-doctor phase a lot because it's not something she's proud of, and because some of the medical trauma from that time is hard to make silly hahas about. but. y'all. i gotta.

i was diagnosed with scarlet fever when i was very young as part of a gauntlet of illnesses that had me largely bedridden from ages 7 to 9. i never really thought anything of it, but i am reading about strep throat (currently recovering from an infection) and apparently, scarlet fever develops in a small number of patients with strep whose infection goes untreated.

i would get strep minimum twice a year as a kid. i never got antibiotics. not once. of course i was going to eventually get scarlet fever! my god!

and if y'all are curious, no, i did not get antibiotics for the scarlet fever either :) and now that i'm reading about how untreated strep and/or scarlet fever can result in rheumatic fever, the symptoms of RF sound an awful lot like how i would feel for weeks and weeks after each strep infection :)) but was always told to stop being a dramatic whiny faker because nobody else was still sick so how could i possibly be :)))))))))))))

wonder if that is a contributing factor in the weird heart shit i have always experienced but has lately been getting worse! who knows! each day is an exciting new adventure over here!