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Tuscaloosa woman raises awareness of rare disease
<!-- end art_main_pic --><!-- BYLINE -->By Lydia Seabol Avant
Staff Writer
<!-- PUBDATE -->Published: Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 12:05 p.m.
TUSCALOOSA | At 2 years old, Brooke Matzke ran a high fever that spiked to 106. A rash started to spread, layers of skin peeled off her tiny body and her eyes started to swell shut.
But no one seemed to know what was wrong.
It was only after numerous tests at DCH Regional Medical Center that Matzke became one of the first children to be diagnosed with Kawasaki disease in Tuscaloosa. Now that she's 23, Matzke is using social media to spread the word about the disease and hopes to raise money locally to go toward Kawasaki disease research. Today is National Kawasaki Disease Awareness day.
...
An estimated 4,200 children are diagnosed with Kawasaki disease in the U.S. each year, according to the Kawasaki Disease Foundation.
Even 21 years later, Matzke is still feeling the effects.
?It gives you complications for the rest of your life,? Matzke said.
Matzke was diagnosed with arthritis at 14. Today she sees a rhumatologist and has random heart pains.
Without treatment, about 25 percent of children develop heart disease involving the coronary arteries. Quick diagnosis and treatment, which includes an IV treatment, is highly effective in preventing coronary complications, according to the Kawasaki Disease Foundation.
Full story:
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20120126/NEWS/120129868
<!-- end art_main_pic --><!-- BYLINE -->By Lydia Seabol Avant
Staff Writer
<!-- PUBDATE -->Published: Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 12:05 p.m.
TUSCALOOSA | At 2 years old, Brooke Matzke ran a high fever that spiked to 106. A rash started to spread, layers of skin peeled off her tiny body and her eyes started to swell shut.
But no one seemed to know what was wrong.
It was only after numerous tests at DCH Regional Medical Center that Matzke became one of the first children to be diagnosed with Kawasaki disease in Tuscaloosa. Now that she's 23, Matzke is using social media to spread the word about the disease and hopes to raise money locally to go toward Kawasaki disease research. Today is National Kawasaki Disease Awareness day.
...
An estimated 4,200 children are diagnosed with Kawasaki disease in the U.S. each year, according to the Kawasaki Disease Foundation.
Even 21 years later, Matzke is still feeling the effects.
?It gives you complications for the rest of your life,? Matzke said.
Matzke was diagnosed with arthritis at 14. Today she sees a rhumatologist and has random heart pains.
Without treatment, about 25 percent of children develop heart disease involving the coronary arteries. Quick diagnosis and treatment, which includes an IV treatment, is highly effective in preventing coronary complications, according to the Kawasaki Disease Foundation.
Full story:
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20120126/NEWS/120129868