The 1st grade

In the fall of Jake’s first grade year, he became ill. It started with a throat full of canker sores. They spread to his mouth and were followed by a fever. Jake looked and felt pretty sick. We took him to his PCP, and he thought it was viral. He soon was covered in a rash that looked like lace – it wasn’t raised or itchy. I searched his symptoms, but nothing seemed to fit. The common viruses of childhood should have passed. Jake was sick for 6 weeks. We went back to the PCP, but he wasn’t too concerned. He did get better without hospitalization, but it kept nagging at me that something was wrong. Soon his toes were covered with warts…