Skin infections turned out to be sign of serious problem for little girl

THE WASHINGTON POST

By Sandra G. Boodman July 28 –

The pediatrician was blunt but not unkind. Even so, her unequivocal message made Jan Wiese bristle.

“You know, this is really not normal,” the Northern Virginia doctor said as she examined 2-year-old Lucy Wiese for the first time. Struck by the little girl’s medical history, especially her repeated skin infections, the doctor recommended that Lucy see a pediatric immunologist in Baltimore.

“I was kind of offended,” Wiese recalled of the encounter. It had not occurred to her or her physician husband that their daughter’s infections might signal something more serious than a toddler’s normal — if acute — reaction to unfamiliar germs.

Years later, Wiese ruefully recalled how indignant she felt. “Of course she was right,” Wiese conceded. Read More...