First for some definitions - (these are based on actual people that I know, not just making this crap up)
Bumper Sticker Moms are what I call the Moms who seem to flaunt their children's food allergies. They mention it to everyone, every chance they get. They mention how HARD their life is. They make sure to tell every waitress (their own and everyone who happens to visit their table) that no one should even have (insert problem food here) NEAR their food, because their kid is allergic. In essence, they make a BIG DEAL out of it. Hence the name - Bumper Sticker Moms. Because I'm sure if there was one, they would absolutely have a bumper sticker that reads, "My Kid Has Food Allergies." Like it's a trendy club these days or something. I'm also nearly convinced that many of these flaunting Bumper Stickers Moms have children who actually have false positive readings (in fact, I definitely do know this of some of them), and many of them have never experienced any sort of real reaction. Because real food allergies are scary, and I can't imagine anyone wanting to BRAG about it.
So then there are the
Real-Deal Moms, moms (and dads too) who actually HAVE kids with real food allergies, have dealt with reactions, some mild, some downright scary, and these moms are just so down-to-Earth with the whole thing that it's simply refreshing. If they drop their kid off at my house, or a birthday party, they pull me aside, they mention the allergy briefly, they let me know what's the worst that can happen and what to do about it, and in some, more severe cases, they give me a list of things their child needs to avoid. Past the age of kindergarten, these real-deal parents will have their child make a list of things to avoid. This means they are giving their child the responsibility. These same types of parents are the ones who tell their kids not to lick other kids at school who are eating the problem foods, instead of requesting that the whole school be decontaminated and sanitized. They make sure their kids stay safe by being informed, and informing people on a need-to-know basis, instead of feeding off all of the attention that THEY get as a parent of a food allergy kid. And I'm also aware they do not represent the very few, and I mean very few parents of kids with actual, proven, direly severe food allergies who have to be WAY more vigilant and cautious with their severely allergic children. Boy do I appreciate these Real-Deal Moms.
If you think about it, these two types of parents are probably raising two VERY different types of children... but that's a whole other topic.
So. Onto our very own Food Allergy Fun. Fun as in sarcastic-fun. Because food allergies are absolutely NOT fun. Not at all. It's not a club that I want to be in, for sure. The reason RJ first saw an allergist was due to a day of sudden and terrible diarrhea that happened the day after he had way more peanut butter than he'd ever had in his life. Meaning that I had found 6 jars of the stuff in the pantry and decided that we were eating PB with every meal until we were down to a normal 1 or 2 jars. Not his first time with PB, but the diarrhea was sudden and out of place, and so I wanted a rule-out on the allergy thing. Meaning I didn't really THINK he had an allergy, but I love rule-outs. And we already knew this doc as she was Riley's asthma doc.
Skip ahead, as a
previous post covers the fact that PB was Negative, but Crab was Positive (we tested shellfish too based on Dad's sinus reaction to some seafood - he's way too stubborn to go and get testing done OR to stop eating it). A blood test (so much fun with an 18-month-old) said crab was negative.
Fine, right? See? Rule-out done. No more allergist.
That was mid-January.
Skip ahead to February 7th. We'd been trucking along for days on those 6 jars of PB. Pears and PB, apples and PB, PB chicken for dinner, PB on ice cream, etc. The boy eats lunch. Apples, PB and cantaloupe. He's done. I wipe him off. His face is red, only where I wiped him. I snap a picture, cuz it's strange.
As I take him out of his seat, I notice his wrists and arms are red, too.
 |
| See the welts on the wrist of his right arm? |
Then I see his neck. All these places are now BRIGHT red. I take more pictures and send to my sis-in-law, cuz we had just been talking about the crazy diarrhea, and how I was starting to think he actually had some sort of chronic diarrhea, and at 18 months he should really have more solid poo... brainstorming, really.
Since I'm taking pictures, I take his clothes off to check for more.
His shoulders and back are starting to turn red. It's a snow day. We're stuck in. We're on our 4th day of being without power. I've nothing else to do (not really, ha!) so I call the allergist. To complain. That now we've done a stick test (which didn't bother him) and a blood test (which definitely DID bother him) and although everything said negative, we only tested for SOME things, and look here - now something's affecting him.
Due to the massive amount of snow that was descending on us, I assumed the office would be closed and I would leave my complaint on a voicemail. I really was not that concerned. RJ didn't seem to care.
I got a nurse. I explained what was going on, thinking she'd write a note to have the receptionist call me to make another appt. So much for that original rule-out theory, right?
Instead, she said it was hives and did it have raised bumps with it?
Why, yes it does. There's welts on his wrists and neck and face. And matter-of-fact, I'm watching it spread down his body as we speak. It's down to his diaper now.
That's an anaphylactic reaction! Is he having trouble breathing?!?
Ummm no. I don't think so. He's running around the living room pushing a toy bus.
If it's spreading like that, you need to hang up with me and call 911.
-------- (Processing this...)
Nurse - The hives with welts spreading fast can be nothing, but it can quickly turn into a breathing problem. You need to call 911 and have him transported by ambulance.
I have other kids to get situated. Can I just drive him to the hospital?
No. You can't. If he's in the backseat and starts having a breathing issue, you won't be able to catch it or react appropriately to help him. The paramedics will be able to do that.
Okay, let me go then. I'll do that.
________________
So I called Roger. Sent the kids to my neighbor. Rog and I drove him to the hospital. I sat in back with him to monitor him. But we just felt really silly calling an ambulance and making such a big fuss. Since there was the end of a snow and ice storm going on concurrently, we should have just called the ambulance. Roads were closed, tree limbs were down, it was a mess. But we got to the hospital. They didn't have power either. We sat in the waiting room in the dark. They confirmed that he had a reaction, termed it severe. Got him back to normal before he officially tore the room apart and sent us out with orders to follow up with our allergist. We stopped for Benadryl on the way home. Being a household that rides out colds, opts out of the Flu shot, and generally tries to be med-free, we didn't own any. Plus, Benadryl makes me think of those crappy parents that give it to their children just so they'll sleep and not bother them. But I suck it up and buy some.
In reflecting on our day later that night, I am pissed. Angry, upset, overwhelmed. In addition to being confused. Everyone is saying it must be the PB, but he just tested negative two weeks prior. Even the doctor thinks its weird. It was one thing to have him react to crab on the stick test and for two weeks kind of, sort of think, okay, sure, we'll stay away from crab. It was an entirely different feeling to see my kid react like that, to be told to call 911, to not know how bad it was going to get, that he wasn't old enough to communicate any major symptoms to me even if they were there. In the mix of all my feelings, I got even madder at the Bumper Sticker Moms that thought this was cool and trendy and part of a neat ole club.
The allergist was a waste of time, except that we got a scrip for an Epi-Pen, since we don't know what he reacts to and how bad it can get. Since he just had a major reaction, he couldn't be tested again for anything else for 3 weeks. I was pissed again. I wanted answers. She blew off the apples and cantaloupe, saying they were pretty rare. She gave me a scrip for a blood test for peanuts, if I wanted to know sooner. Another blood draw? Yeah, sign me right up. He loved the first one soooo much.
For the next week and a half, he reacted on occasion to whatever IT was. I took pictures of him, then the labels.
I did internet research. I got mad about having to wait. I got better at feeding him nut-free. I became an even better label-reader (we already check labels for carbs, sugar mainly). We (myself and friends and family that I talked to) decided he was just hypersensitive from having that big reaction. But I kept records anyway. 3 weeks was a long time away, and we were heading on our Texas Road Trip imminently.
I took him to his primary care doc about the diarrhea that was still there, and the fact that now that I was paying attention to his bowels more closely, he didn't digest a lot of foods that he ate. She gave me some poop-collection bottles to test for gluten-intolerance, bacteria, E. Coli, and other yummy stuff. Rule-outs. This makes me a little happy. But only cuz I love rule-outs. She says that in addition to keeping him nut-free, feed him gluten-free until we get results. Even more fun. Thank goodness for those small aisles at the grocery store, that I formerly thought were only for weirdos and hippies... mostly joking... but seriously, it is WAY easier (albeit expensive) to be nut-free and gluten-free than it ever was before, and I am grateful for that, for sure!
Enough for now... Part 2 coming soon!!
Don't miss my
blog under this one, yes, I actually did two in a row after 2 months off!!
