Can't forget the first time Wade got the Epi-Pen shot!

On Sunday night, August 13th, Rhiannon and Wade got home quickly from their youth choir practice.  Wade said the back of his throat was itchy and he thought he'd eaten some kind of nuts in a dessert there.  He asked Rhiannon to get them home fast.

Things went downhill pretty quickly for him.  He took 3 or 4 Benadryl tablets but vomited several times after that.  No hives, but he had the red eyes, instant and complete nasal congestion, terribly itchy throat, a little bit of swelling in his lips, and constant vomiting.  After about an hour he finally looked up at me from where he was sitting on his bed, and said, "Mom, it's time.  You need to get the Epi-Pen."  It was hard for him to open his mouth, and he said his chest started to feel strange.

So, for the first time ever, he got a shot of epinephrine.  I took the blue cap off and swung the "pen" into his right thigh and held it in place for 10 seconds.  It was VERY easy and quick to do!  Then we calmly drove to the ER where they gave him more steroids and observed him until almost midnight.  He walked out of the hospital with a smile on his face and joked, "Hey, we made it to Monday!"

It was amazing the difference, from the height of the reaction to going home to bed and being just fine the next morning.

We learned some things:

1.  Wade is d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y allergic to walnuts.  Big time.  We knew of the allergy, but he didn't ask what was in the cake before he ate it.  He only took a couple bites of the dessert, but it sure packed a punch.

2.  Wade needs to ask people what's in their home-baked goods.  He doesn't have to feel embarrassed about it--just ask!

3.  Epinephrine injectors work.  And they need to be on hand.  (Ours was in the medicine cabinet.  I have another in my purse and Wade has one in his camping gear.  There's also one at school.)

4.  Epinephrine did leave some weird, lingering effects that Wade had to deal with for the first week of school.  The shot and its quickness caused some strange pockets of red in his eyes, like they were bloodshot but in areas all over his eyes.  He got some comments from friends who noticed it and were a little worried about him.  Worried me, too, but they finally went away after about a week and a half.

5.  Thankful for sweet friends!  The Hall family dropped off a giant bag of fun goodies and treats that Wade enjoyed for several days.  We all got a huge kick out of their clever "epi-Pen" gift, too:

We love Wade and we're glad he's okay!

Sleeping in the emergency room

The ER visit

We had an unusual allergy scare last week on a Thursday night.  Rhiannon was out of town on a band trip, and Jason, Wade, and I were just chilling watching Thursday night football.

All of a sudden Wade says, "Mom, I'm very itchy and feel funny."  I turned to look at him in the kitchen and he DID look strange.  His whole body had a red sunburned look from hives, and his face looked a little puffy and splotchy.  He was breathing fine but said his tongue felt weird and he had a random cough here and there.  I'd say this all happened in the span of 5 minutes, from the time he noticed the itching and told us about it to when we decided to jump in the van and get to the hospital.

It was not one of my calmer moments.  I grabbed a bucket (in case he had to throw up), an Epi-Pen in case breathing troubles started on the way there, and bags of the last two things he'd eaten (jerky and Swedish fish).  I also gave Wade two allergy/Benadryl tabs.

Wade and I jumped in the van, and I raced down there.  I was driving too fast and worried Wade a bit, but the only thought my brain could process was "Get. there. fast. before. he. can't. breathe."

We were seen relatively quickly.  They gave Wade some steroid pills and prescribed a 4-day round of prednisone.  And that was it.  He never needed the Epi-Pen, and his hives were gone the next morning.  We kept him home, though, because he was exhausted.

I can count on one hand now the times Wade has had a legit allergy scare, and this one was different from all the rest.  Instead of eating something and having to vomit/cough, this time he had hives.  We have NO certain idea what caused it, but Jason wondered if it had something to do with a thorn that had been caught in his shorts earlier in the day and maybe dragged along the couch area where Wade was sitting.  He'd eaten the jerky and Swedish fish before, with no probs.  What a crazy, scary thing!  We're glad he's okay.  I hate these "wake-up calls" and appreciate the reminder all the same, too!