First off, thank you so very much to all of you who prayed for L last week! I was truly touched by all of bloggers who reached out to me and let me know that they were holding L in their thoughts.
Last week the kiddos had off from school on Monday and Tuesday. We were going to have a nice and relaxing two days after being away for B's field hockey tournament but things did not go as planned. While eating breakfast Monday L started to break out in a ton of hives so I quickly got him to the pediatrician. From there we started him on some steroids in addition to Benadryl and L seemed to be better.
Unfortunately he did not stay well. The hives came back later Monday night with a vengeance. Hubby and I got all of the kids in the car and we headed to the hospital but L's allergic reaction was getting out of control so we had to stop at a satellite ER that was closer to our home. They quickly treated L for anaphylactic shock with steroids and epinephrine. The doctor and nurse were wonderful with how fast they reacted to L and his symptoms.
After they had gotten L's reaction under control they decided that L should be admitted to the hospital to be observed. So L and I got a ride in an ambulance while Hubby followed in our car. Thankfully my in-laws were able to meet us at the satellite ER and take B and M home with them.
By the time L was all checked into his room his skin looked better and his vital signs were perfect. I would not have been surprised if the night shift was questioning why L was having to spend the night rather than just be observed for a couple more hours. But thank God we spent the night because all of L's symptoms came back around 7am. I am still in awe of the fact that he looked perfect when I checked on him around 4am and then three hours later L was having another anaphylactic reaction. Once again the hospital staff reacted quickly to L's symptoms and stopped it from getting worse.
It was decided after L's need for a second does of epinephrine in less than 12 hours that we would be spending some time at the hospital so they could keep a close eye on our little guy. No one wants to spend time on the hospital but I was happy that they were watching him so closely. And when L was finally released from the hospital we were sent home with three different meds and a chart to keep track of the doses as well as the timing.
One week later L looks like nothing had ever happened. I, on the other hand, look like I have not slept in a year. L has been great throughout this whole ordeal. He was just so brave! And he has taken all of his meds with a single complaint.
If anyone is having a hard time with all that happened, it is me. We still do not know what caused poor L's body to react to violently. If I don't know what hurt my sweet boy so much how can I keep him away from it!?! And I am also filled with guilt. This happened on my "watch". I am suppose to keep my children safe and I didn't. We will continue to work with L's allergist to see if we can figure out what caused the reaction. However we have been told that we might never really know the cause and I just need to come to terms with that fact. I am going to try my best not to wallow in the guilt and rather focus on the fact that L is healthy again.
After a long week of taking care of L, my house is not at its best as the photo above clearly depicts. Can you tell I am behind with our laundry? But it will all get done in time. I am just so happy that L is back home with us. We are so blessed that L received the care he needed to get better!
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