November 3, 2010

• Nutty Scare

  Back when daughter was 2 years old, she ate a Butterfinger nugget...just a small little square of a Butterfinger candy...she almost died from that little piece of candy.
  I was home alone with her that night & what I noticed first was drool just running out of her mouth (little did I know at that time that her throat was swelling up).
  Then came the rash & the bright red skin, then she was gasping for air.  I immediately took her to the ER & that is when we found out that she had food allergies.
  For many years we kept an EpiPen. Her daycare, friends parents, family & later schools were all notified of this allergy & she has always managed to avoid peanut butter & nuts of all sorts.

  Fast forward now to when she is 21 years old. An adult, but yet still my baby.

  Monday morning after her first class, she had a meeting with her advisor, so instead of coming home between classes like she usually does, she went to get a snack & a drink after the meeting & before her next class.
  She got what she thought was a chocolate chip cookie from one of the little places on campus. This was around 10:00.  She then called me & said that she thought that there may have been nuts in that cookie as she had some bumps on her skin & her throat was scratchy. I asked how bad it was, she didn't think it was too bad. (a few times when she has eaten foods cooked in peanut oil or other things with some nuts in them, has only warranted a few bumps & a scratchy throat) so we concluded that she should just get a Benadryl in her system & I told her to call me after she did to let me know if it had helped or not.

  Well, needless to say, we ended up in the ER. The Benadryl did help for an immediate aide, but by the time we got her there, her skin was bright red. She had whelps all over her including her scalp. Her neck was swollen. Thank goodness her breathing wasn't too bad, but still not that great.

  I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the health care system up here. As soon as we got inside, they just took a bit of pertinent information & her insurance card & then sent us both over to the vitals nurse. We sat there while she took her BP, temp, pulse, etc. and then she said she was going to get Lori into a room. As we stood up & turned to follow her, Lori said that she felt woozy and within seconds started falling. I was right by her, so I grabbed on to her & the other nurses came to help & brought a wheelchair. She had passed out. We couldn't keep her in the wheelchair as she was trying to fall out of it, so they started yelling for help & a cart. I was so scared, not knowing exactly what was happening & no mother ever wants to see their child in pain, hurt, sick or in this case...unconscious.

  They got her up onto a stretcher & she finally came to. She definitely gave all of the doctors a bit of a scare. The vitals nurse said that her system was racing though & probably between the Benadryl, the reaction to the allergy, her nerves & then standing up quickly, it just all got to her.

  They gave her 3 different pills and a breathing treatment & monitored her for a good while before releasing her.

  They did say that it could take a few days to get all of this completely out of her system & if any of the symptoms returned to get into the ER immediately.
  She has done fine since then, so hopefully it is out of her system now & behind us.

  I don't care how old they get....we still panic when they are hurt or ill.

  I snapped these with my cell phone.

  
  the drugs & the exhaustion from the panic finally took her out.

  
  breathing treatment.

  Thank you God for getting us through this emergency!

  • 2:44 pm
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