Occupational Therapy is going well so far. Carter seems to really like it and calls it his "fun doctor". The last session we went to before Christmas, his therapist had him make a gingerbread house with peanut butter. I thought it was kind of weird that they had peanut butter in a therapy center, but since I had no reason to believe he was allergic to it, I didn't say anything as he stuck his hands in it to mix cinnamon into it.
He never ate any, but as we were walking out to the elevator, I noticed he had what looked like hives on his arm. I thought it wasn't a good sign, but continued out to my car. By the time we got to the car (just a few minutes later) his eye was starting to swell shut and his face was getting hives on it too. I knew right away he was allergic to peanuts and was starting to panic about what to do. I didn't have any benedryl with me, but knew it could get serious if I didn't act quickly. I got in the car and rushed home as fast as I could (i.e. I drove like a bat out of hell and am lucky I didn't get a ticket or worse). I put my rear view mirror on him and made him talk to me the whole time. He was getting pretty quiet and lethargic but he could still drink the water I gave him so I took that as a slightly good sign. As soon as I got home, I rushed inside to get him benedryl. I gave it to him and took off all his clothes and washed his hands and arms and face. I put new clothes on him, picked up Callie from school (I was late btw), and took him to his pediatrician for allergy testing. The benedryl kicked in pretty well and I could tell he was going to be okay with just that. They drew his blood, which was terrible, and prescribed me four epi-pens and told me to carry one with me at all time and to have benedryl as well.
A few days later his test results came in and sure enough he definitely has a peanut allergy. He is also allergic to peas, soybeans, corn, tomatoes, and egg whites (which is why he probably got the flu after getting his flu shot last year. It was an allergic reaction to the eggs that are in flu shots. He will never be getting another flu shot again). He is also slightly allergic to wheat and has a low allergy to cockroaches of all things. Luckily he is not allergic to milk and has no other environmental allergies. It was quite a shock to find all of this out, but made a lot of sense as to why he probably doesn't eat very much and thinks so many foods smell. I really think it is a natural defense mechanism to protect himself from eating things that are dangerous for him. I consider that a blessing.
And even though it stinks to have found out he has a peanut allergy, I'm grateful that I was there and knew what to do (thanks to Callie), and that everything turned out okay. He is going to see an allergist this week and we will find out more information and hopefully what his reactions are to these different allergies and what we can do to help him. Then maybe we can figure out how to get him to eat more of the things that he isn't allergic to. Time will tell and I will give updates from time to time.
This is his peanut butter gingerbread house creation he made at therapy. I took this picture before I noticed his hives.
This is my new best friend and comes everywhere we go now. I hope to NEVER have to use it. EVER!
No comments:
Post a Comment