A New Way of Life

Oh where oh where do I begin?  Boy it has been a crazy few weeks and I just have really been avoiding this post cause there is so much to say and frankly that just stresses me out.  Let's start by saying I am sucker for following the rules.  Sooo, when the American Academy of Pediatrics says that you shouldn't let a child eat peanut butter until they turn 2, you can bet that I didn't give Addison peanut butter until then.  Actually, I wanted to be extra safe so I waited until she was almost 

2 1/2!  (They have these rules because they think the longer you wait to introduce peanut products, the less likely they will develop an allergy towards them.  So you can imagine my SHOCK when Addison had an immediate reaction the first time we gave her peanut butter.  Here's the story......Matt had a week off after Christmas and I knew it was time to try it and again I wanted to "play it safe".  So I made sure he would be home with me just in case she had a reaction and he could help me with it.  Boy did she ever.  We just gave her one slice of bread and slathered a little of it on there and she took a tiny bite and was absolutely disgusted with it.  She touched it and just tried a few tiny bites but overall didn't want anything to do with it.  We were watching her closely "just in case" and then I noticed little whelps developing on her hand where she touched it and around her mouth where it has smeared.  We agreed it was a reaction and quickly gave her a dose of benadryl.  I was checking the rest of her out and she was sneezing and coughing and just plain acting weird.  I yelled to Matt we gotta get to the ER now and I don't think I have ever gotten Melody in her carseat so fast!  So, we flew to the ER with the flashers on and rode the shoulder alot of the way.  I called our pediatrician and talked (basically screamed) to our nurse about what was happening and she agreed on taking her in.  I knew to act fast on this because a peanut allergy is one of the most serious allergic reactions you can have and it can be life threatening if you don't react in a timely manner.  Let me step back and say that a few weeks prior to all of this, she had some really bad hives and we thought it was due to mosquito bites. (found out that wasn't so).  Anyway, we were referred to an allergist already and he had given us an Epipen prescription.  Sooo, when she began to react with the peanut butter, I knew I could give the Epipen shot in her thigh if she started having trouble breathing.  I had that sucker in position and I was threatening to use it!  All along I was trying to convince myself that she would be ok and maybe I was overreacting.  On the road I was yelling at her and trying to get her to communicate with me so that I could figure out if there were breathing problems.  (she kept grabbing her throat).   Then, I got the genius idea to ask her her most favorite questions that she ALWAYS responds to.  AND if she didn't respond, then I knew to inject the meds.  Questions like, "How old are you, what color is your hair, eyes etc."  Well, she was clearly answering so I figured we were good.  Matt got her in the ER and I will have to say the good thing about an allergic reaction is that you don't have to wait in line!  HA!  You become top priority and get rushed back immediately.  She was ok when they got to her and was actually telling the doctor that she tooted and saying it was gross!  She was acting fine but looking bad.  The doctor was like, "Wow, she has no idea how serious this is.  Ignorance can be a good thing sometimes!"  Yikes.  Well, she was fine until they did the IV and bless her heart......she LOST it!  Which made Melody loose it.  Yes, we were one happy family in that ER room.  Two kids SCREAMING their heads off and nothing we could do.  I was frantically pulling up my shirt and trying to feed Melody in the middle of all this but she was reacting to Addison and nothing would work.  They monitored Addison for a long time and gave steroids and more benadryl. (her throat was not closing up thank the Lord!) We were good to go after a couple of hours and left with a prescription to be filled at the pharmacy. (That's another scary story).  Anyway, they told me to definitely give the Epipen as soon as she has a reaction next time- don't wait until she has breathing problems cause then it would be too late for the meds to help and then they might have to cut her throat open in the ER.  Lovely. AND they said not to attempt to drive to the ER next time- just call 911.  I argued with them about it for awhile saying they couldn't get to us fast enough- but they said they can get to anyone in 3 minutes.  AND that we have one less than a mile from us!  I am sooo relieved to her that.   So, I have a TON of Epipens and am armed and ready!  So, remember when the allergist took her blood to test for a mosquito allergy earlier in the month?  Well, we called to let them know what happened and asked if they had any blood left over to officially test for peanuts.  They did and therefore we didn't have to draw her blood again thank goodness.  So, results came back and she is a Class 6 (which is the highest level of severity).  Oh my.  So, we will be taking her in this week to do more test on all nuts and other stuff to see if there is anything else we need to avoid.  This does alter our lives quite a bit.  We have to be very careful when we eat out anywhere and have to be very specific about knowing how everything is cooked.  We have alot to learn but it will be ok.  There will never be a way for her to grab a chocolate chip cookie at a bakery or a simple cupcake even though they don't contain nuts.  It's because they are made at a place that contains nuts therefore increases the risks of cross contamination.  You can't take the chance.  Things like plain chocolate m&m's are out also.  Not because they contain nuts but because the label says that they are made in the same manufacturer as nuts.  We are becoming pros at reading labels and still have a ton to learn.  We are thrilled to know that her preschool that we were planning on sending her to has peanut-free classrooms.  They don't separate the kids with the allergies, they just have certain classrooms where it is strictly enforced!  Fabulous!  This type of allergy is on the rise- I read that it has doubled in the last 10 years.  Of course I have a lot of fears about this but all we can do is educate ourselves and Addison to keep it under control.  She is already a very disciplined, responsible child that likes instruction and order and has a memory like you wouldn't believe.  I think she will be able to handle this and will understand what she can and cannot eat.  She will have to carry an Epipen with her the rest of her life and I will have to bring her own treats to other kids birthday parties.  There are alot of negatives but I am trying and learning to find the positives in this.  For one thing, she won't be allowed to eat alot of processed, packaged foods because most of that contains a nut warning on the back---therefore she will be reaching for fresh fruit, veggies etc.  She is only 2 so she will learn to eat very healthy from a young age and it will become second nature for her.  We will all have to adopt this way of eating and can't we all use a little more fruit and veggie in our life?!  We will rarely be going out to eat.......this saves tons of money and we all know restaurants give unhealthy portions that are usually high in fat.  Sooo we will be a lot healthier and save a good bit of money!  This will also force me to cook more often.  Thinking positive:)

Sitting with Daddy in the ER

 So, about an hour before the whole peanut butter thing, we decided to convert her bed to a toddler bed.  She loved it and she kept talking about how it was her "big girl bed."  Well, after the ER visit we decided that it wasn't the day for the toddler bed.  She was just exhausted and still didn't feel very good so Matt had to put the whole crib back together!  Wow, it was a long day.  Maybe later.  We did leave the bumpers out when we put it back together and that will at least buy us a few more months!

Attempting the toddler bed

"Can Sunny sleep with me"?

First and last time to eat peanut butter

Yes, I took pics of her eating peanut butter.  This was obviously before the reaction.  I thought it was a big day and I wanted to document it.  Boy was it ever.


So, the pharmacy was the "icing on the cake" for the day.  The ER doctor gave us a prescription for a steroid and when I went to pick it up I called Matt to double check with him the dosage (just to make sure they gave us the right thing......because this wasn't our first rodeo- that's a different story too.  Anyway, he confirmed what it was and that we were to give a teaspoon.  Great, I could go home and we could give it to her.  Well, she threw up alot of it and we were only able to get a tiny bit of it down.  About 10 minutes later I had a weird feeling and wanted to check the prescription on the discharge papers versus what the pharmacy filled for us.  And again my gut feeling was correct.  They got the dosage right but they got the concentration WAY wrong.  The doctor prescribed 5 mg/ 5ml.  They pharmacy gave us 15mg/ 5ml.  That's right, they gave us 3 times the concentration that was prescribed!  So, thank goodness she threw it up.  So the part that she actually swallowed was luckily the right amount.  The pharmacy was closed but we found one that was still open to confirm that it was wrong.  They were very concerned and told us to definitely talk to the manager the next morning and to not give any more meds.  We went first thing the next day and Matt was pretty on fire at that point and turns out the District Manager happened to be in there for the day.  Matt dealt with him and he was VERY apologetic.  He was able to narrow it down and find where the mistake happened and told Matt what they will do to take action.  I was very happy to know the girl has to repeat the training process.  It just makes me so mad that you can't always trust to have your meds filled right!  He said this kind of thing happens about once a month across his 22 stores.  Yikes, I say that's too much.  People, watch your back and double check your doctors prescription verses what the pharmacy gives you!  Ugh, I'm exhausted reliving that day- Congrats if you read the whole thing!  I'm going to bed now.