Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Panic

Well...it feels like a lot has happened since my last post.

It started in the afternoon with that red, swollen spot on Tyler's leg. He had a welt/hive on his back. As the evening went along, he complained of the back of his knees hurting, saying it was hard to walk. I thought at that point that he was probably tired from his trike ride to and from our close park and his playing and running at the other park.

I put hydrocortisone cream on these spots, and it helped with the itching and a bit with the redness and pain. But, in the evening, we noticed his hands were swelling and a bit red. That's when he said, "my body is shutting down. What does it mean when my body is shutting down?" And, "I want the nurse to look at my bumps." So, I called the nurse-on-call who agreed with my assessment that he was having some sort of allergic reaction. I went out to get Benadryl. When I got home with it, I noticed that his left foot became swollen and it was painful for him to walk. We considered taking him to the emergency room, but at that point, it was getting late and Tyler was nodding off saying he didn't want to go anywhere. Wayne and I were both uneasy, and unsure what was the best thing to do.

By this point, I felt panicked. I had all kinds of worries running through my head. I put him to bed, and made my own bed on the floor next to his bed. (Of course, I couldn't sleep and did what I know not to do - I went to the Internet to check for symptoms). Throughout the night, with fears of necrosis or anaphylactic shock, I checked for breathing.

When I arrived at work, I requested keeping my cell phone on during our morning training. I started to explain what had been going on, and why I had gone to work (I had created the power point presentation for the morning's in-service and felt that I had no excuse not to go since Wayne was home with Tyler). But being a very understanding principal, she told me that I should go home. After getting my power point set up and explained, I did just that.

The ARNP who saw Tyler initially thought it could have been a strep rash. The strep test was tough for Tyler. Since she didn't get it the first time she put the swab in his throat, he was not about to make the same mistake again, and refused to open his mouth. She made me hold him down, she held his nose shut and poked around until she finally got it...and it was negative.

She said that he had not gotten a spider bite. She was skeptical that it was an allergic reaction to the antibiotic he had just finished. She thought it must be an allergic reaction to something he ingested. However, we're a little skeptical about any foods he ate being the culprit. We did possibly "ingest" some fumes watching the playground renovation. Don't know if that could be it or not.

I did ask about whether I should have taken him to the emergency room - because I had been questioning myself all night and was in fear that we had caused irreparable damage by not taking him in. She said that it was probably best that we didn't take him in. She said that having some time and knowing that the Benadryl had helped gave her a more clear picture of what was going on. I wondered whether she said this just to make me feel better, but that didn't seem to fit her personality...as she seemed rather unconcerned with personal warmth.

So, basically, he had some sort of allergic reaction. We've kept giving him Benadryl and he is getting better. Thank goodness.

Here he is yesterday afternoon, lounging on the couch because his legs hurt to sit on them or stand too long.


I, myself, was so exhausted and relieved, that I took a long nap in the afternoon.

6 comments:

Matt said...

Why do all these things seem to rear their ugly heads at night or on the weekend when you're only choice seems to be a trip to the ER? I've managed to avoid taking either of the boys yet but there have been a few times Monica was getting a little antsy. High deductible health plan + trip to the ER = ouch!

StuckeyBlog said...

SERIOUSLY!! My thoughts exactly!

Carrie said...

Man, I can so relate to that feeling of unease and uncertainty as to what you should do. Like when Tim was in Louisville for a wedding and I was home and Israel got really bad croup at like 1 or 2 AM, and I wasn't sure if I should wake up Gabe and drag everyone to the ER, which totally messes up your entire week, and then I called the ER and they wouldn't say one way or the other over the phone, except that I probably should bring him in just to be looked at, and then he fell asleep and I decided to let him sleep and was wondering if I was making a terrible decision and then I was reading online about kids who died of croup and was totally hugely paranoid and afraid that I had made the wrong decision.... But he was OK. That is such the weirdest thing with Tyler. I'm glad he is OK, and I'm so glad that you have such a nice principal to work with!!! Give Tyler a kisser for me!!

Rachel Kathryn said...

So glad to hear he's getting better. BTW, is that a new coffee table??? :)

StuckeyBlog said...

Thanks, all. Carrie, I didn't realize you had that trouble with Israel when Tim was gone. How scary!!

A couple of people at work have had a delayed allergic reaction to penicillan themselves or with family members. I'm still wondering if that's not what this was. I'm going to call the doctor today!

Rach - good eye, yes, it is a new coffee table. :) We just got it on Monday. I'm very happy with it!

Carolyn Miller said...

Sorry, Melody, I didn't know Tyler wasn't feeling well.