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.