Feeling Traumatized...

I felt like blogging today. It's been a while. Here is my experience that happened today. I guess I just have a lot of thoughts that I need to sort out, so I felt like writing them.

We were having a good day. A nice relaxing Monday, with some time to enjoy each other. Hazel had left some unfinished granola on the table. Jacob was at the table eating homemade taquitos. I went downstairs to get some chicken out of my freezer. When I came back up the stairs, Jacob was crying and saying "I need medicine!" He likes to take medicine, so I had a hard time believing that he actually needed medicine, but I repeated back to him, "you need medicine?" He said yes, and I said, "are you sure?' He got slightly hysterical, and yelled, "yes!" I asked him why he needed medicine, and he said his mouth was itchy. That was when I knew that he really did need medicine. I still couldn't figure out why he would need it, because everything I gave him were safe foods. So, I asked him. What did you eat? He said, "Hazel gave me some of her cereal." Her cereal has tiny almond pieces in it. Having had a pretty serious previous reaction to almonds, that's when I went in to emergency mode. I quickly gave him the Benadryl, which he always takes when we suspect an allergic reaction. In the past, I have given him Benadryl, and closely watched him, and things have always been fine. But, we do keep Epi-pens around him at all times, for the time that it could be serious, because with food allergies, you never know what the magnitude of the reaction will be. His allergic reactions are considered severe, with the most common symptom being vomiting, and often accompanied by lots of coughing. That being said, I had never felt like I had to give him the Epi-pen because he has always recovered relatively quickly from other accidental exposures to his allergens (wheat, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts-except cashews). Anyway, he said his tummy hurt, which is pretty normal for him, but usually he throws up pretty quickly, and he hadn't yet. I referred to my action plan checklist that his allergist has given us to share with his school and care providers. It lists when you should use the Epi-Pen. He didn't seem to be improving and he had a nervous look on his face, which made me nervous. He continued to look like he was pain and hunched over. I called John at work, because I was not really sure what to do. I wanted to make sure that Jacob was safe by giving him proper treatment, but I also didn't want to cause an unnecessary expense by calling an ambulance, which is what the action plan says to do. Having never administered the Epi-pen, I was hesitant to do so because I knew that meant we would need to go be monitored in a medical facility, which can take a long time. But, his symptoms seemed to be getting worse, and because he is only 4, he has a hard time describing what is happening in his body. Frankly, I was quite shocked when he was able to tell me that his mouth was itchy, because I have never heard him use that word before. Small miracles, because that is the word that triggered me to realize that he was truly having an allergic reaction, and not just wanting some medicine. Anyway, because he did not seem to be improving, John and I decided that I would give him the epi-pen, and then drive him myself over to the nearby Instacare. This was the hardest part of my day. I got off the phone with John, and had to tell Jacob I was going to give him another medicine. I told him it would be like a shot, and he didn't want me to do it. But he continued to feel bad, and I told him it would help him feel better. So, he let me. It was so hard to do. I have used the practice device, but to actually use the device with enough force to inject it, is a pretty hard hit. In fact, my first effort did not work. I was too gentle, and the needle didn't come out. Knowing, I had to do it harder, and then hold it for 10 seconds was just horrible. I did it. And Jacob started crying. I held him in my arms, and held the epi-pen and counted the long seconds to ten, and cried, too. It was horrible. After I finished, he vomited all over the floor. I cleaned him up, threw away the epi-pen, and picked Jacob up to go to the car. He was still hysterical. I could feel his tiny heart pounding rapidly in his chest as I carried him. I carefully monitored him as we drove to the instacare, and he calmed down. The visit was good, as the doctor examined him, and his vitals appeared to be normal. Now we are closely monitoring him for the rest of the day. And he seems back to his normal self, several hours later, but I can tell that he feels betrayed by me for hurting him with the Epi-pen. I guess we are both traumatized by it. At least he is ok.

Bath time fun!

This is Hazel and Jacob's first bath together. I love how much fun they have together. They love to make each other laugh. They are the best of friends.

Family Visits

We enjoyed the company of my parents and my brother Scott's family for a week in November. They came for my nephew's wedding, and got to stay for Thanksgiving, too! We loved having everyone here, and had a great visit.
Hazel and Grandpa C

Grandparents C and Hazel. She enjoyed all the love.

Grandma and Grandpa C and Uncle Scott

Grandparents

Grandpa and Jacob eating oranges

Jacob and Grandma wearing eye patches

The two Hazels

Patricia, Dawna, Uncle Scott and Hazel

Fun at the Corn Maze

We spent a fun evening together at Cornbelly's. Here are the kids and I.

It was a cold evening.

There were lots of fun things for Jacob to do.

We went on a hayride

We went through a little corn maze

The kids played on a spider web made of rope

John and Jacob rode in little pedal go-cart things. Good times :)

Halloween 2011

Here was our Star Wars family. I particularly enjoy Jacob's face :) It's ok because we all know how cute he really is, right?

A Few Projects

It has been a while, but I did take some pictures of some projects I have done (as of November). Of course, since then, I have been working on more....Anyway, here are a few.

This is a little skirt I made for Hazel using an old lava-lava and some white fabric I had in my scraps.
This was Hazel's Christmas dress this year. I designed the pattern, and was pleasantly surprised with my guessing for the size. I made it in the summertime, and had to anticipate how large she would actually be by Christmastime. I am glad to say that it fit her just right!

Although it is difficult to see, this was Jacob's Halloween costume. He was Darth Vader, and loved it. He is currently obsessed with all things Star Wars, particularly anything that he can imagine in to a light saber.

This was Hazel's Halloween costume. She was Yoda. Our family followed a Star Wars theme. I will try to post a picture of our costumes, unless I already have. I will have to check on that.

This is Hazel's Christmas stocking. It is cross-stitched. I finished it this year, so she was able to use it for her first Christmas. I actually started it before she was born. In fact, I have another started for our next child, who is not yet conceived.

Allergy Update

October is the month that Jacob is retested to check on the status of his food allergies. This month came with good news and bad news. The bad news is that he has not improved in any of his allergies. In fact, they have all worsened according to blood and skin tests. And, he showed a pretty high reaction to almond, pecan, and walnut, whereas, last year, we thought his tree nut allergy was nearly non-existent. Anyway, that stuff stinks. However, we were not really expecting anything to have changed much, considering that he had a reaction to wheat the day before one of his appointments. Jacob is a trooper. He is extremely good during his blood draws and back-pricking. He doesn't cry and complains minimally. So... on to the good news!

We found out that 80% of people with egg allergy who were tested could eat an egg if it was part of a baked good (cookies, breads, donuts, etc.--all wheat-free, of course for us). Anyway, despite his high numbers, the doctor said we could do a food challenge for egg in a baked good if we felt okay about trying it...um, yes. Definitely. As soon as possible, please. So, we did it yesterday...and he passed it! That may not seem like a very big deal, but it really is! It will enhance my wheat-free baking so much, and will relieve one additional stress in my life :). I am so happy that he did fine with it.

The test was interesting. It had to be in the doctors office so they could closely monitor his reactions and help if he had major problems. The first step, after recording his vital signs, was to give him basically a crumb. Then, we had to stay in the doctor's office and wait a half an hour. After examining him again for any kind of reaction, we gave him a larger piece of the allergen (some bread I baked that contained egg) and then we waited in the doctor's office for an hour. We watched some kids movies to keep entertained during all the waiting. Anyway, he had no reaction, so we can now incorporate baked goods that contain egg in to Jacob's diet. Yay!