Stressful November

The past month has been very stressful with lots of health issues.

 I have been sick with a cold/bronchitis for almost the entire month. Started with sore throat on the 7th, went on with lots of coughing for almost 2 weeks, despite antibiotics. Right before the holidays I went in to get a  chest x-ray since I was worried about pneumonia (I had it last Dec). The chest x-ray was fine. But the very next day I got a sore throat followed by a second (!) cold.

Ugh...its only the past couple of days that I am feeling better. It did not help that most of the time I was sick, Beanie was on holiday, so I had 10 days of feeling lousy and having to keep her entertained all day long.

Its times like these when being an SMC is so hard because there is nobody to give you a break.Finally I sent her to my parents and slept an entire morning, that helped immensely.

The other very stressful thing that occurred was that right before the holidays I took Beanie in to an Asthma and Allergy specialist. She has been diagnosed with mild asthma by her pediatrician but we had a night of really bad coughing attack and I decided it was time I took her to a specialist.

Out appt was on 11/16 and we went in the afternoon. They do allergy testing too which is something I have been wanting to get done also. The Dr is very experienced. He is a pediatric asthma, allergy and immunology guy and has written scores of papers and headed the Asthma council etc.

It was a long appt and I gave him Beanie's background of RSV at 6 mos old and the fact that her asthma is triggered by colds. They tested her FEV etc since she is old enough to blow into the spirometer now and did a good job. He diagnosed her with mild asthma.

I also told him about her suspected nut allergy.

Just to remind you all, when Beanie was 3 year old Mar 2016, one morning we ate breakfast of pancakes, blueberries, syrup and walnuts. I was eating the walnuts but she wanted some. I had tested it on her with a tiny piece a few times with no issues. That morning I gave her about a teaspoon of nuts. After breakfast, I cleaned the kitchen and went in for a shower. I heard Beanie starting to cough...a little here and there. I asked her if she was okay, she was in my bedroom, and she said yes. I finished my shower and the coughing continued so I had her come into the bathroom. I saw her eyes we all red and swollen. I immediately knew it was an allergy, potentially the walnuts. She was breathing fine, so I  got dressed quickly, and we drove to the pediatrician. The ER is on the way and I figured if she was worse I would stop there. But she was fine and we saw the Dr instead. He agreed it was an allergy. By that time her eyes were fine and coughing had stopped. He said it could be sensitivity to nuts. The pollen count was really high as well those days, He asked me not to try giving her walnuts again until the allergy was confirmed.

After that day, I basically assumed Beanie was allergic to tree nuts and kept her away from them - reading labels, informing her daycare, at kids parties, etc.

It has, however, always been in my mind to get her tested. She eats peanut butter regularly and has been around nuts (eg I will be eating it). I have sometimes dropped an almond and she has picked it up and thrown in the trash, with no issues. All this made me wonder if she was really allergic or was it a one off reaction. Despite all of it, I have been careful with the foods she eats.

Back to the present, I mentioned the above to the Dr and he went ahead and tested her for a myriad of things.

Turns out she is allergic to nuts - cashews, pistachios and brazil nuts.

And he wants me to carry an Epipen!!

 OMG, I was completely freaked out!!

He said to keep her away from all nuts, but to continue to give her peanut butter.

The Epipen was ordered from the manufacturers who provides them free, but that was a horrible stressful experience. They never called me for 2 days and when I called them they said they were shipping it for delivery on 11/29. Now let me tell you once you know you need to carry an Epipen, every day without one is terrifying.

Two days before the delivery date I called to check on it, Turned out they had "questions of the Dr" and had not heard back. So, here I am on the phone trying to call the Dr and get it all sorted out. Then they say it will only be delivered on 12/6!!

I was so mad, but I held my temper and asked that they expedite the shipment to get to me by 11/29. Again multiple calls to ensure it was shipped.

Then - FedEx delays the delivery for a day due to mechanical issues...I finally got the pens yesterday!

Ugh - It was the most stressful 3 weeks, I tell you!

So now I have one set for me, and one for school. The After School Program (ASP) need one too, so I got a single shot from the Dr office. By federal law, every school has to have EpiPens for general use in case a kid needs it. The ASP people did not even know about it. I need to make sure they do!

I vacillate between terror and calm!

Its scary to know your kids has a food allergy that will be lifelong and can be life threatening as tree nuts can be. But I have to keep reminding myself that for the past 2.5 years we have done just fine with the measures we have adopted.

Beanie knew, even at 3 years old, to ask if something had nuts in it and I have been reading labels for years. A couple of years ago, my neighbors had visited Paris and they brought us a box of the famous French macarons. I never gave it to Beanie since I remembered they have almond paste in them as does marzipan.

The school is nut free in the cafeteria and snacks. She is okay with peanut butter so that helps. She has been around nuts (eg at a party) and been fine, so I am hopeful that we can manage this as we have been doing with some additional precautions.

Oh and the other thing she is allergic to - Dogs!

We were going to get one for her 6th birthday, guess that will not happen now. She has been around dogs, petted them etc, and been to friends houses who have dogs, but I guess having one in your home 24/7 is different.