We found out about Bryan’s food allergies through a trip to the emergency room. Bryan has always been on the small side (which is no surprise, if you have ever met me or my husband). However, his growth slowed down dramatically between 4 and 7 months. At a 7 month weight check, his pediatrician recommended that we try supplementing his diet with some formula. So I went to the store, got the formula that she recommended, and sat down after his late afternoon feeding with a small bottle.
The reaction began immediately. First, he started rubbing his eyes and sneezing. Within the next few seconds, his lips started swelling and huge hives appeared on his face and began to spread across his entire body. Then he began to choke as his throat started to close up. I grabbed the Bendadryl from the medicine cabinet and tried to give him a dose, but by then his throat had swollen up so much that he couldn’t swallow any of it. I called his pediatrician’s office, got the answering service, and decided that if anything warranted a trip to the emergency room, this was it. I put Bryan in his car seat as quickly as I could and took off.
The closest emergency room was thankfully only 5 minutes away from my house, but those were the longest 5 minutes of my life. I remember begging the lights to stay green, feeling completely helpless as I heard the little baby in the backseat trying to cry, but only managing a little gurgle because his throat and tongue were so swollen. By the time I got to the hospital, his entire body was swollen and red, and he had started vomiting.
I filled out the intake information as I held Bryan, trying to comfort him at the same time. We were ushered in right away, thankfully. I lay Bryan down on the bed and tried to hold his hand and keep eye contact with him as the nurse and doctor took over. The doctor took one look at Bryan and asked, “What did he get into?” I explained what had happened, showed the doctor the package of formula that we had used, and he told me that Bryan likely had suffered a severe allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, to the milk protein in the formula. Bryan got doses of 2 different medicines- to be honest, I’m not even sure what they were, but they worked, and Bryan's condition started to stabilize. The doctor ordered a third medication (a steroid this time, I think), just to be sure.
We were at the hospital for the next 4 hours, as the doctor wanted to keep Bryan under observation in case a second reaction (called a biphasic reaction, and not uncommon in serious reactions) occurred. My husband rushed to the hospital as soon as I was able to get a hold of him. We sat there together watching Bryan (who was still very red and puffy). He slept a little, crawled around on the bed a little. When we finally were discharged, we were all exhausted. We set up Bryan’s portable crib in our room (there was no way I was going to leave him alone overnight), and I basically sat up all night, checking on him every 30 minutes. Even though I knew there was no way we could have guessed this was going to happen, I still felt horribly guilty- because after all, I was the one who caused this by giving him the formula in the first place.
We followed up with Bryan's pediatrician the next day, who referred us to an allergist. We had some testing done, and found out that Bryan was highly allergic to milk, eggs, and peanuts. Our allergist also recommended that we join the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), which has been a great resource. It was a huge learning curve at first, and I know that we have many more challenges ahead of us (hello, preschool!) But I think we have settled into a good rhythm for now, and I have generally given up the idea of keeping Bryan in a big plastic bubble for the rest of his life. But I haven't completely ruled it out. =)
The reaction began immediately. First, he started rubbing his eyes and sneezing. Within the next few seconds, his lips started swelling and huge hives appeared on his face and began to spread across his entire body. Then he began to choke as his throat started to close up. I grabbed the Bendadryl from the medicine cabinet and tried to give him a dose, but by then his throat had swollen up so much that he couldn’t swallow any of it. I called his pediatrician’s office, got the answering service, and decided that if anything warranted a trip to the emergency room, this was it. I put Bryan in his car seat as quickly as I could and took off.
The closest emergency room was thankfully only 5 minutes away from my house, but those were the longest 5 minutes of my life. I remember begging the lights to stay green, feeling completely helpless as I heard the little baby in the backseat trying to cry, but only managing a little gurgle because his throat and tongue were so swollen. By the time I got to the hospital, his entire body was swollen and red, and he had started vomiting.
I filled out the intake information as I held Bryan, trying to comfort him at the same time. We were ushered in right away, thankfully. I lay Bryan down on the bed and tried to hold his hand and keep eye contact with him as the nurse and doctor took over. The doctor took one look at Bryan and asked, “What did he get into?” I explained what had happened, showed the doctor the package of formula that we had used, and he told me that Bryan likely had suffered a severe allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, to the milk protein in the formula. Bryan got doses of 2 different medicines- to be honest, I’m not even sure what they were, but they worked, and Bryan's condition started to stabilize. The doctor ordered a third medication (a steroid this time, I think), just to be sure.
We were at the hospital for the next 4 hours, as the doctor wanted to keep Bryan under observation in case a second reaction (called a biphasic reaction, and not uncommon in serious reactions) occurred. My husband rushed to the hospital as soon as I was able to get a hold of him. We sat there together watching Bryan (who was still very red and puffy). He slept a little, crawled around on the bed a little. When we finally were discharged, we were all exhausted. We set up Bryan’s portable crib in our room (there was no way I was going to leave him alone overnight), and I basically sat up all night, checking on him every 30 minutes. Even though I knew there was no way we could have guessed this was going to happen, I still felt horribly guilty- because after all, I was the one who caused this by giving him the formula in the first place.
We followed up with Bryan's pediatrician the next day, who referred us to an allergist. We had some testing done, and found out that Bryan was highly allergic to milk, eggs, and peanuts. Our allergist also recommended that we join the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), which has been a great resource. It was a huge learning curve at first, and I know that we have many more challenges ahead of us (hello, preschool!) But I think we have settled into a good rhythm for now, and I have generally given up the idea of keeping Bryan in a big plastic bubble for the rest of his life. But I haven't completely ruled it out. =)
No comments:
Post a Comment