ER

I think I've been to the ER 3 times in my life. The first time was when I was in a car accident. I was in my boss' car coming back from a work lunch and we got hit in an intersection. I bumped my head on the side window and they took me in just to make sure I was okay. I went to UI Chicago hospital, I think. Not Cook County General which was just around the block (but where the TV show ER is based). The second time was just a few years ago when Wilson dislocated his shoulder wakeboarding and we sat in the waiting room of the ER for about 3 hours. I felt so bad for him, sitting there with his shoulder hanging out of the socket with no pain medication whatsoever.

The third time I went to the ER was this past Monday night. This was Anderson's first time in the ER and the first time he's been back to that hospital since he was born just 13 months and 1 day prior.

I get home on Monday evening to a crying baby sitting in his high chair while Wilson is trying to feed him dinner - wonton noodles and chicken. He's fussing big time. Wilson tells me that he was crying earlier because he wanted to be picked up and Wilson couldn't since he was making dinner. And he's been difficult ever since. I ask what he's eating and Wilson tells me he made some noodles for us to eat for dinner, put some peanut butter in it and started mixing but then realized that Anderson shouldn't have peanut butter yet. So he took out a portion that he thought hadn't been mixed in yet and put that aside for Anderson to eat. I then take over for the frustrated papa since I could tell that he's had enough. I think I tried to feed Anderson some veggies (which he loves) and he ate a little bit but finally gave in and gave him some fruit. In which case he promptly stopped any whining of any sort and stuffed his face with fruit. Once that ran out though, it was back to whining. I cleaned his face and hands and noticed that his face was a little blotchy and he had some big hives on his face. Now, this kids is constantly rubbing his face with his grubby hands filled with whatever food he's eating all throughout dinner so his face is usually a little red every day. But after a good washing after dinner, his face is back to normal in the next minute. But these hives were new and they weren't on any other part of his body so I just washed his face a little more thoroughly and went about things as normal.

I try to play with him for a little while after dinner but he is extremely fussy. He won't let me leave further than 6 inches from his side, and when I do, he throws a huge fit. I start wondering if everything is okay with him and decide to give him a bath a little bit earlier tonight. But he's tired. While I'm getting the bath ready, he is again throwing a fit, especially when I put him down so I can turn on the water. He is immediately angry and plops himself down on the ground but not before his chin hits my knee and cuts his lip. Fantastic. Now he's crying and there is blood all over his mouth. I pick him up and hold him but he's still crying and crying. Usually, he's fine by now. He's a pretty tough guy and is easily soothed. I tell Wilson that I think somethings wrong but I'm not sure what it is. He calms down and I put him in the bath. His mood seems better as he's playing in the water and reading his bath book. The hives on his face have long gone and everything seems fine. I pull him out and of course he throws another fit. Get him dressed and we start reading books.

He seems to be in a better mood now but he refuses to have anything to do with Wilson. He's still fussy and whiny but it's an improvement. After a lot of reading and water, I put him down for bed which he seems quite happy to do. He's quiet and after 5 minutes I peak in and see him laying down playing with his bear. Perfect. He's on his way. 10 minutes later, he's screaming. Screaming.

I go in and rub his back, hoping to soothe him so he can go to sleep but he is not having it. He's starting to turn red from the crying so I pick him up to calm him down. This is when I heard it. A crackling sound whenever he took a breath. Oh no. I immediately called Wilson into the room and point out that Anderson is wheezing and he's working to inhale. He immediately says "Get ready. We're going to the hospital." We quickly change clothes, grab the diaper bag, and head for the car. Meanwhile, Anderson is still screaming the entire time. He's clutching onto his bear blankie tightly as he clings to me. I strap him into his car seat and we're off. As we drive off, the thought of calling 911 pops into my head as I look at Anderson and realize that he crackling sound in his breathing is deeper. But we're on our way and I know it won't take us too long.

Once we get on the freeway, Anderson starts to calm down. The poor kid is tired, uncomfortable, irritated. His breathing slows down and starts to become a little more regular, thank goodness. He falls asleep. I can still hear the crackling/wheezing but its at a much lesser degree than before. I look at his neck and it's all red and covered with hives. It's a food allergy.

We get to the ER and we're immediately seen in triage so that Anderson can be assessed. The wheezing isn't audible anymore but as they listen to his chest through the stethoscope, they do hear that his chest is a tightened and there is wheezing. His oxygen levels are at 90. Pulse is 160. We undress him to take his temperature and there are hives all over his body. They definitely think it's an allergic reaction. They say he's stable and that he's okay but they're going to get him in as soon as possible. We wait in the waiting room for only a couple of minutes before we are brought into an ER exam room where they promptly ask for our co-pay (of course). The doctor arrives in 5 minutes, listens to his lungs and say they are completely clear. Hives are still there and he says that we should give him benedryl and steriods to counteract the allergic reaction. We are lead to another room so we can wait for the meds. By this time, the poor boy is so tired and irritated, we do our best to comfort him. He seems to be doing okay since we are holding him the entire time but he is still scratching like crazy. There are scratches in his ears and behind his neck. A nurse finally comes in and we give him the medication orally. He cries but does a great job. A few minutes later he seems so much better. Much less cranky. Much less irritated. He crawls around the bed for a little while until I pick him up and try to get him to go to sleep since it's now 9:30pm. An hour and a half past his bedtime. He settles down quickly and falls asleep. We have to wait a little while so that the nurses can check to see if the medication is taking effect and to make sure there is no adverse reaction to the medication. They come back in about 20 minutes to take his vitals and they're perfect. Oxygen levels back to 100 and his pulse has slowed.

They advise us to give him another dose of benedryl in the morning if he needs it and then we're on our way home. Wilson decides to sleep in his room that night so that he can keep an eye on him but he sleeps through the entire night. Wakes up in the morning and he looks perfect. A little cranky and fussy, but no where close to where he was yesterday. Ever since then, he's been in such a great mood.

It was definitely a scary moment for us and I'm glad we acted so quickly. It was nice to know that it seemed to be going away by itself and it wasn't a severe reaction. However, we don't know how much he was exposed to. We think it was the peanut butter since that was the only new food he was exposed to that night but you can never be sure. On the other hand, if it was only a small amount of peanut butter that caused such a reaction, then that's scary too. Either way, we're staying away from it.