Alexa's ambulance trip to the E.R.

We've known for years that Alexa had a severe allergy to peanuts. Today we had the unfortunate experience of learning first hand how things could go bad very quickly.

It started with a gift bag from school. There was a miniature reese cup in Alexa's bag that we didn't know was there. Normally we would have checked the bag thouroughly before we let them have it, but the girls got to the bags before we could check them. Alexa found the reese cup and thinking it was a piece of chocolate, she took a bite. Then she turned to daddy and said it was yucky and she didn't like it. When daddy looked over, he could tell from across the room that it was a reese cup and she had eaten some of it.

I was on my way home from Riley Hospital (Emily had an appointment with a pulmonologist) when daddy called to ask me where the benadryl was. I was starting to panic because I realized that I had Alexa's epi pens in the van with me and I was still 15-20 minutes from home. Daddy gave her the benadryl and told me not to worry because she wasn't even having a reaction, but he wanted to give the benadryl as a precaution. I told daddy to watch Alexa like a hawk and if she showed even the slightest sign of breathing difficulty or swelling to call 911 immediately since he didn't have access to the epi pens. Meanwhile I am driving as fast as I safely can to get home because I knew things could get worse.

When I got home I rushed in and daddy said Alexa had just started coughing and he was watching her close. I listened to her briefly and knew right away that she was wheezing and her breathing was faster and more shallow than normal. I quickly got the epi pen and jabbed it into her thigh. It calmed her breathing down (after she stopped crying) and I thought the crisis had been averted. But I couldn't remember if we were supposed to go to the ER after we have to use the first dose of epi pen or if that's only when we have to use both epi pens. It's not always easy to remember these things when you're in the situation so I called her pediatrician and asked if I needed to bring her in. They told me to take her to the ER because they would want to observe her for a few hours.

So we get Alexa's coat and shoes on and I am getting ready to strap her in her car seat when she starts coughing again. I knew it would take me about 20 minutes to get to the ER and even though I had one more dose of epi pen that I could give her, I didn't want to take the chance of the situation getting worse on the way to the hospital... so, I brought her back into the house and called 911. That was definitely the right choice since while I was on the phone with 911, I had to give her the second dose of epi pen (about 10 minutes after the first one). She was still wheezing when the paramedics arrived and they started breathing treatments with oxygen and albuterol as soon as she was in the ambulance. Luckily, daddy and Mamaw Linda where home to help with the other girls. I don't know what I would have done if all this had happened when I was home alone with the girls.

It seemed like things were under control for the first half of the ambulance ride, but he started her on a second dose of albuterol just to be safe because she was still a little wheezy. Then I noticed that she was breaking out in hives and her face and arms were starting to look "sunburned". I commented to the paramedic about it and he almost immediately told the driver to take it up to an "ez 10" (or something like that) and all of the sudden the sirens were on and our leisurly drive to the hospital was suddenly more urgent.

When we got to the ER, poor Alexa barely looked like herself. The hives on her face were horrible, her eyes were SOO bloodshot you could barely see any white in her eyes and her fingers looked purple. (Keep in mind, this is after a large dose of benadryl, two shots of epinephrine, and two doses of albuterol). They hooked her up to all the equipment right away and kept the mask on to finish her breathing treatment. Before I knew it they were starting an IV and were giving her an oral steroid. At some point they had taken the mask off and didn't like her oxygen SATs without it so they switched to plain oxygen through the nasul cannula. By this point her breathing had gotten better and the hives were starting to fade a little.

The urgency seemed to be over and now we were just there for observation. After we'd been there for around 3 hours, the doctor came in and said that they normally like to keep kids for 24 hours after something like this, but since they were confident that I knew how to handle the situation they wouldn't make her stay that long...but she would have to stay for at least 8 hours. WHAT?!? Luckily, Mamaw Kathy had decided to leave work and come to the hospital so I was able to leave her there with Alexa long enough to run to the cafeteria and get some food. Alexa hadn't eaten lunch before everything happened and since we were going to be there for several more hours I knew she needed to eat something.

We ended up spending about 7 hours at the hospital, but except for being exhausted she seems to be feeling MUCH better now. This poor girl has is having a rough year. She still talks about the car accident often and it is still a traumatic thing for her. Now she's saying that mommy smacked her in the legs with needles and talking about her "ride with the sirens"...not to mention that in a couple months she will have abdominal surgery for her kidney issues. I feel for her.