Trip to ER 5-23-12/My son's recount of what happened

I should start by saying that I would not normally put these sorts of things on the internet because I think it is more of a private thing, as any trip to the hospital may be. But, I felt it was important for me to recount what had happened on this blog.

Today I found my son with a red face. I rushed to give him benedryl and then waited a little bit, it only got worse so we rushed to the car, where the above picture was taken. The lighting makes it hard to see anything but you can also enlarge the picture to see closer up.

We arrive at the hospital and I explain how it happened. My daughter, who is going through a rebellious and limit pushing phase, climbed the counter and found the hidden cinnamon raisin bread that I had bought for breakfast for myself. That was among other things such as apples, bananas and even minute rice. But, the only thing that he could have gotten into was the bread which had contained milk in the ingredients.

At this point his hives have spread to his ears and down his neck and onto his stomach. They give him steroids and such to help it calm down. As his hives spread and he becomes more agitated, I become worried and express this to the NEW nurse who had just taken over for the one we had. She tells the Dr. and he says that he just wants to watch and try not giving him any more medicines. So we wait, and he continues to get worse the hives have spread to his whole body, his whole stomach and chest, face, neck, ears, back all become red. But, I sit by just waiting for the steroids to kick in.

This is him as it starts to spread. He actually kept asking for a TV since he has been here in the past and KNOWS they have rooms with TVs. So, they move him lol. A 4 YEAR OLD CALLING THE SHOTS? haha. It was funny but they just wanted to make him comfortable since they knew we were in for a while for observation. After you ingest an allergen you have to be watched for 2 hours because that is the most likely time for an anaphylactic reaction to occur. 

His new room, about to fall to sleep.

They finally let us go but warned that he could still go into anaphylaxis over the next couple of days.

A positive side for him was that he now had 3 bracelets instead of just one. He definitely liked that.

Now, for his point of view. We came home and his hives are less pink and he is feeling much better. So, I sit him down to talk to him about what happened. And this is what he said:

Sick Days

Summer is near and we can feel it with the hot days that have been popping in. But, as allergies take a full dive into our lives we are struck with an awful cold, or is it? It is so hard to tell the difference at a time like this. My son had started sneezing persistently and having a runny nose that wouldn't let up. I started to worry that his Zyrtec just wasn't going to cut it this year. Then a day later my daughter started with the runny nose and sneezing. That  night it hit me full force and FAST. Thinking it was just my sons allergies taking a turn, I didn't use my normal precautions to keep myself and everyone else in the house from getting sick. So, by the time I learned that it was in fact a cold, I was starting to show symptoms.

When I say that this came fast, I mean it. It was yesterday that my daughter showed symptoms. I had felt icky in my tummy all day but shrugged it off as my normal stomach upsets. Then, I get home from a wonderful day out with my friend, as it was her birthday, and I start to sneeze. Within hours I am a sneezing mess with a sore throat and a squeaky voice to match. So, today is my sick day. My son is feeling better, thank goodness! That also means that while it is a bad and nasty cold, it leaves just as fast as it came. My son is left with the all too familiar childhood lingering cough and what's a cough if you don't add asthma in the mix. These are those days that being a parent can be quite hectic. But, it is worth every minute. I am trying to savor these times where it is only 2 that I am chasing around with tissues. Every minute of every sick day is worth it when you have such wonderful children.

Lately

Lately there has not been much to report on. All of my sons allergies are under control for now. Whew! But, I decided today that I am going to lessen my restrictions on foods he is not allowed to eat. Of course I will test it out and see how it goes first. I know other allergy parents will allow their children to eat products that were made in the same facility or even shared equipment with their allergens. I will not go as far as shared equipment but I will be trying to feed him things that were produced in the same facility as. It is most definitely going to scare me but if I can widen the range of food my son can eat and he will end up okay, then who am I to limit my son when it may not be necessary.

Tomorrow is mothers day and it is supposed to be HOT here tomorrow. So, we decided it is the perfect day to shampoo the carpets. With training a puppy and kids that get into everything our carpets have most definitely been used and abused. We have officially decided that once we buy a house in the near future, we will be getting wood floors. I would much rather have some area rugs that can be more easily replaced. I would like to wish all of you mommies out there a very HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! You deserve every minute of a day to celebrate you as a mother!

Broccoli Beef without the iffy ingredients.

As anyone with a nut allergy knows, Asian food and food allergies don't mix well. I thought my son would never  be able to try Chinese food, my favorite broccoli beef. But, then today while grocery shopping for tonight's dinner, it hit me. I CAN MAKE IT MYSELF!  So, I threw some ingredients in my cart that I thought would make it work and to my surprise it tasted EXACTLY like what I order at most Chinese food restaurants! So, I thought I would share.

I did not know that this would turn out so great so I didn't prepare with pictures and such. But, next time I make it I will take pictures and update the recipe.

Broccoli Beef

What you will need:

Thin steak, cut into strips or not, you can cut it yourself.

Broccoli crowns

Teriyaki Sauce (I use Kikkoman)

White Rice (I use minute)

Olive Oil

zip lock bag

skillet

First you will want to get the strips of beef and put into a zip lock bag. Pour some of your Teriyaki Sauce into the bag, seal and place in fridge. Keep it in fridge for at least three hours or let it sit over night. Be sure to flip the bag a few times while it is marinating. Once the meat has sat in the marinade (Teriyaki Sauce) long enough put some olive oil into a skillet and heat it to just over medium while you cut the strips to size, Id say about 2 inches long or so. Place the strips into the skillet and treat as a stir-fry until the meat is brown. Add Teriyaki as needed to add flavor and  help with cooking without burning. Remove browned meat and place broccoli that has been cut down into skillet, using juices left from beef to cook in. Add Teriyaki over top while cooking. Fry for 5 minutes or until the broccoli looks cooked and not dry. Add meat back in and cook together with more Teriyaki for a few minutes or until broccoli reaches desired tenderness.

Serve over prepared rice with juices from pan and/or teriyaki sauce to get the full effect and allow to mix in with rice. :)

Side Note: It may seem like a lot of teriyaki sauce but it burns off as you cook so it is necessary to keep adding to keep up with flavoring and such. I actually didn't even use a whole bottle tonight and I was serving 4.

I did not give you amounts this time because it all depends on how many people you are cooking for. Just be sure to make enough so that each person gets about a serving or a little more of the meat, broccoli and rice.

I hope you all enjoy, I love feedback and would love to hear how it turns out for anyone to try it!!