...and hopefully the last!
When I picked Carter up on Thursday from daycare, his teacher told me she thought he was having an allergic reaction to the sunscreen because his eyes were really bloodshot. His eyes were bloodshot and skin a little red, but I thought it odd since we've used the same sunscreen since he was 6 months old.
By the time we got home, Carter had welps on his neck and what, at first, looked like large mosquito bites surrounded by hives forming on his chest and back. I went ahead and called Doc because it was so strange looking. They advised Benadryl and a bath. By the time we finished the bath, he was covered literally head to toe with welps so large that it looked as though his belly button was going to push out the opposite way. For obvious reasons, I started to get very nervous. I'd never seen anything like this and knew he must've eaten something with peanuts or was having a reaction to a food we didn't know he was allergic to.
After calling the daycare to find out what he'd been given (which as it turns out included M&Ms which have the peanut warning on them), Carter got a strange look on his face and began throwing up. As soon as Scott got home, Carter was starting to look better. But within about a 5 minute period he went back to large welps.
We took him to Vandy's walk in clinic. While there, he threw up again, became very pale and gray, and was limp in my arms. Scott went in the hall to express our need for help, and the minute the doctor saw him she turned around and told someone to call 911. Thank goodness for Scott's calm nature and reassurance. After what was already an emotional day, the quick pace response and thought of Carter needing emergency care was a bit overwhelming.
While waiting for the ambulance, they gave Carter oxygen, checked his heart rate and oxygen levels in his blood, and asked us a million questions. Carter was such a trooper! It was just so hard to see him unresponsive at times and lethargic. Throughout the ambulance ride, they continued to monitor heart rate, administered oxygen, tested blood sugar, and helped me try to keep him awake.
He was taken to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, and at that point it felt like "hurry up and wait." Thankfully, the benadryl really kicked in and he became much more himself. Carter's Aunt Ally came to wait with us which also helped perk him up a bit. :)
After seeing the doctor, Carter was given another large dose of Benadryl, steroids, and pepcid. He'll continue the steroids for 4 days along with Benadryl to be sure he doesn't relapse. In the meantime, we've been in communication with the daycare and I intend to meet with the director to talk about how we can be SURE this doesn't happen again...to Carter or any other child. Carter will also be going to an allergist next week for further testing regarding food allergies.
We are so grateful that Carter is okay! It was quite a long and somewhat traumatic experience. We are so fortunate it wasn't any worse, but we also feel compelled to help in educating others...specifically, anyone who takes care of Carter. We just don't want him to ever experience this again. :)
