March 9, 2007

Scary Day

Lil C had what appears to be a severe allergic reaction to an antibiotic she was on for an ear infection.  She started with a couple hive-like bumps on her legs.  Today, the few small hives erupted into a full fledged all out attack on her joints.  Lil C’s knees swelled to about four times their normal size.  Her wrists, fingers, ankles, and toes were swollen too.  She had hives everywhere from the top of her little head to the tops of her little feet. 

I talked to my Mom this morning and told her I was concerned.  I didn’t want to be an alarmist though so I thought I would give her a bath and see how she was.  It was when I started undressing her that I saw how much worse it had gotten in only an hour.  I immediately called the doctor, and then drove her frantically as fast as I could to the appointment. 

As the doctor asked me questions about whether or not rheumatoid arthritis or Lupus runs in our family, it was all I could do not to cry.  It was terrifying to watch her swell up so severely, so suddenly.  My Mom works for an allergist so I know how serious allergic reactions can be. 

The doctor put her on oral steroids and round the clock benadryl and we’re supposed to watch her closely over the next 48 hours.  Hopefully, an allergic reaction is all that is was and it will all go away.  Tonight, she seems much better already. 

I couldn’t help but think about the little girl Julia, whose battle with cancer I’ve been following over the past several months.  My fear and panic today is probably only a fraction of what her mother feels every single day, and has been feeling every day since her daughter first got sick.  I pray for that little girl every single night, but I’m going to make sure I remember her family in my prayers as well. 

It was an absolutely terrifying day. I hope that this ordeal is over and that we won’t have any more incidents like this ever again.

Update:  As of Sunday night, Lil C is doing much better.  Her joint swelling is pretty much gone.  We’re still dealing with an occasional hive popping up here and there, some itchy eyes, and some minor bruising under the skin where the swelling was the most severe.  But it appears that we are out of the woods for now and that is a HUGE relief.   

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Posted by on March 9, 2007 in Mental Strain for Mama | 16 Comments

Comments

16 Comments on Scary Day

  1. sizzle on Fri, 9th Mar 2007 9:50 pm

    2. that sounds very scary! i hope your ordeal is over.

  2. Stacey on Fri, 9th Mar 2007 10:29 pm

    3. I’m so glad that LilC is starting to look and feel better. My heart jumped into my throat as soon as I got through the first line. That is so scary! Hang in there BBM, I’m sure the Benadryl will do its thing and she will be better in no time.

  3. Papa Bradstein on Fri, 9th Mar 2007 10:53 pm

    4. Ugh. That’s a long, scary day. Best wishes for her continued recovery.

  4. sesame on Sat, 10th Mar 2007 2:34 am

    5. Hey, that’s really alarming! I got a fright just reading about her swellings. I can imagine your pains…
    Hope Lil C will be all up and well very soon.
    Take care!

  5. Becky on Sat, 10th Mar 2007 7:38 pm

    6. Oh, that is so scary. My son had an anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting a couple of years ago, so I know how frightening it could be. His came on fast, too. Within 15 minutes of being stung, he had hives all over his body and his eyes were swollen and burning. My heart goes out to you. I do hope Lil C is ok.

  6. Deryck on Sun, 11th Mar 2007 6:33 pm

    7. What a worrying time! How’s the Lil C doing now?

  7. Chris on Sun, 11th Mar 2007 7:22 pm

    8. Oh my gosh…that must have been so scary. I hope she’s showing some improvement…poor thing.

  8. Karl on Mon, 12th Mar 2007 8:14 pm

    9. Wow, glad everything seems to be OK.

  9. J on Mon, 12th Mar 2007 11:00 pm

    10. I think it’s these times when it’s actually worse for you than for her…she knows she itches and feels miserable, but you are wondering what it might be that is slowly (or quickly) killing her. TOO SCARY. I’m so glad she’s feeling better now. I’ll bet you are, too.

  10. Ml on Tue, 13th Mar 2007 9:46 am

    11. Oh my gosh! That’s so frightening!
    I’m glad to see that she’s doing a bit better. Thank goodness it was an allergic reaction instead of the other.

  11. junebee on Tue, 13th Mar 2007 12:50 pm

    12. Well, there’s a blood pressure jolt you didn’t need. Glad Little C is on the mend. Poor thing.

  12. Maniacal on Tue, 13th Mar 2007 2:37 pm

    13. Wow that is scary! I couldn’t even imagine how freaked I would be if that was me.
    *sigh of relief* So glad she’s doing better.

  13. Myrika on Tue, 13th Mar 2007 2:50 pm

    14. That was quite a scare! Glad to see things are going better!

  14. jody2ms on Tue, 13th Mar 2007 5:30 pm

    15. That is so scary.
    It does sound like she is out of the woods. The urticaria will continue to pop up here and there. I get like that when I eat almonds or erythromycin…my eyes swell shut and my hands get so swollen I can’t bend my fingers!
    Glad she is doing better!

  15. psumommy on Tue, 13th Mar 2007 10:01 pm

    16. Oh, my, thank goodness you know exactly what it was that caused it! Many hugs to both of you!

  16. un hive me on Mon, 23rd Apr 2007 8:05 pm

    17. Hi black belt mama
    Oh she is precious.
    I just wanted to let you know for future reference there are gentle homeopathic hives treatments for treating hives in a natural way.