Allergic

Yesterday, we found out that Andrew has a peanut allergy.  And we found out the hard way.

I smeared a little peanut butter on a quarter of a wheat bun for him at lunch.  He loved it...thought it was, quite literally, lip-smackin' good.  But within two minutes, he started crying and began to break out with red blotches all over his face and neck and chest.  Then, the blotches filled in with hives.  He even had hives on his thumbs and index fingers, where he had pushed the peanut buttery bread into his mouth.  Then, his eyes started to swell and turn red.  And he vomited.  This was all SO fast...maybe four minutes total from the time he ate the peanut butter.  I called 911 and then I called Jacob to tell him to come home.  I've never been so thankful for his 5-block commute (and his track star past).  He beat the paramedics to our apartment!  Andrew had his first ambulance ride to the emergency room of the local children's hospital, and, despite his ailments, loved the up close experience with the sirens he hears go by all day and night.  10 hours of observation later, and we were released with prescriptions for Benadryl, steroids, and an Epi-Pen that we've been told to treat like an extra bodily organ...everywhere Andrew goes, the Epi-Pen goes.  We've been warned that this first reaction will be the mildest.  That further reactions are almost certain to involve respiratory distress.   That he may be so allergic that he can't even be around peanuts.  It's got us good and scared.

We'll be seeing a pediatric allergist soon to find out the extent of the little guy's allergy/allergies.  In the meantime, I'm scouring the Web for information and my pantry for allergens.  If you have any resources to recommend, please let me know.  If you'd put this on your prayer list, too, I'd be eternally grateful.

So, how's Andrew doing today?  Today, he's back to eating sticks.  And it's quite wonderful.