One of the Scariest Days of My Life

How We Found Out

July 23rd, 2011 is a day I will never forget.  It almost ranks up there with my wedding day and the day my children were born.  It started like any other day.  My husband was working (out of town) and Gavin and I were enjoying our day.  It was time for lunch and it was one of those days where you don't have a specific thing for lunch, so I made Gavin something different and I made myself a peanut butter and banana sandwich, an Elvis favorite!  Gavin of course decided to be a difficult two year old and insisted on not eating his lunch, but wanted mine.  I had my reservations, but decided, "hey, why not!"  BIG MISTAKE! I gave him a bite and it was almost instantaneous.  He began to vomit.  At first I thought it was just the texture that he was having difficulty with and he was gagging. So I called my husband and in a very calm voice I said, "honey, I think we may be having a slight emergency over here. I think Gavin is having a reaction to peanuts, he is vomiting."  My wonderful husband then suggested I put Gavin in the car, go to Walgreens, and get some Benadryl.  WHAT! I told him that he was throwing up everywhere and there was NO WAY I could put him in the car and go to Walgreens. So he suggested putting a call into the doctor.  Well of course it was a Saturday, so I had to wait until the on call doctor returned my call.  So I did what all mothers do and started googling!  Right away I found the symptoms of a peanut allergy and one was vomiting.  Oh crap, this is really happening!  So, I decided to put him on my lap and take him down to the neighbor's house.  Maybe she would know what to do.  Well it turned out that she wasn't home, but her husband and 3 year old were.  I took Gavin inside and told him everything that was happening and he suggested calling 9-1-1.  I told him no that I was waiting on the doctor to call me back.  In the meantime Gavin is getting sick in their kitchen, his breathing is getting worse, and his daughter was very scared.  Smart Stacey!  The doctor finally called back and suggested calling 9-1-1 and going to the hospital.  What a novel idea!  So my neighbor called 9-1-1 and we waited, and waited, and waited.  I am not sure how long we waited, but it felt like an eternity!  They got there and I felt like I was on an episode of ER,  I was spouting all of Gavin's history at them.  One thing is for sure I felt like NO ONE was moving fast.  They got his vitals and then moved him into the ambulance.  Once in the ambulance things didn't move any quicker, but he thankfully was done vomiting and his breathing was starting to get better.  I thought they should load us up and start driving right?  I am here to tell you that is NOT the way things work on an ambulance.  Gavin and I are laying on the stretcher with 2 or 3 EMT's surrounding us.  My phone is ringing off the hook. (Rick of course was scared to death and I am not answering.) They are trying to get an IV started and having terrible luck.  Someone else was doing a breathing treatment and I felt like I was about to pass out.  It was all too much for me, but I kept telling myself if you pass out then either A) they are going to have to ignore you or B) stop working on your son to wake you up.  So I got myself back together and finally it was time to go.  We arrived at the hospital where he saw lots of doctors, received some Benadryl and a shot of adrenaline, and more breathing treatments. He was starting to act like my son again.  He was ready to GO! Nothing too exciting happened at the hospital.  We spent some time in the ER and then it was decided that he needed to be admitted for overnight watch.  Gavin watched HOURS and HOURS of Toy Story 1, 2, and 3.  It is hard to believe I am not sick of them! The next morning they did a blood test, we later found out it was called a RAST test, to confirm if he in fact had a reaction to peanuts.  When we got his results back it was confirmed that he in fact had the dreaded peanut allergy and would need to carry Epi pens and Benadryl with him at all times. It was one of the scariest days of my life and I have made it my mission to NEVER let it happen again.