A Kid With Allergies

When Headless Boy 2 was about 6 months old his doctor diagnosed him with asthma. We had a nebulizer machine delivered and we pretty much forgot about it.

For the next year or two I would have to pull it out once or twice a year or so, but started noticing a pattern. Fall was the worst, with Christmas being a close second, tapering off until mid January or so. Loratadine helped, but not much. Benadryl would help for a really bad episode, but considering that it is so strong we couldn't use it often.

Two years ago, in October, it got really bad. He was "on the machine" several times a day, and sometimes through the night. We were back and forth to the doctor. We couldn't seem to get it under control at all. It was excruciating watching my little guy and not be able to get on top of it.

One weekend Headless Dad was called out on an emergency for work and was gone overnight on a Saturday. HB2 had a particularly bad night-I don't really remember how that day was, but the night was the worst. By 2 in the morning he was on the machine every 2 hours, and getting no relief in between. After the 4am treatment I knew I couldn't wait any longer. I woke up Headless Girl and told her what was going on and that I had to take her brother to the ER. Because HB1 was asleep and still prone to wandering at night, she moved to my room and went back to sleep.

We arrived at the hospital around 5am and were almost immediately taken back to a curtain area. Doctors, nurses, and pulmonary specialists were in and out of the room for the next 5 hours or so, and he was on the machine there for much of the time. Watching his little body finally able to relax was the best moment for me. Knowing that he was getting help, and that his body was responding was just so amazing.

I did know that we weren't out of the woods, though. That was about the time that the doctor told me that they wanted to admit him until at least Monday. My heart hit the floor. I knew that I had 2 children and no husband at home. Luckily he was responding well to the treatment so I was able to convince the doctor to send us home-with a promise to bring him back if there was even the HINT of a problem.

Luckily, for the next few days there no problems, and thanks to the prednisone he was better than he had been all of the fall. By amazing coincidence we had a scheduled appointment with the allergist for that week to go over test results and get further recommendations for his continuing treatment. Without a doubt that was the best $10 copay we have ever spent. I finally understood the triggers for him. I finally understood how each medication worked and how to formulate a 'cocktail' when things got bad. I finally understood the asthma and allergies that my child had. I finally understood what it took to manage the life of a kid with allergies.