For years my Zoe girl has taken Singulair, Flonase and Zyrtec.....and I do mean literally years. Between the asthma issues and the allergy issues, she has taken LOTS of meds over the years to say the least. Anyway, Zoe spiked a fever not too long ago and I took her in to see her pediatrician, Dr. Nancy Beveridge. She took one look at Zoe and said she just wasn't okay with what she was seeing. She said Zoe was very impacted and irritated in her sinuses and that she had constant drainage down her throat, which was making her throat red and irritated. While she's telling us all of this, all I can think about is how I should win the award for Mother of the Year because I've been getting onto Zoe for her incessant throat clearing! Geez! She says we need to go see an allergist and that it might be time for Zoe to start getting some "allergy hee hees." Funny how doctors try not to say shots now, isn't it? She refers us over to Dr. Dan Sanders and when I call his office, he immediately gets us in for the first time Zoe can see him while being off her antihistamines (the Zyrtec).
I have to admit that I really liked Dr. Sanders. I mean, Dr. Beveridge had bragged on him and said they actually went to high school together, but when meeting him and actually speaking with him I realized she wasn't just being biased. He was so kind and actually pulled up a chair to speak with me at great length about Zoe. He took down all sorts of information, asked me all sorts of questions, examined Zoe (whom he promptly started calling "Miss Z") and then gave me his recommendations. He said he wanted to allergy test her if I was okay with it. I had prepared myself for this (I've had it done myself) and had been preparing Zoe for it, too. I just don't believe in springing surprises like that on your child when you can talk about it and at least let them be prepared. So, it was off to have the testing done. I elected to have Zoe have the scratch test done down her back because I think it's torture for a four year old to sit there with scratches down both forearms and know that she can't touch it or scratch it for 20 minutes. This was what she looked like after the first test, which was the scratch test with 30 items (ouch):
Because of her reactions to certain items, he wanted to do some skin testing on her. I knew that would probably happen because, again, I've had it done before. The skin test amounts to an injection under the skin down the top part of your arm. First, they did the right arm and this is what she looked like.....
I felt horrible for Zoe. It's bad enough to have the first part done, but the second part was torture. There is simply no way to prepare your child for it (or you) because I had to hold her while they did it 12 under the skin pricks. She just screamed and cried and after a minute had passed, asked to go back to the play room. Poor kid. It was like she was going to block it out, but Dr. Sanders had told me that kids were like that when getting the testing done.
After the results of those tests, Dr. Sanders gave me the option to leave with Zoe and come back another day for more testing (he wanted to do 15 more under the skin tests on her other arm) or we could go ahead and get it done. I opted to go ahead and get it done. I mean, that's just torture to leave and then have to come back. Plus, my girl is smart and would be fretting over it. This is what she looked like after the third and final time.....
I felt awful for her! While they were doing the third round, the nurse stopped and grabbed tissues for me because I was just crying. I was trying to hide it from Zoe, but tears were literally streaming down my cheeks. When she finished I told her I hoped that was all the testing they were planning to do EVER because I couldn't take it again. She assured me there would be no more testing for Zoe, which made me happy. Needless to say, my girls is allergic to LOTS of stuff, but it's all mainly environmental allergens such as dust and dust mites (HIGHLY ALLERGIC), molds (HIGHLY ALLERGIC), some pollens, weeds, trees, shrubs, etc. They gave me the results and let me be on my way with my first appointment for Zoe's allergy shot the following Thursday. And, yes, the poor child has to get allergy shots once per week! Again....OUCH!
This was my girl after her first shot! Notice, there are no tears or anything! She has had three shots since then and has done great each time. She looks forward to it, gets her shot, we sit for 20 minutes and hang out to make sure she doesn't have a reaction to it, and then we're on our way! She is so awesome and I'm so freakin' proud of her for being so brave! She literally doesn't bat an eye at it!
Yes, her lips and teeth are blue from her sucker, but who cares! And by the way, Mark and I are pretty clean people (or so I thought). I mean, we're clean freaks (or so I thought), but apparently we aren't clean enough! Having a child highly allergic to environmental allergens will teach you how you should clean your house! And we have noticed a huge difference since discovering new cleaning techniques and since she has started the shots! I just want to praise the good Lord that this is the only issue we have to deal with because we are truly blessed. I don't know if it's age, hormones, being a mother or what, but I constantly hear of children being diagnosed with cancer, etc., and it literally breaks my heart. So, if allergies and asthma are what we have to deal with.....we'll take it! Thank you God!
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