Don't Freak Out, Mom!

Two trips to the hospital inside one month's time. One trip for each child and a broken bone for the hubs as well.

Here is the teenager who just smiled as I said, "I bet your foot isn't even broken" as we waited for the doctor to assess the damage. I continued on with "What will you give me if I win this bet?" I teased that he will have to admit that it broke after his motorbike fell on him as he hit the exit wall leaving the track instead of executing some awesome, gnarly 30 foot jump. He grinned again and shrugged. This is when I just want to absorb his healthy self acceptance.

And another smile is what he gave me, after the doctor told him that, yes, there is a fracture, and, no, you cannot keep riding your motorbike while you wait for it to heal.  I do love the gentle and silent ways this teen has of communicating, 'I told you so, mom!' He did ask me what I was going to give him for winning the bet. A kiss on the check is what he got. He has an unfathomable supply of patience with me.

 

Also this month we learned that Luke is STILL - and will likely always be - allergic to peanuts. It all started with my beloved book club's annual Christmas party and the innocent sharing of homemade baked goods. Luke managed to eat the ONE cookie I brought home that was made with peanut butter. I failed to ask before leaving if anything contained peanuts...why would and how could the parent of a child with an allergy forget to ask? There isn't a number for how many times I've asked myself this.  Completely, entirely and wholly MY fault. Diligence. It's obviously an area I need work. Years have gone by since the boys have ingested peanuts. Complacency. There is just no room for this when you are the parent of children with a life threatening allergy. I've chastised myself plenty over this and remain in awe of the One who offers mercy and grace...simply, mindblowingly amazing. It also helps that Luke was forgiving.

 

In short, here's how upset Luke's body was about the allergen:

- scratchy back of the throat - he said it felt like sandpaper every time he swallowed

-swollen lower lip

-lethargy and giant sense of feeling unwell

-vomiting until the body was COMPLETELY empty

-red angry welts over his entire trunk, and the warmest places; face and neck, armpits, waistline, back of the knees

I did pull the epiPen out of my purse and was poised to use it but never did because the volume with which Luke cried and protested the use of the epi proved he was breathing just fine. So eventually off to the hospital we went for an oral dose of steroids to calm the reaction.

 

Some of you may notice there is an IV in his arm in the above photo which doesn't jibe with the oral dose part of the story.

 

This is because after being given meds and signing discharge papers, on our way back through the lobby just inside the exit doors Luke passed out. But he didn't pass out gracefully like people do in the movies - he swayed and staggered with rubbery legs and had the glossiest, zombiest eyes wide open stare you've ever seen. Even the one lone woman in the waiting room came over and said, "Oh his eyes!" Thinking that he was seizing or dying, I resort to panic and sheer overreaction, much to my 13 year old's chagrin, as I caught Luke, crumpled to the floor and yelled for someone to HELP ME! Dawson assures me that the hospital staff acted swiftly though to me it seemed an eternity. Luke was loaded onto a gurney and ushered back inside while I apologized to everyone I saw for my reaction to the but-it-really-WAS-a-zombie-like fainting spell. I caught some rolled eyes as I trudged through the thick, polite but uncomfortable smiles and silence from the staff while I envisioned them rewinding the security tape to huddle around and "come watch this crazy mom, guys!" I'm pretty sure this was karma for all the times I've griped about Luke's dramatic antics. Anyway, he was given intravenous fluids and ordered to eat a hospital meal - even though the physician wondered aloud how hospital food could make anyone feel better. LOL. It was never determined why he passed out. It has been determined that we will seek to avoid peanuts with renewed vigor.

 

And not to be left off the injury list for the month, in a rush while fighting for space inside a 6'x8' freight elevator on the way down 8 Penthouse flights for a high end holiday event, Tim managed to drop a sound system speaker on his foot, breaking his left big toe. No hospital for him, just a mere doctor's visit. There are x-rays around here somewhere as proof...