Perspective and Blood Test
Since Tristan reacted positively to hazelnuts in a skin prick test and he’d developed a skin rash after eating almonds and walnuts, his allergist recommended he undergo an IgE blood test. We made an appointment at the children’s hospital, but of course still had to wait. Thankfully this place knows kids. They were playing a Disney movie on monitors around the waiting room. Makes waiting with kids a breeze – love that. However, waiting at the children’s hospital can be quite sad and at the same time offers a bit of a reality check. It’s really hard to see any child suffer. They are so innocent and I wish we could protect them from all the illnesses of the world. Most of the kids waiting to have their blood tested looked healthy, but there were a few with diabetes bracelets. I’m not sure if it was genetic or their diet that caused them to be dietetic, but I was really sad seeing those kids. Like children with food allergies, they’ll have to watch what they eat their entire lives as what they eat could kill them, but they also could have serious complications leading to transplant waitlists and so on. There was also a sweet, little baby girl, barely conscious and being pushed around by a nurse in her stroller. She hadn’t yet turned one and was hooked up to an oxygen mask. My heart went out to her parents. My sister was hospitalized for months in intensive care with a life threatening form of the croup. I can imagine what they went through after hearing my parent’s stories. Those of us dealing with asthma and food allergies have been in the emergency room, some more times than they can count. I cringe at the memories of seeing our little guy in the ER. They are just so young and so fragile in those moments. Dealing with eczema, allergies and asthma is hard and can certainly be life threatening, at least with the latter two. But, as parents dealing with these conditions we are prepared with our moisturizers, EpiPens, and inhalers. It makes us feel safe, although far from invincible. I am thankful that I am prepared and that the doctors have educated me and I have educated myself, over and over again on Tristan’s conditions.
Anyway, the whole hospital visit put our situation in perspective. Yes, I remember Tristan’s worst days and emergency room visits, but now he’s on the road to recovery and I am beyond grateful.
Perspective is a good thing.
(1/25/2012: Submitted to Allergy-Free Wednesday’s Blog Hop. Check it out!)
So glad Tristan is doing well now. =)
I feel bad for my mom, she had to make ER trips for me with my horrible asthma when I was younger… and then with my brother had to practically live in the hospital while he had multiple surgeries for a birth defect… But at the same time she was lucky because he eventually made an almost full recovery and my asthma and allergies became less serious as I grew older. Now we both live normal lives and haven’t been to the hospital in ages!
I am lucky that my daughter didn’t inherit my eczema, allergies, and asthma, but there is always the chance that the one we have on the way will. I don’t know how likely it is, but I inherited it from my dad, so I always fear that it will happen!
Hi Camille –
Thanks for the support! It does sound like your parents went through a lot – what an emotional time for them. I’m sure glad you and your brother are doing really well now. And I can understand how you must be anticipating your daughter developing something. It is possible, but it’s not a definite by any means. My second child is completely free of anything – so we’re thrilled, as both my husband and I have allergies and I have allergic induced asthma too.
Would you be interested in being a guest blogger? I’d love for your to share your story on your memories of your ER trips for asthma and maybe how you felt growing up with the condition and looking back now. I think it’s really helpful for parents to know truly how their kids feel and know that they’ll grow up to be wonderful adults despite all the worries they had to go through when younger.
Let me know if your interested.
Jennifer
Thanks for the reassurance. =) Sure, I could try to remember everything and figure out what ages I was and all that. I’ll have to talk to my mom about it!
Let me know! I’m sure all the parents would love to hear from a kids point of view.
Food allergies along with other children’s illnesses are so hard to watch. I know what you mean about what you see when you are in the doctor’s office waiting to be seen. It tears my heart out with each specialist’s office we visit 🙁
Ugh, yes, it’s so sad! But these kids are so amazingly resilient! They are incredible and strong.
I rememeber feeling the same way when my son was in the NICU for a night when he had an infection…how even as sick as he was, he wasn’t near as bad off as those 2 pound babies surrounding us…thanks for sharing!
Hi Tessa – yes, we always have something to be grateful for.
Thanks for sharing this at Allergy-Free Wednesdays. I’m right there with you. I feel that it’s only by the grace of God that my son is still with us.
“Perspective is a good thing.” So true, It is helpful for me to look at old pictures and see how far we’ve come. Sometimes I forget!
I do too! My husband is often reminding me what the bad days were like. Maybe we choose to block out those dark times.