An Ambulance Ride

This week has been a blur.  Gracie enjoyed spending Monday and Tuesday at daycare.  Wednesday was the start of our craziness.

On Wednesday morning Gracie got up and was just fine.  She went to daycare, got on the school bus just fine and it was the start of a normal day.  As she was riding to school on the bus, the bus driver looked back at her and saw that she was in distress, he called to the para-professional that rides the bus with her and she came to check on Gracie.  She was going into anaphylaxis - she couldn't swallow, was having trouble breathing, and hives were beginning to develop on her body.  The bus was very close to the local high school, the very high school where the school nurse who trains staff on Gracie's emergency plans was present.  They pulled in, the nurse took over and called me immediately.  She administered one of the epi pens we keep in Gracie's back pack, they called 911 for an ambulance and I headed to the E.R. to meet her there.  The epi injector didn't resolve the issue.  Epi pen #2 was administered.  Gracie was starting to stabilize by the time the ambulance crew arrived.  The school nurse (bless her heart) rode in the ambulance with Gracie and called me to let me know she was crying (a very good sign) and was quite upset (another good sign) and that they were 4 minutes from the ER.  I was close to the ER and arrived 4 minutes before the ambulance did so I could answer alot of their questions about her before she arrived.  Jeff arrived just as they were rolling Gracie into the E.R.  She was crying loudly and holding tightly to a bright purplish-pink teddy bear given to her by the ambulance crew.  Gracie and the bear that she has named "teddy" have become fast friends. 

In the E.R., they gave her some steroids, Benadryl, and Zantac and that is where we hung out for the next 7 hours as they observed her to make sure there was no ricochet reaction after the epinephrine wore off.  Do you know how creative you have to be to keep a 4 year old occupied in a small ER room for 7 hours???  We sang, we danced, we bounced, we watched Mickey Mouse, and thankfully she slept for a while too.  Gracie is doing well, although she is on a high dose of Benadryl every six hours for 48 hours, so she is exhibiting some traits of two of the seven dwarfs:  Sleepy and Grumpy.  We'll take it. 

We know Gracie has a tree nut allergy, but all food consumed has checked out fine.  We're pretty sure the allergen was on the bus and we may never know what it was.  Someone could have had a nut oil in their sunscreen, shampoo, or lotion, or it could be a new allergy altogether.  Her allergist (whose calendar is booked until the end of May) made a slot to see her on Tuesday afternoon, so we'll connect with him then. 

I stayed home with Gracie yesterday and Jeff is home with her today.  She did make a trip into the clinic to have one of her eyes checked.  I was concerned that is was scratched or that she was having issues with it due to her seizure meds (that can be a nasty side effect), but both checked out fine and we think it is just a continuation of the virus she had a week or so ago.  

Gracie's new teacher and speech pathologist are going to come to our house this afternoon to visit with Gracie.  I think that will be well received.

I think we are all a little exhausted and are looking forward to a nice sunny and relaxing weekend. 

We are feeling very blessed that Gracie was in the care of those who knew her emergency plan and acted on it perfectly.  I have many thank you notes to write!

Have a great weekend.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and our precious Gracie