A Case of Unofficially Diagnosed Weirdness

     Here’s an update for my family and friends that live far away and close by. Plus for all those wonderfully supportive people that live in cyber space.  

     First off, I cannot express in words how impressed I am, again, with the care we receive. Every time we are in need of care, help or answers, we get exactly that. I am aware of all the horror stories that are out there about negligence, lack of care, and how unaffordable it can be. My family has yet to have a negative experience. My kids are fortunate to have such a caring team behind team, rooting for them and trying to figure them out.

     After the scary allergic reaction my son had, we all felt strongly it could have been caused by the medication he recently started. In order to make sure, we would have to try it again. Since his reaction was delayed (5 days after his injection) it was important for him to be monitored closely in a controlled environment.

     And so we did, off to Calgary we went again. The plan was to check in, bring in an IV, in case a severe reaction occurred, and then my son was to administer his shot of humira. It took a couple of tries , but the IV was in at the third attempt. Hart was monitored and his oxygen levels checked. An epi pen was ready to be used and a big bag full with scary meds was ready, just in case it was needed.

IV is in!

     It was explained to me that once a severe allergic reaction has occurred, the next time the reaction may be faster or more intense. Good to know but not too reassuring! On top of that, my kids have a compromised immune system. Their system is already overactive and the course a reaction can take is not predictable and differs from what is the norm.  If you add the meds my son is on to the mix, it makes it nearly impossible to predict what course this will take or what even triggered it. (I'm somewhat convinced his reaction was delayed and was so slow in its' progression because his prednisone use had taken off the edge of the full blown reaction, but that's just my laymen opinion.) 

     Since my girl is responding so wonderful to Humira, the doc wanted to make sure whether or not it was the Humira that caused this, before we decided to stop using it.

     So…there we go, shot is in and the waiting begins. Every 4 hours vitals checked, checked for any sign of a reaction, fever, blood pressure, the works.

bells  and whistles  

     I am happy to say we did not see a reaction. I am also sad to say we did not see a reaction. I’m glad we can give Humira another try (the way it looks now: we have had 48 hours without a reaction, but the last time it was 5 days before something showed up, so we are not totally out of the woods yet). 

We received training for “how to use an epi pen” and were discharched.

     But now what?

     We will have to consult an allergist to see if we can find out more. The doc forewarned me that we may never find out. That doesn’t sit well with me because I would like to know so we can help prevent future reactions.

There is something beautiful to see everywhere, just look for it!
This is the view from our hospital room.

     For now, my son has to go everywhere with his epi pen. That will take some time to get used to, but no more risks like this for him. It seems to be an unofficially diagnosed case of Weirdness yet again.

To be continued