Ortler Observatory

Halloween this year turned out to be much more eventful than we planned. This year Dylan was an army guy, Ryan was a cowboy, and Jake dressed as himself with vampire teeth (scary, I know!). John took the boys out trick-or-treating.

With the boys allergies, we always cash-out their candy at our dentist’s office and then they use the money at the dollar store or for something they’ve been saving for. I also give them some safe allergen-free candy which I have here. However, they still like to dump out their stash and look at the pieces and count them. John always has a few favorites from their candy which he keeps and takes to work, so we use this time to sort out the candy for John as well.

Ryan and I were alone in the living room and we had John’s candy sorted out. I walked into the kitchen to get a ziplock bag for John’s candy. When I came back into the living room I noticed Ryan was missing, and thought it was strange. Just then he rounded the corner with a bit of a mischievous look on his face. I asked him to open his mouth and was dismayed to find a piece of candy in his mouth. I fished it out and became alarmed to discover that it was a SNICKERS bar!! Not a good thing for a boy with a severe peanut allergy!

I immediately washed his mouth out in the bathroom. He was complaining that his tongue was itchy, so I gave him a dose of Benadryl. Then I watched him, not much was happening, so I thought we had it under control. Over the course of about five minutes his back was itching a little. I took his shirt off, he developed a few hives, but nothing serious. A couple of minutes later his voice started getting a little hoarse. I started to wonder if the Benadryl was going to be enough. I began some tapping on acupressure points to help slow the reaction in his body. A couple of minutes later he started coughing. This was alarming, although he had been coughing for a few weeks (from a cold), so still not as alarming as it should have been.

I decided that the epi-pen might be in order so I went to get it. I got back to him and all of a sudden he threw up, twice! Now I’m starting to panic, it’s been about 10-12 minutes since we gave Benadryl, and about 15 minutes since he ingested part of the snickers bar. I knew I need to give the epi-pen, but am a bit nervous about this as well. What if I inject it in the wrong spot? What if I don’t hold it in his leg long enough and the medicine doesn’t get in his system? What if he has a reaction to the epinephrine? What if it doesn’t work and my baby dies?? A million thoughts are running through my mind.

I take off his pants, position him on my lap and inject the epi-pen in his thigh. He cries while I pray. Within a couple of minutes all of his symptoms start to reverse and he relaxes completely in my arms.

I clean him up (from the throwing-up), place him in his Daddy’s arms as he is now falling asleep from the Benadryl and probably the epinephrine as well. Now my next task is what to do next…this is after all the first time having to use the epi-pen. I knew that I needed to seek medical care, but wasn’t sure if I should call 9-1-1 or just take him to the ER. A quick search on the internet informs me that the epi-pen can wear off within 20 minutes. I place a quick call to the after-hours care at his pediatrician’s office, leaving my cell phone # as a call back and head to the ER with Ryan. Thankfully my pediatrician calls me back right as I pull into the parking lot. She felt that since I had given Ryan both benadryl and the epi-pen that it would be okay if we forego the ER trip and just monitor him carefully at home. She suggested he sleep in my bed and if ANY symptoms reappear to immediately call 9-1-1 or go straight to the ER.

I brought him home and put him in bed. I then did some additional research on anaphylactic reactions. I learned that up to 20% of people have a biphasic reaction (or a second reaction) that can be mild, equal, or more severe than the first reaction. It often occurs within 4-6 hours after the first reaction, but can occur up to 24 hours after the first reaction.

I stayed up until 4 hours after the incident, then crawled into bed with him by my side. About 45 minutes after I went to bed, he woke up coughing & threw up. I thought, “Oh no, he’s having a second reaction.” I flew out of bed to prepare to take him to the ER. He immediately fell right back to sleep. I cleaned him up again (from the throwing-up) and then woke him up to assess him. He was not coughing, his voice was not hoarse, he had no hives and was breathing fine. I decided not to rush him to the hospital, but closely monitor him for awhile. He had no further problems.

Monday, after school, we rushed to the dentists office as soon as possible to sell back our remaining Halloween candy. We have a peanut-free home, and I felt so much better to restore it back to its peanut- free status. While this was a frightening experience, I learned much. I will now no longer fear giving the epi-pen. I have a much better idea of how to train those who have Ryan in his care for symptom identification and treatment. I hope Ryan has learned from this experience. Needless to say….I’m already fearing next Halloween….not for the ghosts & goblins, but for the horrible “peanut monsters” that lurk behind every doorbell.

On 10/10/2010, my sister Michon & her husband Nick welcomed their first baby boy into the world. He was born at 10:10pm and had 10 fingers and 10 toes. I personally think that with all those tens, his middle name should be “Tennyson”, but they went traditional and his middle name is Nicholas after his father. We’re thrilled to have such a handsome & lucky boy as our nephew!

Here’s the article featured in the local paper detailing the event:

The number ten symbolizes greatness in judged activities. If symbols are predictors, Braden Higginson’s life will be worth watching.

Braden arrived on October 10, 2010. He was not only born on the luckiest day of the century (according to some numerologists), but maximized his future promise by arriving at 10:10 p.m.

This day happens only once a century and is claimed to be one of the luckiest days. “We will always remind him,” said Braden’s father, Nick.

This good luck came to a mother whose son was born in the same place she works. Michon Higginson is a nurse at Dixie Regional Medical Center in the mom and baby unit. “It felt weird being on the other side, but while I was there I felt like I was with family,” said Michon.

Baby Braden brings good fortune to his parents, and to a mother who will help bring babies into lucky mothers’ arms for years to come.