So I know that this all happened over a week ago now but it was all very emotionally draining and I am finally ready to talk about it. So Wednesday the 18th we noticed that Penner was breaking out into hives all over his body and his eyes were very puffy. So I called the pediatrician on call and he told me he thought it was a prune allergy ( I had given Penner prunes for the 1st time earlier that day). He told me not to worry that it would all clear up. It did clear up for a few hours but then Penner and I were up until 4AM because he broke out again and was miserable. I called the doctor again and he assured me again that it was fine.
Saturday: So Saturday the 21st around 6PM we noticed that Penn had hives on his face and that his eyes were swollen. I changed his clothes and diapers around 7PM and noticed that the hives were all over his body. As the picture below shows. He wasn't getting any better, he was actually getting worse, so Sean and I decided to take him to the ER. This time he had only nursed all day, no new foods. On the way to the ER I called the Pediatrician on call again (it was a different doctor this time) and he told us to take him to the ER.
We got to the ER at Children's Memorial Hospital and they took us in right away. They gave Penner benadryl and he hated the taste and spit it up about 30 min later. So they gave Penner and IV ( I think I cried more than he did about the IV) and gave him more medication that way.
After the IV they said that he was having anaphylaxis and that we should give him epinephrine. Oh, how I wish I refused the epinephrine. But I was scared because the doctor told me his throat could close up any minute from this allergic reaction. Which by the way they thought was to peanuts because I ate pad thai and peanut butter and jelly. So they gave him the epinephrine in his IV, but before she put it in I had a bad feeling so I asked for the doctor to come back in, and then I asked the doctor (who was obviously annoyed with me and all my questions) about the risks of epinephrine. She assured me in this case it was necessary to give him the epi. So I agreed, still having a bad feeling before the nurse put the epi in his IV I asked her "the epinephrine goes in his IV?" She said yes and gave it to Penn. About 30 seconds later he had an awful reaction to the epinephrine ( a reaction that I can't write about b/c it is still too hard to relive). The doctor ran in put an oxygen mask on him and just waited to see if he would stabilize. By God's grace and mercy he did. The doctor told us that the epinephrine should have been injected into his leg and because it was put into his IV he got 10 times the amount that he should have had!!!! I had a breakdown at that point. Finally after monitoring heart and oxygen levels for 2 hours we got a room.
We got to the ER at Children's Memorial Hospital and they took us in right away. They gave Penner benadryl and he hated the taste and spit it up about 30 min later. So they gave Penner and IV ( I think I cried more than he did about the IV) and gave him more medication that way.
After the IV they said that he was having anaphylaxis and that we should give him epinephrine. Oh, how I wish I refused the epinephrine. But I was scared because the doctor told me his throat could close up any minute from this allergic reaction. Which by the way they thought was to peanuts because I ate pad thai and peanut butter and jelly. So they gave him the epinephrine in his IV, but before she put it in I had a bad feeling so I asked for the doctor to come back in, and then I asked the doctor (who was obviously annoyed with me and all my questions) about the risks of epinephrine. She assured me in this case it was necessary to give him the epi. So I agreed, still having a bad feeling before the nurse put the epi in his IV I asked her "the epinephrine goes in his IV?" She said yes and gave it to Penn. About 30 seconds later he had an awful reaction to the epinephrine ( a reaction that I can't write about b/c it is still too hard to relive). The doctor ran in put an oxygen mask on him and just waited to see if he would stabilize. By God's grace and mercy he did. The doctor told us that the epinephrine should have been injected into his leg and because it was put into his IV he got 10 times the amount that he should have had!!!! I had a breakdown at that point. Finally after monitoring heart and oxygen levels for 2 hours we got a room. 
Pictures of Penner sitting in his dad's chair with the clicker watching soccer in spanish. He loved it, so funny.So finally on Sunday they were going to send us home, the allergist came in to see us. They took blood work to see if it was a peanut allergy and told me I could not eat any more nuts of any kind or any fish. I guess the allergies are related a lot of times. The allergist also ordered an EKG of Penner's heart to make sure that there were no damages, again thanks be to God, his heart was strong and healthy as ever. They also did blood work of Penn's kidneys and liver to make sure there was no damage and those labs came back clear as well.
The confusing thing now is that his blood work came back and the peanut levels were really low. So we are going to a f/u appointment with the allergist in October, where unfortunately Penner will have to have a more in depth allergy test where he will have to get poked with a needle quite a few times. At this point I just want to know what Penner is allergic to so that I can protect him from it.
Picture of Penner before we leave, with a band aid over the IV spot.
Picture of Penner before we leave, with a band aid over the IV spot. So Penner is all better now, back to his happy self. I am so grateful for everyone's prayers. Realistically things could have been much worse. But God protected Penner. When people found out that Penn had an allergic reaction they were praying for him. God put Penner on my aunt and uncle's hearts and they couldn't sleep, they were praying for him all night! They didn't know he was going to have a bad reaction to the medication they were just obedient to their conviction and prayed for Penner. Through all this I feel so loved, loved by the people who care enough to pray and plead with God for us and for Penner. And so loved by God, no matter what man does to us, God is in control and He wanted Penner with us and that is why he is here. No matter how much epinephrine that nurse gave Penn, God is in control. He is in control of our every breath and this experience has made me trust God with Penner much more. I am so thankful to all of you for praying and to God for protecting Penner and for entrusting me with him.
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