2009-09-16

Here We Go Again

Yesterday was picture day at The Kid's school. So in the morning I coerced him into a Hawaiian shirt (Mommy's twisted photographic tradition), wet down his hair, attacked it with a brush, then put a little of my Molding Souffle on for good measure. I should have known better.
Shortly after recess, I got The Call from the school nurse. As the kids were coming in from outside, the teacher noticed that my child's face had broken out in welt like hives. She sent him to the nurse, who dosed him up with Benadryl, then gave me a call. I haven't done a break down of the ingredients yet this time, but I'm pretty sure that The Kid started sweating out on the playground, which gave the mousse a chance to start a contact reaction on his skin.
I've been kicking myself pretty hard for screwing this up, but I'm trying to use the incident as an opportunity to fine tune both the school's food allergy plan and The Kid's understanding of his food allergies.

The good news:
  • The teacher noticed the hives immediately and took action.
  • The day I spent camped out at the county school board offices until my child was transferred to the only nearby elementary with a full time nurse just paid off in spades.
The not so good news:
  • The teacher sent The Kid to the nurse's office accompanied by another student. If the reaction had worsened or his breathing had been impaired on the way there, there was not an adult present.
  • The Kid felt the hives, but continued playing rather than alerting an adult. I've realized that almost all the talking and planning I've done with him has been geared toward preventing a reaction, rather than how he should handle it. This is becoming more his responsibility as he gets older.
Deep breaths and constructive thoughts. That's my mantra right now. Just deal with one thing at a time, and maybe, just maybe, I'll run out of things to deal with for a few minutes. Food allergies never take a day off, and I just have that sinking feeling, here we go again...
Update: I just spoke to the school nurse, and she was standing outside the office watching The Kid walk from his classroom to see her. What he told me was correct, but incomplete. That's a relief, and my faith in the school nurse has been justified again.

1 comment:

Nicole said...

OH NO! What a nightmare! Glad he's okay and that they new how to deal with it effectively. I'll have to check my kids hair gels too! :)