Peter Piper.

March 2010 is officially hospital month.

On Wednesday night, we went to my in-laws house to celebrate St. Patty’s Day with the traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner (ever the finicky eater, I enjoyed hot dogs and macaroni and cheese with my 5 year old nephew).  Deane was still battling a nagging cough that’s been around for a few weeks, so when he started cough/choking at the table, I didn’t think much of it.  The cough was initiated by a bite of…pepper relish, home canned and brought to dinner by a family friend who was enjoying the festivities with us.  I have a super sensitive spice palate, so I wasn’t going anywhere NEAR this stuff, but Deane downed a solid couple tablespoons.  We finished dinner, hung out a bit, and headed home.

When we got home and got ready for bed, Deane’s cough was so persistent that he couldn’t catch his breath and was starting to get sick.  I frantically brought him water and a cold washcloth, since he was getting super hot.  I also speed dialed my mother in law, a nurse and my saving grace at times like these (also always totally helpful and the reason I am never sick for more than a day -- she has the best advice and the best meds!).  While I was on the phone with her, Deane started scratching frantically and said he felt like something was biting him everywhere.  I almost dropped the phone when I looked at him – bright red face, swelling, hives everywhere – not a good scene.  We jumped in the truck and I high-tailed it to the ER as fast as I could (which ended up being barely over the speed limit, since it was a drinking holiday, and there were crazy drivers everywhere, and it was RAINING, and I had on my glasses that are about 3 prescriptions old…).  We finally got there and got him checked in, and he was seen almost immediately.  He was given a shot of epinephrine, which stopped the swelling and returned him to normal skin color almost immediately.  A few IV’s and a few hours later, we were released with a handful of prescriptions and direction to get the one for an Epi-Pen filled as soon as possible – Deane is also allergic to bee stings, and after seeing him have this reaction, you can bet that I do NOT want to be speeding to the hospital EVER again.

As we talked to the doctor and tried to figure out what the reaction was to, we realized that the only thing Deane had eaten or been exposed to out of the norm was the pickled pepper relish.  We determined that this must have been the culprit, and he is on a BLAND FOODS ONLY diet for as long as I can hold him to it (which probably won’t be long). 

Being in the ER is terrifying and horrible, and I was so so scared when Deane was having a hard time breathing – I felt so helpless!  We are going to really be focusing on taking care of ourselves and having NO MORE hospital visits in 2010.