Image by alexis22578 via Flickr

They were going away as we walked in the door, but it wasn’t wholly evident to me. By the time Levi was laid up in the bed, there was a considerable difference. After an hour, the Zyrtec finally kicked in. Once back home, I just collapsed into the couch. My husband handed me a glass of wine, similarly sized to the one I had earlier in the evening. I finished it in minutes. I’m now nursing the second glass he gave me. A nice Spanish table wine. My husband is expanding my wine tastes, and testing me on my sophistication.

What a day! Woke up late, twice. Couldn’t find some essentials to start the day, skipped the coffee, decided to run an errand only to find the store wasn’t open, while Levi tested his free range boundaries. Work was unhurried, which was a great bonus. We went to the party, and my dear boy had to go potty. He doubled over and said his tummy hurt after we were there for about twenty minutes. The first visit to the potty wasn’t what we were looking for, but the second was. Lordy it was a big successful poop. And, you know what? The boy felt much better afterwards.

Image by alexis22578 via Flickr

The festivities and celebrations were now in order. Levi sat nicely while folks chatted and remembered. But, I noticed he had red spots around his face. The expectation was that I would present the gift. Sorry folks, not tonight, Levi and I have to venture to the car. We walked the minute walk, grabbed the Zyrtec bag and I dosed him with the max, 2 tsp. After a few minutes, they were not stopping but progressing. His ears were bright red and very irritating to the small fry. And, the hives were centered around his bottom, brightly, and his face/neck.

I told my coworker, who I was giving a ride home, that we needed to go. I didn’t even grab the things I brought. We just left. {It’s now time for glass #3 while home and #4 for the evening.} I told my colleague that if they diminished en route, we would head home, otherwise it was the teaching-hospital ER.

Image by alexis22578 via Flickr

Thankfully, at the 7 o’clock hour, traffic headed east is mostly home, so not in our way. Thankfully the hospital is a children’s hospital, so we got a room right away, since the hives hadn’t really diminished to a comfortable level. Thankfully I know the way since it’s now my hospital of choice. Thankfully we have an ER copay that is quite manageable.

We were there for two hours. I was reassured in my choice to bring him by the attending staff. It’s such a condundrum… what if the medicine doesn’t make them go down. What if they get worse and it turns into anaphylaxes? It’s not a what if I am comfortable risking, so I vote for the hospital. We learned some new things. There is a different drug from Zyrtec and Benadryl that could be more effective. And, we’re chasing the hives, which we’ll have to do with the primary care physician. So, I suppose, a follow up is in order.

I love my Levi bug. I love that he loves other kids… but it’s these stressors that make me convinced the bug will be an only bug.

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