My Idol

Last night, post dinner festivities, I noticed that my daughter was breaking out in hives. She had complained that her ear was itching earlier in the day, and I should have known something was up when she kept asking to have her back scratched. I tried not to freak out, but failed miserably. We tried to identify a food source that may have caused it, but couldn't. I did what any rational (read: irrational) mother would do, and I plopped her in the shower. I then covered her head to toe with Eucerin calming cream and hydrocortisone. I gave her Benadryl, and then I started to worry.

She got freaked out because I was freaked out and we debated taking her to the hospital. I was worried because the hives were centered around her eyes, her ears and neck and were starting to trail down her torso. I finally called the doctor. The on-call doc thought she would be fine, ordered another dose of Benadryl and to keep her cool.

I only checked on her 2-3 times during the night, of which I am proud.

When my daughter got up this morning, the hives were worse. Her other eye was almost swollen shut and she looked like she had gone a few rounds with Mohammed Ali. The hives were all over her body, right down to her hands and feet. I got her in with the doctor and then waited around for the appointment. Of course, I dosed her with Benadryl in the meantime.

The diagnosis is not hives, but Erythemia Multiforme. It is an immune hyperresponse, probably to the cold she had over the weekend. There is no treatment and the red spots can last weeks.

As a female, this is where I start to get concerned. How do I take her out in public like that? How do I send her to school? What if the other kids make fun of her?

She was concerned about it too. We had a conversation about it:

"Mom, will I still have these spots when I go back to school?"

"You probably will."

"What if my teacher won't let me stay in class and sends me to the nurse?"

I told her I would let the nurse know and she seemed content with that. She is not contagious, it's just her body over-reacting (I know, it's a shock that my kid would over-react about something).

As the afternoon progressed, the "hives" on her face are getting worse and worse. Her spirits are fine and she's a little trooper. Then, came the moment of truth: she looked in the mirror. I was afraid she was going to be upset.

"O! M! G!"

I waited, my heart ready to break.

"I am soooo cute!"

I hope someday to be as confident as my six year-old.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Life Was Changed By A Standard Comma

Image
Last night I was having a conversation with a friend about those missed opportunities in a Sliding Doors (if you've never seen the Gwenyth Paltrow movie , you really need to check it out) sort of way. You know, one small interaction can drastically change the outcome of a situation. Then, I posted a funny meme on my author page about commas. Way back in the day, I was taught to use the standard comma, as illustrated above. Only recently, when trying to name my book, Jump, Jive, and Wail , did I, at the advice of my author posse, start using the Oxford comma. After looking at this meme, I realized that the standard comma changed my life. Way back in 1997, when I was still in college, Congress passed this thing called the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. A lot of people probably don't remember it. I do, because it hit along with a major reform in insurance reimbursment. As a result of the BBA, there was a spending cap put on, amongst other things, outpatient therapy services t
Read more

This Is My Last Post

Image
This is my last post ... while I'm in my 30s. Tonight, while I sleep, before the cats and my bladder wake me up, I'll turn forty. I'm not thrilled. I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that age is a number. However, as I battle wrinkles, acne, and gravity, not to mention stiff joints and terrible eyesight, sometimes I feel like age is a real thing. On the other hand, about five or six years ago, I was sick and the doctors didn't know what was wrong. I was tested for tons of things, including myeloma and lymphoma. One doctor thought I may have a form of vasculitis that only had an 80% 5 year survival rate. I remember thinking that there was a 20% chance I wouldn't see forty. Luckily for me, that's not what it was, and I'm alive and kicking. So, rather than focus on the negative, I'm going to think about the great things that have happened over this last decade. I do have to give my mom props for starting off my 30th year with a surpris
Read more

Miss Chick Lit

Image
In order to celebrate International Chick Lit month, my latest main character has found herself entered in the Miss Chick Lit 2015 contest. She's not the most girly of girls, so this should be interesting. Read on to see how she represents herself, and for a chance to win a prize yourself! Hi, my name is Kaitlin Reynolds, and I'm representing the great state of, um, New York. No, Utah. Oh crap, I live in Michigan now. I'm representing the great state of Michigan. I'm a twenty-nine year-old former ski jumper who now spends her time pining after unavailable Olympic figure skaters. My dream is to one day improve the real estate market in Detroit so I can sell my condo. Oh, and world peace. For my entry in the swimsuit compet--wait, I've got to put on a swimsuit for this thing? No one told me that. Nuts. You see, I'm a former athlete who may or may not have let herself go since an injury stopped her competitive career. This is going to be tough. I mean, I l
Read more