We moved into our new home about two weeks ago and I was surprised at how well Simmi adapted to her new surroundings. The previous owners had two huge Irish Wolf Hounds and their hair was EVERYWHERE. We were told by them that they never let the dogs into the house since they were so big and because the owner herself was allergic, but as we came to find out…they lied. Yes, the dogs were allowed in the house and after they moved out and we took possession of the home, did we actually see the massive amount of dog hair everywhere. Not just that, but they didn’t bother to clean up the copious amounts of dog crap left in our back courtyard where Simmi will be playing.
Simmi loves laying on the old carpet in our house, and every time she lays down, out comes a rash. It doesn’t stop her though! I have to give her Benadryl daily until all the carpeting is removed.
Two days ago Simmi had a very bad day. It started at about 10:30am and just got progressively worse after that. I sat her down to eat some food in her little seat, and I went to get myself some cheese and crackers. I rarely eat food she is allergic to while she is present, but I thought to myself “she’s in her little seat, so I’ll just sit here and eat too.” WRONG! I am a huge stickler when it comes to our family walking around with snacks and foods that may drop crumbs, or things that may be on their hands. I’m always careful to make sure my son washes his hands and face after eating if he will be in physical contact with Simmi. I AM THE BIGGEST CULPRIT, and two days ago as I mindlessly ate my cheese and crackers in her presence, with Colby Jack cheese ever present on my fingers, she told me she was all done eating and I got up to check if her hands and face were a mess. DUH! Yes, MINDLESS! I got up from where I was sitting, bent down to her and with my fingers, felt her hands and face. After I touched her face, I realized that I had not washed my own hands and face. My heart started to race as I realized what I had just done, and within seconds, I saw bright red marks forming on her face. It actually looked like she got slapped across the face, with the whole palm and fingers. The rash got darker and traveled down her neck. From her hands, the welts traveled up her arms. I gave her a large dose of Benadryl, and waited a little while and put her in for a nap.
But her bad day doesn’t end there! After putting her in for a nap, she didn’t go to sleep so I took her out,
changed her and asked my son Noah to take her outside to play. He went into her room to put some shorts on her, and in another room where I was painting the walls, he starts yelling to me…then I hear Simmi start to scream. The screaming got more intense and as I ran down the hall to her room, I look in, and there is Noah and Simmi huddled on the floor in the room. What happened? The ceiling fan in her room fell, and the blade of fan hit her in the back of the head. I took her out of the room, sat her down on my lap and she just laid there crying. I began to feel her head and to make sure she wasn’t bleeding, and when I got to this large lump on the back of her head, she covered the back of her head with her hand. She didn’t want me to touch it. I sat with her for an hour, making sure she didn’t have a concussion, and while I was attending to her, Vicki and Noah cleaned up all the shattered glass that flew everywhere. They did a great job. As I sat there during that hour, all I could think about were all the times that I would lay Simmi down directly underneath the ceiling fan to change her, and more specifically that just one day prior to that event, I had given her a bath and laid a sheet down in her room, and briefly left her to get her A&D ointment. Can you imagine if that ceiling fan had fallen while she laid there naked on the sheet? I was horrified just thinking about that, and at the same time, extremely thankful that it didn’t fall where she was laying.
When the hour was up, I wanted to make sure she was walking ok since she can’t tell me if she is dizzy or not feeling well. She got off my lap and started walking around very weird. She has times where her legs don’t work right, but she was definitely walking more strange than usual. She ate about two boxes of raisins, and started to ask to go to sleep. I wanted to at least keep her up for another hour, making sure she didn’t throw up or pass out, but her whining to “go seep” was getting more incessant, so I gave in and put her to bed. She fell asleep immediately and slept through the night. The next morning I went in to make sure she was ok, and the child was in the best mood ever. She was happy and smiling and walking ok.
Her allergy to dairy is now a constant reminder to me of all the things that I can’t do with her. Even if she can’t eat food at McDonalds or Chucky Cheese, it would have been nice to be able to take her to those places to play. Kids eating cheese burgers, drinking milkshakes, fries cooked in soy oil…all of those things leave a residue on play equipment, and if she come into contact with these things, she can have a severe reaction. We now have a courtyard with a swing set she can play on, so I guess I’m gonna have to find her some girlfriends to play with at our house. And what about school? I haven’t found a solution for that problem, but she still has a few years before kindergarten starts.
Tags: Benadryl, ceiling fan falling, dairy allergy, dog allergy, Food Allergies, toddler concussion
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