An EpiPen? Really?

We had a really tough day this week when Cora inexplicably broke into a rash of hives after lunch. Her face started swelling and she had hives everywhere--all around her eyes, all over her head, behind her ears, covering her stomach. She'd had an odd reaction to dinner the night before, and had broken out in her first-ever rash of hives, just two patches on her stomach, but after a call to the nurse hotline and a healthy dose of Benadryl, she was fine. We checked on her probably twenty times throughout the night and she was still fine by morning. But the next day after we met B for lunch, she fell asleep on the way home. I saw a little hive next to her eye and checked her stomach for them when I changed her diaper and put her into her pajamas. She stayed asleep through the process and snuggled down peacefully for her nap. But she awoke 45 minutes later and after I soothed her back to sleep in my arms, she sat up, hot and sweaty and literally started to break out in white dots in seconds, crying and miserable and pawing at her face. I gave her a dose of Benadryl while I called the nurse hotline again, but as I watched her face begin to swell (she hadn't had any hives on her face the night before), I basically freaked. I dialed 911 and raced over to my neighbor's house, shouting for Michelle while I waited for the ambulance. By the time the fire truck arrived 5 minutes later, the swelling was already beginning to diminish and I was a hiccuping, crying mess. I felt like an idiot with four firemen in my house and Cora looking at them with consternation, no breathing difficulty, just a spotted, slightly swollen lass saying Woof and pointing to next door to Duke, our neighborhood golden retriever. Still, as nincompoopish as I felt at the time, in retrospect I would do the same thing again. I had her in my arms out there, and my perspective was gone--I felt like the planet was misaligned and we were keening off to one side.

Luckily, whatever she was allergic to was very responsive to Benadryl. We went to the doctor that afternoon and got a prescription for an EpiPen and were referred to an asthma/allergy specialist. Now we have to wait for the tests. I have the feeling it's a severe dairy allergy that has been surfacing for awhile, but I really have no idea. Her doctor mentioned it could be a reaction to the rye in the multi-grain (wheat-free) crackers she's been eating. The other possibility is that we had lunch at a Thai place, and while she just ate crackers and cheese and a banana and some steamed broccoli, it's possible that the broccoli they made for her was tainted with a little bit of fish residue, or shellfish residue, or perhaps we kissed her too much after eating spicy food made with fish sauce. Regardless, I have never, ever felt so riled nor so thankful in such a short period of time.

It is scary and strange to carry around an EpiPen wherever we go. I have been talking with my friends who have children with allergies, trying to figure out if her reaction sounds similar to any they've seen. Of course, it's also possible that she was fighting a virus of some kind, but it seems unlikely b/c she didn't have any other symptoms--no fever, no runny nose, nothing else except this severe reaction shortly after her meals. However, it's two days later and she is teething and woke up a cold. I'm not sure there's anything more cute nor sad that her crumpled up little frowning face while she sneezes long rivers of goo out of her nose, then looks up at us and says "Booooo."