Allergist Appointment

**Warning--this is long**

We went to the Asthma and Allergy clinic in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. It's more than a 2 hour trek up there, and this time, I was blessed to have Sarah and my...er...her boys accompany Savannah and me. That drive is SO much easier with company.

My appointment was originally for 10 am. Sarah made an appointment up there at a different doctor for 10:30. THEN, my Dr called and changed my appointment to 11:00. So, I arrived a little more than an hour early. Thankfully, they had a TV and we watched Olivia until it was our turn. The nurse came out and said, "We don't do blood testing here anymore, and we're not sure if your insurance will cover it at our lab, so you may have to get blood taken at the base." Um, what? Blood testing is the entire reason I drove 2 hours up here! Inhale....exhale...

The Dr came shuffling in (on a walker...he'd had back surgery) and we started talking. He asked me some of the same questions he'd asked last time. I told him I had taken her off of peanuts, chocolate, and high fructose corn syrup. To which he replied, "Why didn't you just ask her to stop breathing?" HA! He tells me she needs the blood testing and also to be tested for IgE. I'm not sure exactly what that means. Evidently, if she has high levels of IgE, she can get injections monthly to keep her body from being so reactive to allergens. I need to research that a little more. He asked his nurse if my insurance would cover blood testing at OU Physicians, and she said yes, so off we go.

We got to the lab, and I was so nervous. Last time they tried to get blood, they couldn't. I have driven all the way up here, and I was really praying they were going to be able to get it. Plus, just the thought of holding her down so they could get the blood was giving me the shakes. Sarah was very calming. It was close to lunch, and we were starving! While we were waiting, I was looking at the foods that they were going to test for, and I said, "Man, I should have told him this." (I don't remember what it was). So, Sarah says, "Circle it!" So I circled about 5 more things....about 15 minutes later, I realized the Dr has a copy of that paperwork. Oh well....hopefully they won't realize it. :)

They called us back, and told us that they were making sure which tubes to use since they were testing for so many things. They came in, rubbed alcohol on her arm (right over her eczema...ouch!) and stuck the needle in. Savannah was screaming, and pulling, but the other nurse and I had a good hold on her, and praise the Lord, they got the vein on the first stick. They only took two vials. I was thinking it was going to take like 10! We left and went to Cheesecake Factory! Yum! That always makes the drive worth it.

The drive home was interesting. At one point, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw blue and red flashing lights right on my tail! AUGH! I looked down and was only doing 80..which is only 5 miles over the speed limit. I started shaking, and got over....thankfully, he obviously had bigger fish to fry and sped past me. Whew. Crisis one diverted....and speed lowered to 78.

Then, about 10 minutes later, I glanced back at Savannah, and she was rubbing her eyes. Not unusual...they itch, and she was tired. But I kept watching her and she started acting funny. I told her to look at me (I was still watching the road...don't worry) and she wouldn't. She would turn her head to my voice, but she wouldn't open her eyes. I alerted Sarah (who, thankfully was talking to her mom...an RN) and she tried to get Savannah to look at her. Mason finally got her to open her eyes a little, but they were rolled back in her head. I heard Sarah say, "Mom, she's not acting right." and I slowed down and put the hazards on and pulled over. I got out, got Savannah out. She was standing, but not talking or opening her eyes. Sarah's mom said to flush her eyes. The only water we had was ice cold, and Sarah filled her hand and rubbed it all over her face. It was like a light turned on. She opened her eyes and said, "That's better..thank you Miss Sarah!" Very scary. We don't know if the water flushed her eyes, or if the coldness woke her up from a passing out feeling. Crisis two diverted....and closer eye kept on Vannah.

That was all the excitement on the ride home. The results from her test will be back sometime next week. I'll let you know.

MEAN TIME! (If you haven't given up on me yet) Wednesday night, we noticed that Savannah's arms were covered in a rash. A new rash...and I mean covered. I broke down, because that's what I do when I'm tired and I can't get a grip on her skin. I came home, and researched rashes. The only one I could come up with that matched what this one looked like was meningitis. Um, I don't think that's the problem. Then, the next day, Savannah's 2nd caregiver (aka Sarah) said, "Jenn, I think Savannah may be allergic to latex!" Her arms were broken out on the places that those nurses were holding her down. Her ankles are broken out where her elastic pajamas rub her all day. Her body responds to the latex in her pacifiers. Hmmm....stand by for further developments.

3 DAYS UNTIL MEME COMES!!!