Monday, October 3, 2022

Monday, October 3, 2022

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2004. Mattie was two years old and we started taking him that year to Fall festivals. This particular event had a petting zoo and lots of hands on activities for children. Mattie had the opportunity to touch goats, sheep, and pigs. As you can see Mattie was tentative about the whole thing, but was definitely intrigued. 

Quote of the day: I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which bring results. ~ Florence Nightingale

This was my dad's back in March of 2022. He was hospitalized for a pacemaker insertion and during his week long hospital stay, nurses put pressure sore pads on his body, to prevent skin ulcers. Ironically he did not get an ulcer, but his skin reacted to the adhesive from the pads. My dad was a mess and needed to go on steroids for another week in the hospital. 

Moving forward to today! On Tuesday, my dad got an insect bite while in the house. I honestly do not know what bite him. But I remember seeing a bite with a red dot in its center, right above his left eye brow. Within hours the bite turned into the size on a chicken egg. Since Tuesday, I have been dealing with a massive break out of hives and edema. His face is so filled with fluid, it is distorted and he hardly can see out of his eyes. Last night, I noticed the hives spread to his tummy and legs. 

When I got up this morning, I called the doctor's office and made an appointment for the afternoon. I had to do this, since my mom had a morning doctor's appointment. I give myself a gold star for taking my dad in. 

I felt the Benadryl wasn't cutting it and apparently I was right. I think we were hours away from anaphylaxis in which the immune system releases a flood of chemicals that can cause you to go into shock. Though my dad's blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen levels were all normal, his lips started to swell this evening, making it hard to swallow. 

My dad was prescribed prednisone (steroids) and we now have an EpiPen for him. Epinephrine auto-injectors are devices that contain epinephrine. This medicine is used to treat severe allergic reactions called anaphylaxis. It was explained to me today that with each severe allergic reaction my dad gets, the body remembers it. Therefore the next time he gets a bite, he may react even worse than this! Can you imagine an immune system has a memory? That is what I am dealing with here. Next time I have been told to prepare for an even more severe reaction that could impact my dad's breathing and therefore I need to have an EpiPen at home and in the car. Which I now have!  

This evening, as frazzled as I am, I came home to my mom wanting to pay bills. With her, everything is a crisis and MUST be dealt with immediately. I spent another hour on her needs and finally got a chance to go through my own emails. I am SO behind on everything. Some times I want to scream and other times I have just resolved that this is my life.