To my son Tommy,
We headed out to Medieval Times dinner and tournament to celebrate your cousin Ryan's birthday. What started out as a great time quickly turned scary.
You and I are fighting the beginning of possible colds and I seriously debated scrapping the whole trip. No fevers or anything just some nasal congestion. So I decided we could suck it up and head out and that a minor sniffle wouldn't keep us from some fun. In hindsight, my idea to cowboy up was more machismo than common sense.
We got there and were having a great time. We were armed with an allergy free sandwich and thing of pasta. We had your epi-pen (thanks to Aunt Deb bringing it down) in case you tried any new foods or came in contact with any allergy foods. I didn't plan for the real culprit of the night.
The show started around 4:30 One second you were enthralled and engaged and sitting right next to me and yelling "HUZZAH!" with me. Everyone else was just cheering normally so it was special that you and I were yelling a more theme appropriate cheer. We were about an hour in to the show and then in a matter of seconds you went to lethargic, disengaged, and sleepy. I immediately knew something wasn't right. I tried to ascertain if you had ingested anything you shouldn't have and had my epi pen at the ready. You scratched your throat and almost received an immediate medical injection. Instead I nearly bulldozed over your Pop-pop as I had to get you into better light. We headed out to the lobby.
In the lobby I noticed you didn't have the hives or swelling normally associated with eating food. Plus we didn't have any food that you were allergic to and you didn't eat anything that I didn't bring. An employee came by and asked us if we were alright. I asked for a glass of water. When he brought it back he asked if you had asthma and suggested the horses might have been a factor. Duh, asthma. Why didn't I think of that. Horse dander and all the smoke and fog machines, why didn't it dawn on me? Throw in the fact that you played outside in the cold air earlier and that is like a perfect storm for asthma. Well now that you were out of the situation, things would get better right?
Since I am just a dad, I have two levels of medical care. The "aww he's alright, shake it off boy" level and the "off to the hospital we go" level. There really isn't much in between, either we do nothing or over react. So I called your mom to let her know and to find out what to do as if she had some mommy super power to get a feeling of what is going on over a phone call. After the phone call which just reassured me that I should use my own judgement, as long as it wasn't the unfair judgement that mommies everywhere can tell how sick their child is over the phone, we decided to wait it out in the lobby for a bit. We hoped we could just wait it out till everyone came out and then head home. Every time I decided it was time to go, you begged to wait. This lasted till about 6:15 when you and I both decided things were no longer getting better and it was time to go.
We hurried home fairly fast, just slow enough not to get in a car accident on the way but definitely with some speed. Your mom had the nebulizer treatment readied for you and we hit you with some benadryl and a mask treatment and checked your oxygen levels and temp. It turns out that I really would have been over-reacting if I had followed my instinct to take an early turn on the way home and head to the emergency room. I guess I reacted with the appropriate amount of effort by getting you to your mommy.
Your mommy and I have a scary future with regards to raising you. Between your food allergies and your asthma and everything else that is normal for little boys, we have plenty to worry about. I pray I will be granted the necessary grace to know when and how to act with every medical problem that arises. Right now I think I am going to ground and quarantine you and I, even from Mass tomorrow, just to make sure we get some rest and recovery.
Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo
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