Experiencing our six year old child, Katie, going through anaphylactic shock was one of the most stressful and frightening things we have ever experienced.

Our experience began one Sunday afternoon. Our house was for sale and being shown, so we were required to be away for a couple of hours. We decided to drive around town looking at possible new homes. At some point, we decided to pick up a snack at a convenience store. Then we continued our drive. Katie innocently asked her dad for some of his cashews. I gave Katie three cashews. Within a few minutes, she was complaining of her throat "hurting"(her throat apparently swelling-one sign of anaphylaxis). I thought she had swallowed one nut wrong. I told her to drink some of her water. She continued to complain, and more insistently, and then began crying and saying her stomach hurt (a possible sign of anaphylaxis). I asked my husband to take us back to the convenience store to buy some crackers, thinking perhaps a bite or two of cracker would help the nut go down. Within another couple of minutes we were back at the convenience store. We turned to look at Katie and it appeared her lips and her left eye were swelling (another sign of anaphylaxis). 

Only because I have had three other kids and have always read any health articles regarding children, and because my husband had had some medical training in the Army, did it occur to us that she was possibly having an allergic reaction. My husband ran inside to get Benadryl®. In the meantime, Katie was complaining more loudly that her stomach hurt and then she vomited (another sign of anaphylaxis). We gave her a melt in your mouth Benadryl® dose. By this time we knew she was in serious trouble, and we started flying towards the emergency room. Katie was becoming lethargic and saying she could not breathe well (another sign of anaphylaxis). My husband sped through town through every red light with his flashers on and his hand on the horn. At the same time, we called 911 and asked them to contact the ER to let them know we were on our way. They were no help at all (another story for another time)! We had to call the ER ourselves. Luckily I knew the number! We drove Katie to the emergency room ourselves, because we realized time was of the essence. We live in a small town in Texas and were at the emergency room in less than five minutes. They were ready for us at the ER. The doctor immediately gave her epinephrine and hooked her up to oxygen. By this time Katie was one giant whelp. She was swelling even from her eyeballs. And she was itching unbearably. The nurses hooked up an I.V. and monitors for all of Katie's vital signs, and gave her breathing treatments. Time crept by slowly, as we watched our poor little girl’s skin break out in hives, her eye continuing to swell, her breathing wheezy and her vitals looking a little crazy. I was too scared to leave Katie's side, and though I was so scared inside, I was remaining relatively calm so as to not frighten Katie. 

After we had been in the ER for about an hour or so, Katie got up to go potty and upon her return to the bed from the bedside toilet, she began to kick and fight me, turning herself in circles, her skin as pale as the sheets she laid in. I was asking my husband to go get a nurse, because I knew something was not right. The nurse came in, snapped at me, telling me to remain calm, but I was not overreacting...I was just insistent that the doctor come check Katie. I believe the nurse snapping at me was a divine intervention to send me out of the ER. I chose that time to go outside. I hung around outside for about thirty minutes, crying uncontrollably, and relieving some of the pent up stress. I made calls to family and friends. When I knew I was calm enough to face Katie so that she did not suspect my fear, I returned to the emergency room. It was then I learned that Katie had gone into the "shock" phase of anaphylaxis. The nurse had explained to my husband that the Benadryl® vs. epinephrine internal contradiction had caused some of Katie's disorientation. However, my husband had been watching her vitals and couldn’t help but notice the little white numbers indicating her blood pressure sitting at 40/20. The doctor then started administering Tagamet® instead of epinephrine. 

Tagamet® (we learned is not just for ulcers) works in the stomach and/or intestines, where it is believed a majority of the immune system exists. Slowly, Katie’s skin began to recess from the hives. Her skin color began coming back and her vitals continued to improve over the next hour. The doctor came in and informed us that she had indeed gone into true anaphylactic shock. I believe not all anaphylactic episodes lead into shock, but you never know when it will happen, and it could happen several hours after the episode begins. To be on the safe side the doctor wanted to send Katie to a children's hospital for further observation and stabilizing. She was transported by ambulance with a specialized pediatric team in attendance to San Antonio, Texas (about an hour away). By midnight, we were pretty well settled into ICU preparing for the worst, praying for the best. Fortunately, the night was uneventful. Katie was talking as much as ever. She was given a couple of more breathing treatments through the night and one the next day and then was released to go home that afternoon. The doctor’s educated us on the new life of "no nuts", carrying an EpiPen® and being prepared for asthma attacks. We later saw an allergist in our town for a follow-up and additional education. About six weeks later he tested Katie for other tree nuts and peanuts. We learned she is somewhat allergic to other tree nuts, and severly allergic to peanuts. 

Unfortunately, we learned some very valuable information in an extremely difficult way. Allergic reactions to food do not occur the first time of ingestion of that food, but can occur at any time after that first time. We are not big nut eaters, and Katie was never crazy about peanut butter, so her exposure had been previously limited. We learned that peanuts are a legume, not a real nut, such as tree nuts, and that peanut allergies are rapidly increasing among children. Now it will be "no nuts" for us all. We have also learned that nut and nut oils can be found in very unobvious products (i.e, some chilies and sauces, candies, cookies and pastries) and that many foods have been processed in factories or on equipment that also processes nuts, so we have learned to read labels for everything. We have learned that you must be constantly vigilant of any foods, and always ask managers or chefs if they cook with any nuts or nut oils, and be wary of cross-contamination of foods. 

I will always be educating school principals, nurses, food service, teachers and parents about Katie's allergy, making sure nuts are not used in class projects and that Katie eats lunches brought from home at a safe table, and that parents provide safe classroom treats or that Katie not eat anything that we have not approved of. And we have tried to educate Katie about "No Nuts" and she has learned quickly. However, she is still so young, and our fear is of an accidental ingestion. We carry an EpiPen® and inhaler with us when we are away from the house. The school has been given a plan of action along with an EpiPen® and inhaler. The sitter has been given the same. I constantly read information about children and allergies, trying not to be too obsessed with it. 

I am trying to handle my anxieties. The first couple of weeks after Katie's incident, I was suffering extreme anxiety. I was pumped on adrenaline during the first couple of days. Over the next couple of weeks, I was obsessing about learning enough information about anaphylaxis and children with allergies, hoping to relieve my anxieties. I was having anxiety attacks out of the blue, with heart palpitations and trouble focusing on everything but the near death of my daughter. My doctor explained that it was normal for me to be going through this anxiety, especially after such a traumatic event. She told me I may continue to have small panic episodes for months afterwards. The severity of the anxiety has decreased over time, but sometimes something will trigger the overwhelming feeling of being out of control. My husband has had his share of anxiety as well. He is handling it in his own way. He has written about it to family and friends (part of his writing included in this article). All I know is that we love our daughter so much it hurts, and that we would not know what we would do if we lost our baby girl. We will try to do everything we can to keep our Katie safe, staying constantly vigilant, and keeping others vigilant of Katie's allergy condition, also. 

This has been a tough endeavor for my family and I, but thankfully the good Lord has been with us, and we had a lot of support from our good friends and family. We also had some great doctors who really seemed to care about Katie and her situation. This website, plus many of the other websites about allergies, have been invaluable. 

We are thankful Katie pulled through this. It’s different when it’s a near death experience of your child. Makes you view things a bit differently, makes you appreciate your child that much more. 

Jennice