A nutty mishap!

August 17, 2014--a day that goes down in history as another close call for my life! I felt like I needed to write this experience down to thank my Heavenly Father for sparing my life and to be a witness that miracles do happen and to know that the Lord's hand is in our lives! We went to a dessert night at some friend's house. When I arrived and looked over the table of goodies I asked if anything had nuts. I said Carder was allergic to nuts and we avoid them. I guess I hadn't made it clear that I too was allergic to nuts...anyway a dessert was being handed out and I took one bite (just one!) of a peach cobbler that happened to have walnuts in it! Nate came right over and said "Don't eat the dessert! It has nuts!!" Too late! I had already taken a bite! So I ran home and took two benadryl pills and drank half a bottle of benadryl. I thought that it would do the trick. I really thought I would be fine with just taking benadryl. I headed back to the party. Hung out, shot a few hoops! Then all of a sudden my mouth just felt completely full of hives! I could barely swallow my saliva. I went to Nate and said "We have to go NOW!" We packed in our friend's van and they took us home. I grabbed my epi pen and told Nate we have to go to the ER immediately.

We packed the kids in the van, some had shoes, others just had socks! This was an emergency, no time for shoes! We drove straight to the McKay Dee Hospital which was twenty minutes away. On the way I turned to Ty and said "Pray!" I  could barely utter a word because my mouth and throat was so swollen. Ty said a sweet prayer and asked Heavenly Father to bless his mom and not let her die. It could barely be heard over the yelling from the 2-year old Carder who was saying over and over and over "But I want to watch baby Noah! Baby Noah...!!!" 

On the drive over I jabbed the epi-pen in my leg hoping it would start working and help the swelling, but in the twenty minutes drive to the hospital I could feel myself getting worse. My nose was a fire hydrant running off my face, but it was so stuffed up I couldn't even breath out of my nostrils! My eyes were itchy and I could feel them swelling up. I felt like I could still breath because my lungs were fine, but my throat was like a straw closing off. 

 

I ran into the ER and said in my best giberish "I ate a nut!!" I showed them my epi pen and they immediately called on the walky-talky for assistance, put me in a wheel chair and wheeled me off to a room. As I was being wheeled down the hall I see a familiar face from a friend in high school who I hadn't seen for fifteen years! She was a nurse there and helped me get registered. The nurses started an IV and gave me benedrly and other medicine through my IV. Then they gave me another epi in my leg. My poor kids and husband were sitting there in the room watching and it wasn't long before Nate insisted they be taken out and wait in the waiting room. My friend Marci found coloring books, toys, and games to keep them occupied until Grandma Lewis arrived to help out! 

My swelling had gotten worse instead of better and now the doctors and nurses were really nervous! They watched me like a hawk, all eight of them just stared at me waiting for something bad to happen. Then another epi was given. By this time I had so much epinephrin in my system that I was shaking uncontrollably and I couldn't hold still. The doctors said they had given me all my body could handle. My heart felt like it was going to run straight out of my body! Still no relief though, and the doctor ordered a tracheotomy and a breathing tube just in case it got that bad. The ENT doctor sprayed some sort of numbing medicine up my nose, it felt like fire and hurt so bad. Then he ran a video tube up my nose and through my throat. He wanted to see if my throat was closing off and how much air I was getting. The tube was terrible. I thought I was going to throw up. He removed the tube waited a few minutes. Then the ICU doctor came in and wanted to see the video and again the tube had to be put up my nose down through my throat. I gagged and thought I was really going to vomit, but I didn't. Still they waited. I was given a breathing treatment with epinephrine in it. I looked like I was smoking a peace pipe!

A nurse insisted on taking my picture. She said if I were to see myself I probably wouldn't recognize myself! Yup I look pretty bad! But I felt even worst! I just waited to pass out. I thought I was going to die. I kept thinking any minute I would run out of air and I would just stop breathing, but I didn't! I somehow stayed alive.

I stayed the night in the ICU. Nate, Grandma Lewis and the kids went home. I was all alone. My cell phone battery had died and I couldn't call out to anyone. It was rather lonely and I just wanted to be able to go home. They checked on me every two hours. I didn't get a wink of sleep although I was so tired! My bed was 5 feet long, I think it was made for a child. I am six feet--my little legs hung off the end and I couldn't get comfortable. I had to have the breathing treatment all night long. If I wasn't puffing on my epi breathing treatment then I was wearing a mask blowing cold oxygen on my face! It was awful. I was ready to rip off the chords, unplug my machine and walk home, but I couldn't. So I just waited patiently until morning.

Morning finally arrived and I was ready to get out of there. Miraculously I felt so much better! My throat was still a little sore from being swollen and from the dang tubes, but other than that I felt good. They moved me out of ICU and into a hospital room. I had to wait for one more round of medicine before I could go. After the medicine arrived I had to wait an other hour. Finally around 2 the nurse said I was free to go home! I had survived! It was a miracle! I was alive! I was so happy to go home and see my kids and be their mom! I never want to leave them again!

Nate and I have been married 12 (almost 13) years and I've now gone to the ER 6 times--just for me! How many times has Nate gone to the ER in his life? 0-none!! My poor husband! How many times will he have to rush his wife to the hospital and hope and pray for her survival? Hopefully there won't be anymore scary experiences! I am so grateful for him. He is my rock! He is so patient, kind and loving especially in these scary situations! I love my family and grateful for them. I am thankful for a kind and loving Heavenly Father who still has a plan for me on this earth! I am grateful for answered prayers and know He loves each one of his children!!!