one of the busy/crazy things that happened this week was Elijah's appointment with the allergist.
he has really bad eczema plus had a weird reaction to cashews once {his cheeks swelled up when he ate just one} so his pediatrician referred us to an allergist to get him checked out.
i honestly didn't think anything of it except that it would prove that he had a cashew allergy.
well, turns out he's not just allergic to cashews....
he's allergic to everything!!
during the skin test he broke out in hives with everything but three of the items they poked him with.
he's allergic to everything outside, pets, peanuts, every kind of nut, corn, and fish.
i was honestly so so shocked.
mainly because he has never ever had a physical reaction [that i could tell] to any of these things.
(including stomach pains or other physical ailments.)
he eats peanut butter and corn alllll the time {not together, separate obviously},
he looooooves being outside and never coughs, sneezes, or has itchy eyes,
and he's obsessed with animals and never gets sick around them.
so it was all just super weird...
this is what his poor back looked like:
seeing him go through that was one of the hardest things as a mom.
he got over 25 pokes in his back plus his blood drawn because he tested positive for nut allergies.
he screamed SO loud when they had to draw him blood. and they couldn't find a vein so they had to move the needle which made him scream louder.
i felt very helpless, knowing that they had to do the tests for his health but at a loss with how to explain it all to a crying, scared 3-year-old boy.
but in the midst of it all, there was this moment that i will never, ever forget.
as i was sitting there, hugging him tightly while they stuck a needle in his arm to draw his blood, and Elijah was screaming and crying as loud as he could, i tried everything to calm him down and help him relax.
suddenly i had the idea to sing him "I Am a Child of God," his favorite primary song that always helps him go to sleep and calm him when he's worked up.
so in the middle of the doctor's office with two medical assistants helping to hold Elijah down, i started softly singing the words to "I Am a Child of God" in his ear.
I am a Child of God
and He has sent me here.
Has given me an earthly home
with parents kind and dear...
almost immediately Elijah stopped crying.
his body relaxed a little more and he didn't cry again until they took the needle out.
it was this moment of overwhelming clarity to me of the power of motherhood.
i was able to make my baby feel safe during a traumatic time.
i was able to calm my baby down in a moment of utmost distress.
i was able to help my baby feel loved not only by me but by his Heavenly Father.
i was able to help my baby {with the help of the Spirit} when no one else could.
in that moment i understood the importance of motherhood
and the wonderful blessing it truly is in my life.
but i absolutely love him with every part of me.
i'm so so so happy i get the opportunity to be his mother.
and even more happy that he lets me be the one to comfort him when he needs it.
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| some Elijah selfies :) |
::: p.s. the winner of the Shabby Apple giveaway is.... Alycia H.!!! and the winner of the This Little Blonde giveaway is... Sabrina A.!! congratulations both of you! i will be in touch :)
12 comments:
Such a sweet story :) Good luck with baby boy's allergies!
Poor little dude :( So glad you were able to calm him though :)
Also, yay for winning!
awww.... poor E! Who knew that he was allergic to so many things! crazy! Is this gonna affect his diet from now on? that's just so weird that he never had any symptoms before.
good thing he has a sweet mama to console him through rough doctor's visits. he's a lucky kid :)
Ah that makes me so sad and so crazy that he never showed any reaction before. So cute that I Am A Child Of God calmed him down!
This is such a perfect motherhood story! And without all those times you faithfully sang him that song and taught him that it brings peace, it would have never been possible :) You are so awesome!
A thought about the allergy stuff, peanuts are actually a legume and are not classified in the nut allergy group, so that's probably why he never reacted to peanut butter :) Also I kind of wonder if having eczema makes the results to those tests a touch more exaggerated? I had really bad eczema as a teen and tested waaay positive to "every kind of pollen under the sun" with ridiculous bulging hives that stayed for over 24 hours. The allergist said I had the second worst pollen allergies he had seen in his entire career, but I only take over-the-counter claritin a couple times a year and I'm fine. So maybe his allergic life isn't going to be quite as extreme as it appears at the moment? Just a thought :)
Best of luck!
You can be allergic to stuff and it show up in really weird ways. I went to a natural allergist a few years ago because I had constant stomach aches and bloating and found out I was allergic to so many things I had no idea about. If you're interested in having him treated naturally, usually it's done by a chiropractor who's trained on how to train your body to not react negatively to whatever you're allergic to. Here's the website: http://allergytx.com/locations.html
There are lots of locations in Arizona. I've been treated for milk and sugar and my stomach aces are gone. I know lots of other people who have been treated for life treatening allergies and it's helped so much as well.
For me, when I was little, I had 9 surgeries from the age of 5 days until I was 15.... for the same thing. It was very difficult.
But i loved that you shared this, because even though I'm older I can testify that a parent (whether mother or father) can help a child calm in circumstances like this. My father and I had a bond unlike any other. He was my surgery pal. He'd hold my hand when I got an IV. He was there when I woke up from surgery. He was my rock, but it was the best knowing my dad was there every second of the process.
I'm sure your little one will always be grateful for your strength and support during a time/experience like this.
I love your blog! This is my first time to comment :)
My sweet boy (3 years old) also has eczema but no food allergies, at least that we know of. We started at the dermatologist and are heading to the allergist towards the end of the summer. I'm dreading the blood test :( Good luck to y'all!!
Haley
NOOO! That's what I have to do to. Sadface. I hope he is okay and that everything is alright with him. Motherhood is a special gift.
Oh man, poor guy! But what a sweet moment you had with him :P
this made me tear up. you're amazing. :)
Man it seems like they would come up with a more humane? way to test for allergies. That looks so painful! Poor little guy, reading your experience with singing A Child of God to him literally gave me goose bumps though. ha truly though, the power of motherhood is such an amazing thing. I obviously don't know first hand but just hearing things like this makes me realize that it is. So what does he do now? Like since he's allergic to so many things, will he have to avoid them even though he doesn't have reactions when he eats them?
Also side note, I CAN'T BELIEVE you have a child! And not because you're young or whatever (I'm Mormon too, I get it. :) but because you look freaking amazinggg. Seriously I never would have guessed until I saw this post/read more of your blog. If I can look like you after I have kids I will be a very happy person.
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