It started out to be just another ordinary day. I was doing laundry, my daughter was napping in her crib and my husband was mowing the lawn while my son was playing in the backyard. However, this turned out to be much more than an ordinary day…
I was inside the house cleaning up (as usual) when I heard the lawn mower shut off. My husband yelled to me inside. “Is he with you?”
I ran out onto the deck. “What?”
He repeated, “Is he with you?”
I had a pit in the bottom of my stomach. I knew the answer to this and it was no. He was supposed to be playing in the backyard while my husband was in the backyard mowing, just likes he’s done a million other times. Clearly, he was missing. Without any other exchange, my husband ran through the yard and I ran through the house to the front as we were both screaming his name.
I opened the front door and saw a school bus dropping off the neighborhood kids. I looked in every direction and I had the horrific feeling like I could see everyone else’s kid, but couldn’t find my own.
Where was he? Was he hurt? Was he taken? Was he safe? I had a vision of myself on Dateline explaining to Ann Curry that we never thought this could happen to us…
And then my husband saw him walking from our neighbor’s house. We immediately hugged him and asked him if he was alright.
But, things were not alright…
You see, my son was holding an ice-cream cone that he got from our neighbor’s house and it was full of NUTS. For those of you who do not know, our son has a severe peanut allergy and he will go into anaphylactic shock if he ingests a nut. We immediately began to ask him if he ate any of the nuts. From the onset, it looked like he hadn’t, but we didn’t know for sure.
“I don’t know mommy. I think I just licked it, but I don’t know.”
His lips began to blow up and hives began to appear around his mouth. Even if he didn’t ingest one of those nuts, he obviously placed the cone to his lips.
Frantically, I grabbed the Benadryl and my husband grabbed the EpiPen…
Through these intense minutes and all of the drama, there is a happy ending. My son responded well to the meds and we never had to call 911. BUT, if he had eaten one of those nuts, there is no QUESTION in my mind that he would have been in the hospital fighting for his life.
Moral of the story Theta Moms?
Never let your husband watch your child when he mows the lawn… Never assume that your child cannot open the “near impossible” gate from the back yard to the front… Never think that your child isn’t shy enough to ring your neighbor’s doorbell and ask for an ice-cream cone…Never forget to remind your child (that has a food allergy) of the things he/she cannot eat…And never forget to let your neighbors know about your child’s allergy. It could save a life.
I never said I was a perfect mother. In fact, I pride myself on being true and authentic, which in essence is what I stand for as a Theta Mom. I make mistakes, I learn from them and I strive to be a better parent throughout the process.
Allergic reactions are very scary as well as disappearing young children. I am glad everything worked out in the end.
Oh my!! That was an eventful day. Two scares from the same incident. I am glad all is well now. Whew.
I know and hate that feeling of picturing yourself on dateline. It's the same feeling like "I'm never gonna forget this day, am I". ugh.
Again, glad all is well.
OMG I am so glad he is ok! Seriosly don't let daddy watch them. Same goes for here.
Do you have a medical id for him? bracelet with his allergy.
Wow, how frightening! I'm so glad everything worked out ok in the end. It's really great of you to post this too, to let others know what can happen in the blink of an eye.
This would be a good story for Family Circle or a similar magazine. Well written, gripping and informative.
OMG Heather! That is so scary. I can't even imagine how you and your husband must have felt during that. Luckily my kids don't have allergies (yet).
I remember once I lost my son in the grocery store when he was just three. I was running around screaming his name and asking everyone I passed if they'd seen a little boy. It still haunts me. (and he was fine, he'd just toddled away and made his way to the front of the store!)
I'm so glad everything turned out okay. Yes, you've learned from this. Now we all have too!
I am so sorry you all went through that. But, like you said, there was a happy ending and you learned a lot. How frightening! I'm so glad he is okay.
Wow! That is so scary on so many levels. My daughter has peanut allergies, too, but not as severe. I'm so glad your son is okay!
Glad everything ended up okay!
So glad he's ok. I can TOTALLY relate to what you're going through with the PA.
I am so glad your son is okay! How scary!
one minute my son was in our fenced in backyard while i washed the dishes – can see yard from the window – the next he was gone. i was screaming all over the house and outside, and ready to dial 911 when i thought i would call my neighbor's to see if he went over there, and yes, he came over AND told them he had told his mom he was there. talk about heart attack! it can happen to any of us.
I think my heart stopped for a bit. Thank goodness he is okay. That was absolutely terrifying.
My goodness, how frightening! My heart was beating so fast reading your story, I could actually feel the fear of not being able to find your son, we have experienced that a time or two. Glad everything turned out ok.
I would just like to add one more never: Never give other people's children food without their permission!
omg! how frightening!!
i am glad everything is ok..
hugs and love
shraddha
OMG how scary! So good he didn't eat those tempting buggers. Good thinking and reacting mom!! How super scary I swear. How was that beer?
HOE. LEE. CRAAAAAAP! Heather, thank God your son is alright! OH MY GOSH!!! My arm pits are sweating just from reading your post! First him being missing, then the allergic reaction! UGH! UGH! UGH!
Kids. The source of gray hair and heart attacks. 😉 In all seriousness though, I am so glad that he is safe and okay!!!
Oh my goodness! I was panicking reading your post! So glad he is alright. Whew!
Wow, what a scary event, thank goodness everything turned out okay, it makes all of our other worries fall to the wayside whenever something happens that involves our children and makes us realize what is important, the health and safety of our families. Thanks for sharing!
http://ninascd.blogspot.com/
Oh my gosh! How scrary! I'm so glad your little guy is ok and you found him before he had eaten the ice cream cone!
How scary. I'm so glad he is fine.
Popped in from SITS! How terrifying!!!
WOW! That is scary! I have a friend with a lactose intolerance, and it is surprising at how many things have milk or dairy products in them. I am so pleased that everything turned out well for you. My thoughts are with you.
Just popped over from EmmaPs site to say Hi. Maybe you could pop over and say Hi on my blog too!
Take care, and have a beer on me!m
I think my heart skipped a couple beats reading this. I am so thankful that your son is okay! I am blessed and have a beautiful boy with no signs of allergies, but being a teacher I have extensive knowledge of the repercussions of not being aware of them. Such an informative post!
Thank you for coming over to my blog and commenting! How sweet that your little girl is almost one. Such a bittersweet day that was for me… it goes by WAY too fast!
Oh, p.s. – Go Red Sox WOOT!
OMG, how scary. I'm so glad he's ok!!
Glad he was OK and I'm hyper aware of things like this, I once wandered off as a kid I wanted to play with a cool kitchen set. My mother had a heart attack. I was OK and we actually gained family friends for life. The apartment I went to was to play with another little girl, her mom & my mom became best friends that day (rooted in the OMG "what if"). I on the other hand spent the rest of the day learning why you don't wander off.
OMG!!! Your story could have had a much sadder ending on so many levels. It happens so fast, doesn't it? You just can't be everywhere every second…
So thankful your blog post had a happy ending!
Lisa @
All That and a Box of Rocks
Glad to hear he's okay – scary on so many levels.
I enjoyed your blog. I saw your link on mom bloggers club.
I think I just had a heart attack reading that. I can't even imagine being you and going through it. I'm so glad he ended up being ok in the end!
You definitely deserved those beers!
Oh my gosh, that must have been so scary! I think you were mega theta mom!!
OMG, you perfectly describe that moment of terror. These are my nightmares! (Losing my little boy) That situation could have happened to any of us. THANK GOD he is okay!
You ditched the Blue Bunny for a Blue Ribbon- ar ar, good for you!
Heather, thank God he's okay. I would have been going crazy. It's really scary. Thanks for your honesty in sharing. Husbands mowing and taking care of the children can't be done. I know.
xoxox
i'm so glad your little one was okay!! nut allergies are so scary – i'm glad he responded well to the meds.
I just wanted to share w/ you – my nephew is severly allergic to nuts as well and had a reaction at my house once – by my dog licking him. My dog had just had a treat a few minutes earlier (that we didnt realize had some sort of peanut in it – flour maybe?). Anyway, my SIL & BIL had never realized before that many dog foods and treats have peanut in it. Just wanted to share b/c I would hate for you to have a similar situation.
oh boy do I know what you mean. My little lady has only been in daycare for about 2 weeks. I went to pick her up the other day and they were playing outside in a fenced in area…except when I went out I couldn't see her anyway. She is not yet 2! I asked where Gabbi was and their reply was "she's out here somewhere". Eeek. She was there playing under a fort. It's not a huge play area. But you know for a few seconds I about DIED. And she has a milk allergy. They allowed her to grab another kids cookie and eat it. They told me later. =/ *SIGH*
Wow, that is super scary!! All I could think about was the "what if's" too. He definitely had an angel watching over him (even if Daddy wasn't…LOL). You know, my husband is the same way when he's supervising the kids. He usually falls asleep and that's when all the crap happens. It's a wonder they haven't burned our house down YET.
I'm so relieved that your son is okay….my heart was racing a mile a minute just reading your account of what happened!
OH MY GOSH!!! How scary!!! oh you brave mommy! you handled it so well!!! i'm so glad that he's ok…. what a blessing!!!
I am so sorry that you had to go through that. I know it must be hard to worry about foods all the time. It is a very good thing that you realized everything when you did. I hope you relaxed after your few beers!
Poor little guy, he was probably scared too.
ugh, reading that made my heart go into my throat. Yikes! I'm glad everything was ok. So far, no allergies have made themselves known in our son, thank god because I don't think I could deal with that!
Holy Moly! I can TOTALLY relate! It's amazing how quickly a child can disappear from your side, even when you THINK you're watching them.
And my daughter also has a severe nut allergy. I could write a whole blog (and maybe I will) about the time we attended a wedding buffet, and had her explain about her allergy to the buffett staff, then ask if anything contained nuts or nut oils, only to find out later that she was LIED TO!
It's so frustrating when people really don't get that you are asking a life-and-death question when you're asking if something contains nuts! I'm so glad you little guy is all right.
I can totally relate to wondering where your child is. It is so scary. It only takes one second and they're gone. I'm so glad that his allergic reaction turned out to not be soo serious. I know how scary that is.
This is my first visit here and I really like your blog.I will be stopping back.
Maybe if you stopped rockin' so much, I would stop giving you awards, but NOT TODAY!
I have a severe nut allergy and your post totally brought me back to the time I was 6 years old…I went to my next door neighbors house and ate an entire walnut. I still remember thinking that I KNEW I wasn't supposed to, but I was curious to see what would happen if I ate one…luckily my mother is a nurse and she had all the necessary meds in our fridge so we avoided a trip to the hospital.
Wow, what a life altering moment that was…just reading it raised my anxiety a few levels. I'm so glad he's okay. You both handled it beautifully imperfectly- you have made all of us imperfect yet loving parents proud.
Thanks for stopping by Betty's too 😛
*Phew* I am glad that he was OK. I am a mom too so I know how you felt.
I’m glad your son is okay. My daughter has a peanut allergy . I live two minutes from the hospital. I love our location.It has come in handy.