Thankful...

I got home from school on Friday afternoon, and Travis left to go to the gym. I decided it would be fun to let the kids play in the backyard since the weather was so nice. I set Cami down in the grass so that she could crawl around and chase Buddy, but as soon as I set her down I noticed that her little feet were covered in ants. I rushed her inside to wash them off in the sink. She also had some on her hands. I could tell that she had quite a few bites (10-15) so I quickly gave her some benadryl and coated her hands and feet in Cortizone cream. 

About 5 minutes later I noticed that her head was turning red and there were little white bumps coming up everywhere. Travis didn't answer his phone the first time I tried, but my mom told me I should probably go ahead and take her somewhere just to be sure it's ok. 

Thankfully I knew there was an urgent care clinic within 5 minutes of our house, so after a frantic few minutes of buckling in kids, finding keys and my wallet, we headed to the clinic. I knew by the time we left the house this was more serious than I originally thought. 

Thankfully I had Colby to watch Camryn in the backseat and keep me updated. It was awful that her seat was turned backwards so I could not see her at all. Poor Colby had to watch her get worse and worse. Her face turned an awful reddish/purple color, her whole body was extremely swollen and she became very lethargic. She started throwing up which really upset Colby and then he kept telling me that her eyes were closed. 

By the time we got to the clinic she looked so terrible but she was breathing. 

We rushed in (I didn't even get Colby out of the car) and the receptionist immediately saw her and called for help from the nurses in the back. They grabbed her from me and asked a million questions. (A sweet old man in line to check in helped  get Colby out of the car and brought him back to where we were) I think that was the moment that I realized how serious this reaction was. The panic in the nurses faces and the urgency in their voices made me SO THANKFUL that we got there when we did. They gave her a shot of epinephrine and a steroid shot. It sounds cliche, but the nurses, doctor and receptionist at the Urgent Care Clinic truly saved Camryn's life. They stripped her down and cleaned her up. They continually monitored her breathing, which thankfully sounded good the entire time.

They monitored her oxygen level, which was low, so they gave her breathing treatments.

 (I'm also so thankful for the wonderful nurse in the hallway who pulled Colby aside and gave him stickers and lollipops....I was really worried about him seeing everything that was happening to his baby sister, and the nurse was so great to take care of him when I couldn't. Apparently he was telling her all about the toys he has at his house and he asked if she could come babysit him because she would have lots of fun playing with him. :)) 

By the time Travis arrived she was already looking SO much better.  I was glad he was there, because obviously he knows WAY MORE than I do about medical things. 

The doctor told us that this type of reaction can cause sudden death within 5-15 minutes, so Camryn really did have a close call. She also said that if this happens again it will likely be worse, so we will have to be overly cautious anytime we are outside with her. 

We are armed and dangerous with epi-pens. I pray that I will never have to use one, but I'm so glad that we KNOW that she is highly allergic to them now. I'm also so glad that when this did happen, I was right next to her and able to react quickly. 

We truly believe the Lord was watching over Camryn Friday afternoon. We believe that he was holding her tightly the entire time. God is good....all the time. 

 The pictures above were probably taken 20 minutes after we got there. 

 This was probably an hour after we got there. They kept us for a few hours until the swelling went down and her oxygen level was back to normal. Luckily the pharmacy was right next door, so we got 2 epi-pens and some oral steroids before we left. 

 At home....probably about 2 and a half hours after the incident. Happy girl!!! 

Needless to say....today we are feeling overwhelmingly THANKFUL!!!!