What.a.day!

Eva woke up so, so excited about going on her first field trip EVER today.  She somehow managed to miss all the field trips last year...go figure.

She was excited beyond words to get on the big yellow school bus!....she giggled all the way to the bus from her classroom!

Once we got to Eplegaarden, Eva was dragging me out of the bus and couldn't wait to get moving!!

As we started up the VERY BIG HILL (as Eva called it), we had to stop and see the billy goats.  They were right by the fence and more than happy for some visitors.  Eva was bummed that we didn't get to see the horse but he's rarely around.

And then the moment that she had been talking about ALL morning....picking an apple and eating it RIGHT off the tree.  She could not wait and cracked me up as she walked down the row looking just the right apple to pick and eat.  She found it took a few bites before picking yet another apple to put in the bag to share at school.  Right after we did this, things got, well, interesting.

I looked down at Eva and realized that she had, yep, HIVES.  I bent down to take a closer look and realized that they were all around her lips, her hands and her neck.  I was STUNNED as I looked.  It was about that time that I realized she looked a little blue around her lips too.  I moved out to get in better light and told a teacher what was going on and started down that "very big hill" for a couple of reasons....1) I didn't want to give her the Epi-Pen in front of all her friends....I knew that she was going to get very upset and I didn't want them to have to see us to it.  and 2)  My 'Mommy Radar' was going off that this might be a big deal and we may need to call 911 so I wanted to get closer to the entrance.

'Mommy Radar' was right.....I got about halfway down the hill and realized that she was wheezing and yes, I needed to give her an Epi-Pen.  Fortunately there was a picnic table where I could sit her down and hold her leg....once she realized what I was going to do, I'm sure everyone heard her.  I called to one of her teachers who thankfully heard and came down the hill.....911 was called and we finished getting to the entrance.  Fortunately the Epi-Pen worked and she looked and made it clear her airway was WIDE open. :-)

Amazing how when you are at an apple orchard, in the country, how long it feels like it takes for an ambulance to get there.  Eva was not nearly as impressed with the ambulance ride as she was the school bus ride.

She made it the ER without any other problems but once we got there, things definitely got worse before they got better.  As the Epi-Pen wore off, she started getting a lot of hives again and her face started swelling quite a bit.  They gave her a dose of Benadryl (I had tried at the apple orchard but she spit it out...stinker).  They also ordered Prednisone.  Between the two of them she started to look a little better.

She had eaten a couple of purple popsicles but then her eyes started swelling again and she started running a temp.  The ER drs didn't think the temp was from the anaphylaxis BUT since then I have talked to other parents who have been through this and their kiddos have also had a temp during a reaction too.  Who knows....but she seems better now.

We were there for about 3 hours which is typical for a reaction like this.  She was pretty hyper tonight from all the meds and will be on Prednisone for the next 5 days which will likely get interesting.  

So we really have no idea what happened today!  I feel like it's pretty unlikely she developed an allergy to apples...she eats something "apple" almost every day but per her allergists nurse, she will not have any until we either hear from the doctor or see him.  There are so many possibilities of what may have happened but it's very likely we will never know for sure.   I just know that I hope we don't have to do this again....ever. (Yes Mom, my head may be in the sand a bit right now!)  That was scary.  It was scary for Eva and it was scary for me.

So, unfortunately, our day did not turn out how we had planned.  Eva and I will be spending a quiet day at home tomorrow....no school she we need to watch for secondary reactions since she did ingest whatever caused the reaction.

I've said it before and I'll likely say it again.....

I HATE FOOD ALLERGIES!  HATE THEM!

But I sure to love this little girl!!