Never a dull moment

Sunday afternoon, as I was preparing to leave for home group, Sawyer ran into the house, holding his finger and screaming that he had been stung by a "yellow and black bee". This was the fourth sting for him this summer so, Clara Barton that I am, I quickly gave him some ice and sent him back to the trampoline!

When he woke up yesterday morning, his finger was quite swollen and red, but it didn't look that bad to me. I didn't want to give him benadryl and have him fall asleep in school, so I gave him some Tylenol and sent him on his way. Later yesterday morning, as I was talking to Jeff, he suggested that I call the pediatrician. I resisted, saying "They aren't going to do anything but tell me to give him benadryl. I was stung ALL the time when I was a kid, and I swelled up like a puffer fish, right at the site of the sting. It was no big deal." (Never mind that the last time I was stung on the back of the leg, I had two grapefruits on my neck within hours! That led to nine years of very painful allergy shots!)

Well, I gave in and called, just to speak to the nurse. Sure enough, I'm NO Clara Barton. "Yes, Mrs. VeStrand, you should have given him that benadryl, and we need to see him this afternoon." Duly reprimanded, I made the appointment and went on to work. About five minutes before I was to leave work, my cell phone rang. I recognized the school nurse's phone number and said "Hello, who is sick?" Peggy laughed and said "No one is sick but I have Sawyer here and his whole hand is red and swollen. I think you need to come and take him to the pediatrician." Thankfully, I was ahead of her on that one (or Jeff was!) and sure enough, when I got to school, Sawyer's finger looked like a Vienna sausage and his knuckles were a thing of the past! (I really tried to take a picture but Sawyer protested loudly, saying "Mom, it's embarrassing, and you will put it on the blog!" My reputation precedes me!)

Anyway, the doctor wasn't too concerned. Thankfully, Sawyer's breathing was good and the reaction did indeed seem to be just a "local" thing. He gave Sawyer some prednisone for three days to reduce the swelling and said to keep (start!) giving him the benadryl. Sawyer was happy as a clam! He got to stay home from school today--he couldn't hold a pencil even if he wanted to--and he and daddy were finally able to go out for Sawyer's birthday lunch. Better late than never!

Tonight his finger and hand are starting to look better. So tomorrow it's back to the grind. And, it's not even Tuesday or Friday, so he probably won't learn anything anyway!

Like I said, never a dull moment!