Honey....we have a problem

Upon the return of the children, I decided as long as the kitchen and clothes were unpacked, we would have some fun. In other words, I was in no rush to unpack everything. Don't get me wrong, I've gotten a lot done, but I felt like our kids needed me during this exciting time and that I should no longer be ruled by boxes, phone calls, or any other move related activity. So we rode bikes, walked, talked, etc.... One afternoon we were out back and Mary Ella was riding her bike around the porch. I was actually talking to Scott on the phone when I heard her shriek and she immediately began screaming and crying. There was no doubt this kid was in pain. I ran over to her and saw she'd been stung by a wasp. Now, many of you know how sensitive she is to mosquitos and fire ants, so because of this knowledge I knew I needed to get Motrin in her and put ice on it. Then I went to retrieve the Benadryl. As I was looking for it I looked at her and her face was red, her eyes a little swollen. I thought, "Golly, she's crying hard". I turn around to look at the dosing then look at her again. She was itching her feet, I said, "honey, did you get into ants too?" I walked over to her and she is covered in hives from her head to the soles of her feet. Her face was swelling so fast she couldn't even close her mouth, then she started coughing. I call Scott, "honey, we have a problem. I've got to get her to the hospital." He said to get the Benadryl down her and go. So I packed up the kids not realizing Addy's pull-up from her nap was hanging by a mere thread on one side (of course I didn't grab the diaper bag) and start going. I got to an ER that was fortunatley 2 minutes from our house and by then she was wheezing. Fortunatly they got her right back and did their "thing" and we were on our way home with steroids and an epi-pen. Here are a few pics I captured. It took three days for the hives to clear up, so evidently we have a severe wasp allergy. A couple of times I caught her rubbing the soles of her feet on the carpet because she just couldn't satisfy the itch.....poor thing. By the way, Zyrtec was much more effective in treating the hives than the Benadryl. Just thought I'd share that tidbit of info.

Perhaps one of the sweet moments came when Mary Ella was lying in the ER bed. Addy walked up to her and was acting concerned and Mary Ella reached over, being so brave, and said, "It is ok Addy, I'm getting lots better. I'll be ok." Ah, that sisterly love strikes again.

The one good thing about this is that Scott drove in that night so I wouldn't be alone with the kids if she developed breathing problems again, plus I think he just wanted to lay eyes on her. So we got an unexpected visit (and the garage got cleaned out and organized...BONUS).