Like Father, Like Son????

It's usually something I would encourage, but not when it comes to getting stung by a scorpion. :( I was cleaning up dinner when Kaige started screaming as he just sat near one of his favorite toys. I was a bit puzzled as I knew this cry meant pain, but he hadn't fallen and I couldn't see what was wrong. It didn't take me long to realize it must be a scorpion. Kaige held his hand up to me and said hurt, I looked down next to his toy and saw it! I picked him up and the screaming continued. To say I was frazzled is an understatement. My phone was being held together by a wire and I couldn't make calls. I held the two pieces of the phone together and texted Josh that Kaige had been stung and to call my mom with what I should do. Kaige being as little as he is and not having a phone I decided to throw Kaige in the car and head to my moms. After he was buckled I decided I needed to go back and kill that scorpion! As I drove down the street I remembered a new neighbor in my ward was home because I had seen her on Facebook; she currently works in the ER as a nurse. I decided I would go to her home. As I knocked on the door frantically her dog started barking and Kaige stopped screaming. A wave of relief calmed me and I started thinking I was silly to be so worried. I had always been warned that babies react the worst to scorpion stings and I had no idea what to expect or what to do. The neighbor welcomed us in and really helped me not worry so much. She had told me about a child she saw in the ER the night before and how crazy almost demonic he got after being stung. Kaige had already calmed down alot, and was just kind of moaning and complaining and being very protective of his finger. She encouraged me to call Poison Control and to follow their advice. I was going to head to my mom's to use her phone and have some support when I read Josh's concerned texts. I had taken Josh to the airport earlier that morning and he was spending time with his family in Portland before Kaige and I could join him later in the week. Distance didn't stop Josh from helping. He called his home teaching companion to come give Kaige a blessing. I returned home so that Kaige could receive a blessing and within minutes my mom was there and so was Josh's companion. We called another brother from the ward down the street and together these two men laid their hands upon Kaige's head as he received a Priesthood blessing of healing. He was promised that he would return to his happy self. Other words were said, but those few, were the ones that gave me the most assurance because by this point my little guy was screaming non stop at the top of his lungs. I spoke to Poison Control and after giving them my info they gave me things to look for. They said to watch for change in eye movement, jerks of the body and drooling like a waterspout. They were to call in 30 minutes as a follow up. I started getting really nervous after about 20 minutes. His clothes were drenched with drool, he was coughing, and his finger up to the first knuckle had quadrupled in size. It wasn't that I felt like it was life threatening at this point, but I was nervous that it was getting to a point that would effect his breathing or maybe he was having an allergic reaction to it. I wasn't sure how fast those scary reactions would take place and how soon he would need medical attention. My mom called Poison Control for me, and they sent the fire dept. and the paramedics to our house. Kaige continued to scream and choke and it felt like an eternity for help to arrive. I wished we were just driving ourselves. I walked outside when they got there, and Kaige was fascinated by the lights and trucks and once again stopped screaming. Another wave of relief passed by and I thought to myself....oh man these paramedics are going to think I am the most protective over-worried mom ever. After taking his vitals and watching Kaige they said he needed to be taken to the hospital. I should have been more assertive and insisted on my mom driving us, but I just wanted to know my baby was going to be ok, and I just went with the flow. I climbed in the back of the ambulance and had to roll my eyes as the paramedics asked where the closest hospital was and had difficulty navigating out of my neighborhood. Kaige just laid on my chest and moaned. Every once in a while he would start crying again, and I just talked to him. He had calmed down quite a bit and I was feeling really self conscious of all the effort and drama going into getting my son checked out by a doctor. I kept rubbing Kaige's back and telling him that I loved him and this was the most expensive car ride he will ever have. :) We weren't far from the hospital when his screaming intensified and I had a hard time holding him. He was throwing his head back and his skinny little body was so rigid and hard to cuddle and comfort. Not only was his shirt soaked with drool so was mine. We were escorted right into a room in the ER and given immediate attention. They were putting IV's in Kaige and drawing blood right away. I left the room for a little while as I am sooo terrified of needles and doctors. My guilt outweighed my fear and I went to the head of the bed to try and comfort my little guy. I sang songs as a worker was laying on top of him to hold him down and a half dozen other ones were working on him. I just rubbed his face and sang him songs. He was getting more out of control by the minute. He was so upset, and in so much pain and I just felt helpless. When my mom arrived, Kaige wanted her. You could tell he just wanted help and he wasn't getting it from me. It tore at my heart! We were informed that Phoenix Children's Hospital had been contacted and that they said Kaige's reactions warranted anti venom. The problem they were having was that their last dose of it was used on a kid the day before, the same kid my neighbor had described. They were calling different hospitals looking at where to send us for the help we needed. Because it was going to take longer than anticipated they gave Kaige a cocktail of medicine in his IV. This is when I experienced a fear I have never encountered. This was to help with pain, sedate him to calm him down, and also to stop his drooling. Within a minute, my son that I was having a hard time holding became limp, his breathing went crazy and his eyes began to roll back and forth into his head. I was freaking out about the breathing and panicking when the nurse left. They got him a breathing treatment and kept having me look at the monitors and try to show me that he sounded worse than he was and that he was getting enough oxygen and breathing ok. His eyes kept rolling into his head and then twitching back and forth. This medicine is doing more harm than good I kept thinking. He continued to sob but without the resistance or strength that had given me the earlier workout. His hands and feet began to jerk and twitch. When I questioned all these reactions the nurse explained to me that this was the venom from the scorpion. Kaige had been holding himself so tense and crying so much that we couldn't see any of these reactions before. No I didn't believe it....this nurse couldn't know what she was talking about. A doctor came in to check on Kaige and give me an update on the anti-venom and before I could bring up my concerns he pointed out Kaige's eyes and twitching and said that this was from the scorpion venom. My poor little guy was struggling so much. It was such a tense and scary time. My mom was fielding calls and trying to keep Josh updated. She started crying as she spoke to him as he had broken down in tears. He could hear his son screaming in pain in the background and he felt so helpless being 1,000 plus miles away. I felt sorry for Josh too. A doctor came in smiling and said that the anti venom was experimental and so only certain doctors could administer it. He then said that the lead doctor of the study had just shown up at the hospital and was able to get some and administer it. He wasn't suppose to be there that night, at 11PM none the less. I nervously agreed to the Non FDA approved anti venom. The biggest risk to this drug is an allergic reaction to horses. I have an allergy to horses and since Kaige has lots of food allergies already they took extra precaution to have backups in case of bad reaction. The doctor was very confident when he said that once he has the anti venom he should be able to leave within the hour and that he instantly should be relieved of most of his negative reactions. After hours of Kaige being miserable and in pain I was skeptical. How thankful I am that he was right! Withing 15 minutes Kaige was done crying, had fallen asleep and had very little twitching of the eyes, hand and feet. He was so peaceful and sleeping effortlessly! When he woke up he was not only talking to me but talking to his daddy on the phone, sitting on his own and smiling. I had my happy little boy again just as promised!!!! Within an hour of him being given the anti-venom we were being released and Kaige was basically back to his normal self. I got him home and he remained protective of his finger, but other than that he was just fine. We sang songs and did our bedtime prayers with lots of thanks for the previous prayers that were answered. I thought Kaige might be up all night, but he went to bed, didn't wake up once and even slept in. The next morning he still was his happy old self with an owie finger. Oh how I love my boy!!! I am so thankful for family, friends, and prayers that were answered by means of a Priesthood blessing followed by fabulous medical treatment. I continue to be amazed at how something so small can cause so much damage and then how a small amount of medicine can do such healing. I'm thankful for the blessings bestowed upon my little family in our time of need!