I don't need luck. I have skill.

Yesterday Blaine and I were sitting in the kitchen having lunch and I noticed he had little red bumps on his elbow. I checked his other arm and, sure enough, bumps on that elbow too. I asked him to stand up and I lifted his shirt. His torso was spotted with hives. I carried him upstairs and stripped him down and watched as this rash spread across his body, down his legs, arms, up his neck. I called the health unit, got an emergency appointment with the Nurse Practitioner (N/P) and immediately started getting Blaine redressed for the trip. As we headed out of the house our nanny/housekeeper, Ella, gave Blaine a kiss and said "Good luck at the doctor". He turned to her, and in a very serious voice said "I don't need luck. I have skill."

I really don't know where he comes up with these things.

By the time we got to the Embassy Health Unit, the hives had doubled all over his body. The N/P diagnosed him with a viral exanthem rash based on the fact that he had a cold over the weekend and his fever had broken on Tuesday. I was skeptical because it looked more like hives than a viral rash to me, but I have no medical training other than CPR, so I took her word for it. We treated Blaine overnight with Benadryl to stop the itching and, hopefully, clear up the rash. No luck. This morning his eyes, hands and ears were swollen with rash and 90 percent of his body was covered.

I took him back to the health unit and flat out told the N/P that I thought she was wrong, that it looked liked hives from an allergic reaction. She agreed, but wanted me to go to the local Georgian Pediatric Hospital to get another opinion. So, Blaine and I headed out with Mirena, the health unit administrative assistant (who went along to interpret for us if needed). We ended up in the emergency room of the children's hospital with talk of an IV and infusions of steroids and fluids. Needless to say, I was freaking out. The pediatrician, who was an awesome doctor (and spoke flawless English) decided to give the staff allergist a call for consult. The allergist came down and checked him out and concurred with me that it was an allergic reaction and that Benadryl was not strong enough. So, Blaine ended up with a shot of prednisone in his bottom and 2 different prescription drugs.

He already looks a million times better, thank God. But now we have to figure out WHAT caused such a serious reaction. We've not changed soaps, foods, drinks or anything else that we can think of. So, until I can get him to his pediatrician in the states, I am going to be carrying an epi pen with me, just in case. We are still scheduled to fly out of here Saturday morning, so I will probably have him at the doc in Florida on Monday or Tuesday. Then I have a feeling we are going to get referred to an allergist and Blaine will have to have testing done.

Wish me luck, because when it comes to stuff like this, I don't have skill.