Sigh

Bridget ate shellfish for the second time ever today. She had a tiny bite of shrimp a few weeks ago and decided she didn't like it.

Today we were at Wegman's and she said she wanted to try crab. The lady at the fish counter was nice and gave us a piece of cooked crab as a sample. Bridget ate a tiny bite (tiny!) and then said she didn't like it so she didn't eat anymore. She wanted to keep the claw though so she carried it with her through the store.

Maybe 5 minutes after eating it she told me her throat was "scratchy". I asked if she was having trouble breathing and she said no but she said it felt like there was something in her throat and she could feel it when she swallowed (!!!)

A few minutes later I saw her rubbing her eye. By the time we got in the car to go home her eye was puffed up something awful.

It's hours later and the swelling is down but under her eye is bruised. It looks like someone punched her. It sounds as if her throat swelled a bit but she never had trouble breathing and overall it wasn't a serious reaction.

Except it's shellfish. Shellfish is one of the bad ones. I've heard of it before but tonight I googled and learned more than I wanted to know.

It's probably lifelong (one site says about 25% of kids outgrow a shellfish allergy by the age of 3 - she's 8 so what does that mean?). It's one of the ones that can progress (with each exposure) to anaphylactic shock. It's one of the ones you're encouraged to carry an epi-pen for.

Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit.

Sorry, I just had to vent a bit there.

I'm processing right now. I'm going to make an appointment with our old pediatrician and talk about this and what it means. He doesn't take our insurance so the visit will be out of pocket (gulp) but I trust him more than the one we currently have.

Ok (deep breath and happy thoughts). This is not a big deal. It's not like she eats shellfish anyway, right?

Send chocolate. Preferably milk chocolate. Caramels are nice. Gluten/wheat free please :-)