Hello everyone,

  Well, I finally have a few minutes to sit down and drop a note. I am happy
to report that it seems that the crisis has passed. The doctors are unsure
as to what actually took place 3 days ago. They think that it must have been
an allergic reaction to something that set off a combination
anaphylaxis/asthma attack. They now say that it was my husbands quick
thinking in administering the epi-pen that probably saved his life. I am
planning to write a letter to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Ontario and to my Member of Parliament to let them know that I am furious
with the level of health care my son received in those first crucial hours.
I still cannot believe that the triage nurse asked my husband why he would
administer the epi-pen if he wasnt turning black! The level of ignorance
just kills me. But for now I am basking in the Glory of my son!!! It is
remarkable how children bounce back. Monday night I held him in my arms
while he slept. He was a pitiful sight gasping for every precious
breath...Today I spent most of the day scrubbing crayon off my kitchen
cupboards. He looked confused as to why I was crying my eyes out as I did
this. I guess maybe someday he will understand why I let him get off scott
free just this once. I am still however on my toes as I know that allergic
reactions can last for days. He is still on the nebulator (ventolin) and I
suspect he will be on it for quite a while, but he is down to 2 times a day
with no problems.

  I was planning to answer each and every email I got personally but I now
am at well over 300 and still counting. In addition to this list I forwarded
my original message to the another mailing list. I cannot believe the
outpouring of prayers and support I got. Say what you will about the
condition of the world today, but there are still wonderful people out
there. I am not just talking about Christians either. I am talking about
people of all races and creeds. One positive thing that came out of this
otherwise horrible experience is that it reaffirmed my faith in people. Its
amazing to me when people I have never met in person are so quick to offer
support. I could not have made it through the past few days without all your
prayers and words of encouragement, and for that I thank you from the bottom
of my heart! I wish I could sit down and write all of you personally but I
am too busy right now lavishing my son with well deserved love. So I will
merely say "Thank you".....

  I do however have some things that I need to address. These are answers to
questions posed to me from various people on this list. I currently go to
MacMaster University Medical Centre and see a very influential allergist
there. One drawback of this is she is quite often away teaching and
attending conferences so my appts. are hard to schedule. For example the
emergency appt I tried to schedule Monday is for Nov 6 or Dec 18, its my
choice. When I have tried to see other allergists in her place I am not
happy with them. I am right now considering travelling to the US to seek
treatment.

  The other thing is, we are planning to move. We do have 911 service in my
area but we have only 1 ambulance. This ambulance services a 50 mile radius.
If we get "busy" they send ambulances from neighbouring cities and this
takes up to 45minutes. The hospital is only between 5-10minutes away so it
is faster to drive ourselves BUT the hospital is being closed. Our nearest
facility is soon going to be 45-60minutes away. That is why we are planning
to move.

   As far as the anaphylaxis goes...it is still a mystery. He ate nothing at
his grandmothers and to be honest, didnt touch much either. He was only
there a few minutes when it started. Now he did have hives the night before
on his face that my husband & I couldnt figure out. They went away within 2
hours and we didnt think much of it after that. He had a pretty bad cold
too. I think the cold made the symptoms much worse too. I believe in my
heart and memory that the reaction actually started long before he got to
Grandma's, so I dont think the problem lies there. Anyway this mystery
remains under intense investigation by all of us. We (my husband, myself and
grandma) are all preparing lists of all foods eaten, cleaning supplies used
etc on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Hopefully when these lists are completed
and studies they will shed some light on things. I am prepared for the
possibility that we may never know...

 Once again thank you to all of you who wrote to me with well wishes and
advice. You all certainly gave great advice and suggestions of possible
culprits and things to avoid in the future. I apologize for the length of
this but I had to answer publically as I couldnt possibly do it one by one.
Thanks and God Bless!

Keep the Faith ;-)

Rita
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(Ontario, Canada)