Page 23 of Family Bonds- Gabriela & Luca
Mathew’s shirt was lifted, the rash that had been bright red and covered his upper torso when his father raced him into the ER in anaphylactic shock last night was much better.
“Your rash looks good. Is it still itchy?”
“Not bad,” Mathew said. “And Mom said I’m not allowed to have shellfish anymore. We didn’t know.”
“It happens,” he said. “It’s a good thing you weren’t that far away.”
“He wanted to try shrimp. I didn’t think it’d be a big deal. I eat it all the time when we are out, but I never thought he’d be allergic to it.”
“I recommend he sees an allergist and get tested for several things. It’s better to be safe than sorry. One allergy normally could mean more.”
“How do they do that?” Mathew asked.
The seven-year-old was eyeing him. The kid hadn’t been happy to get two doses of epinephrine so he could breathe. He hated to think what would have happened if they’d been any further away.
Once Mathew could breathe better, his body broke out in a nasty bright rash.
This wasn’t a mild reaction at all.
“Why don’t your mother and I have a chat outside for a minute,” he said.
“He needs to have a bunch of shots for it, doesn’t he?” Mathew’s mom asked.
“Not like you think. They will feel like pinches on his skin looking for reactions. It’s not pleasant, I’ll be honest, but it will save his life. His reaction was severe. I hope you know how close you came to not a great situation.”
“I do. I’m going to get him an ID bracelet too.”
“That’s a great thing to do. But he should know if there is anything else so he’s aware to keep his distance from it. I’ll give you all that information with the discharge papers. You’ll have to go to Boston for it, I’m assuming.”
“That’s fine. We’ll do it. So he can go home today?”
“I don’t see any reason he can’t. A nurse will be in to take care of everything, but I’ll sign off on it. Do you have any other questions?”
“Can he go trick or treating tonight? He’s going to ask.”
“I don’t see why he can’t. But if he gets itchy, put the cream on I’m going to prescribe. Keep it clean and dry. We don’t need him getting an infection if he scratches it and breaks his skin.”
“Got it. Thank you so much.”
He turned and updated his notes while Mathew’s mom returned to his room.
“That was super sweet of you to bring in the stickers and Yo-Yo’s, Dr. Brewer. The kids are going to love them today. Not that there are a lot here,” Bonnie, one of the nurses, said.
“It’s not candy, but best not to do that. I’ll bring some down to the ER. I’m done with rounds for now, so page me if you need anything. I’ll come back this afternoon if I can or am needed. Otherwise I’ll stop in after dinner.”
He’d be checking notes and updates on the kids under his care with the nurses, but that didn’t mean he had to come in nonstop all day.
When he got to the ER, he was introduced to Dr. Kennedy and the other staff on duty.
There were two patients waiting to be seen, one a child, so he went there first.
Luca pushed the curtain back and went into the room. “Hi, Faith, I’m Dr. Brewer. You hurt your finger?”
“My brother shut it in the car door,” Faith said, a fresh set of tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I didn’t mean it.” Faith was ten, the younger brother looked to be about five and was crying more than his sister. “I wanted to sit on that side and she got in first, so I shut the door for her. I didn’t know she was going to reach for it.”
He frowned. “How did it happen?”
