Ninety-five Shots

        Celebrating TGIF last Friday with a few of my former co-workers – instead of the Algonquins, I call us the Cazuelans, we got to talking about allergies and the tortures of our various allergists over the years. Then I realized a blog post about Sarah’s allergies has not been written yet. So here it is.

        We were living in Texas, just north of Dallas, when Sarah began kindergarten. She had always had a touch of hay fever – but somehow at age five, that hay fever season seemed to be extra uncomfortable for her. We decided to have Goobs tested to find out exactly what she was allergic to and what we might be able to do about it.

        Since Sarah’s Dad had a history of hay fever himself, it was decided that he would take Goober for the testing and perhaps be better able to communicate with the doctor. Dad was not looking forward to it – he was worried that with each shot, Sarah would cry – why wouldn’t she? Shots hurt, and she was five-years-old! So Dad told Sarah as they were driving to the allergy office that morning, “If you don’t cry even once, I’ll take you to Toys R Us, and you can have anything in the store that you want.” He was clearly desperate for Sarah not to cry!

        There were 95 things that Goober was tested for that day! Ninety-five times a needle was stuck into a different spot on her back, and some of the stuff that she was being tested for was deposited just under the skin.

        Various varieties of grasses and molds and ragweeds; various kinds of food products – dairy, tomato, wheat, peanut; ninety-five antigens.

        Sarah did not cry once.

        The ragweed injections caused the most immediate reactions – at the site of each injection, a bump rose, and rose and rose. They were classified as plus 4 – the highest response. Then they began to itch, and Sarah was uncomfortable.

        The other airborne antigens made bumps also – plus 2 or plus 3 – nothing else quite like the various ragweeds. The dairy registered almost a 2 and the same with the wheat.

        One the way home, Dad asked Goober if she knew what she wanted from Toys R Us, or did she want to go to the store and look around before deciding?

 Sarah said she wanted a new dress.

Alas, they would not be going to Toys R Us for her no-crying reward!

        It was determined that Sarah could come by the allergy office, I think it was once a week, and get a shot in her thigh which would help with the airborne things she was allergic to. We would have to stay at the office for at least 20 minutes after the injection to monitor Sarah – if she had a bad reaction, they would be able to attend to it.

        Sitting in the waiting room for 20 minutes once a week for a year, I think we saw every episode of Charles in Charge that was made. And it was cute.

        When I took Goober for her shots, I only saw the nurse, not the doctor. The nurse always told everyone else in the waiting room, “This little girl,” pointing to Sarah, “had 95 shots in her back – no crying! 95 shots!” Goober got used to this and graciously accepted the attention, although she really didn’t know what the big deal was.

        Even though it took more than a few weeks for those ragweed bumps to go away – itching the whole time!

        There were occasional consultations with the actual doctor, and Dad went the first couple of times. But one day he came home and told me I would have to meet with her the next time because he was tired of getting yelled at!

        So for the next appointment, Sarah and I went and sat in this little tiny office with a HEPA machine suspended from each corner of the room, and each of them was whirring away. The doctor came in, she was a little tiny woman with a big allergy attitude.

        “Have you taken dairy and wheat out of Sarah’s diet?”

        “Uh, no – why would I deprive a five-year-old of pizza?”

        “She is allergic to tomato, and wheat, and dairy!”

        “My understanding of the results is that Sarah is allergic to ragweed and various other airborne things – the dairy and wheat hardly registered from the injections.”

        “Do you want me to test her for tomato products right now? I will prove she is allergic to them! Why should we be providing shots to help with the airborne antigens if you are not doing your part at home with the food allergies?
        “Because she is allergic to the airborne items and the shots will improve her quality of life? Sarah does not have food allergies!”

        “Do you know what I just had for lunch?”

        “Pray, tell me.”

        “A sweet potato cooked in the microwave, and a handful of sunflower seeds.”

        Sarah would be content today with a microwaved sweet potato and sunflower seeds – but taking mac and cheese, spaghetti, and pizza out of her diet right then would have been next to impossible – and those were not the things she was allergic to! I determined I would not be meeting with this woman again either.

        We moved to Georgia the next year. Although there were times when Sarah’s allergies flared up, they have never been quite as bad as they were that hay fever season when she was five.

        A few years ago now, Goober removed dairy from her diet, and she says she is more comfortable.

        So it could be I am evil Mom after all.

        Sigh.

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