I Got My First IV...

 *blink blink* 

I probably should explain my title to you all. But honestly it was quite traumatizing that I don't ever want to think about it or re-live it again...

Saturday morning (the 5th) I woke up with hives covering me. But not too bad. I was a bit shook up, because I hadn't had hives in at least ten years. I took Benadryl, they went away. 

Tuesday I was awaken at 6:00am by horrid itching on my neck and all the way into my hairline. I climbed out of bed  and tried to look in the bathroom if there were hives on my neck. My eyes were too tired and blurry so I asked my bro to look for me. He said there were some red spots but they weren't bad. I tried to lay back down but it just didn't feel right. So, I climbed out of bed and asked my mom to come and look. And by that time they had gotten worse.
I felt nauseous and ended up hardly eating all day. My dad went to town and came home with BV for me for lunch (at three in the afternoon) and Damara brought me a coffee. We hugged and cried on each other. (maybe I'll go more in detail in a future post about why we cried)
Things only worsened. The hives got worse, I started having weird feelings in my throat, and getting a bit panicky. 
My mom and dad decided to take me to Urgent Care after supper. I was shaking so hard and crying from fear. My bro wrapped me in his arms and told me he was praying and everything was gonna be okay while I vibrated and sobbed into his chest... I was given a steroid shot... the lady, in all honesty, didn't do a good job at helping me to relax. Said things like, "we don't want you to have to breathe through a tube... I don't know if your just nervous or what but didn't hear much movement in your lungs... I don't want to have to give you an EpiPen..." 
And I was already vibrating from nerves, my whole entire body shaking so hard I can't even explain. 
So we left and went to the local pharmacy to get whatever she told us to get and I sat in the car trying to tell myself I was fine. I kind of began to panic and so we left and headed towards the ER. 
We got there and parked and I kept drinking water and trying to tell myself I was okay. My mom was on the phone to my step-grandma, Sue who is a doctor and I just sat there starring at those big words on the door "EMERGENCY"
After awhile (I guess we sat there for like two hours) we left and went to a store to find somewhere to use the bathroom and get some snacks. Walking around helped me to relax and I was able to eat some Pringles. We sat around for awhile longer, making sure everything was going fine. I just wanted to go home and crash on my brother.. 
We got home at 11:00pm and I half-sleepingly crawled onto the couch and laid on Chancy. (I had a ton of Benadryl in me so I was so groggy I hardly remember coming home) 

Wednesday I woke up and still was covered in hives from head to toe and felt miserable. In all honesty I hardly remember what happened that morning. I didn't eat breakfast cause I felt too gross. Maybe I ate a piece of toast??? I laid around, sleeping, sitting around trying to relax. I just sat there, my entire body vibrating and soooooo tight. My dad was sitting next to me, and was telling me to try and relax and then I tried to swallow and it felt like it got stuck halfway down and was itchy. I think (everything is like a groggy nightmare that played in slow motion) I tried to swallow again and said, "I don't know.. it's feeling really weird to swallow.." 
My dad said we should just go to the ER and my mom ran and got dressed or something. I slowly made my way to my room shaking and trying to relax and take in slow breaths to change into something decent. (I was wearing my pjs) 
Kate was over and was acting real quiet and concerned about her auntie suddenly leaving and sitting on the floor cause she felt lightheaded.. she came and gave me a hug and my dad helped me out to the car. The drive to the ER felt like the longest drive in my life. I was shaking and trying so so hard not to panic. My anxiety was through the roof, let me tell ya. 
When we finally got there my mom and dad helped me to the door and they asked what was wrong, my dad told them I was having an allergic reaction to something and they gave me a face shield (so thankful they didn't make me wear a mask.. I would've felt even more panicked) and then they sat me down and immediately took my vitals. My heart rate was... quite high. And I couldn't stop shaking. They got me a wheelchair and I went into some room and talked to a few guys about my symtoms and they looked at my hives, asked me to say my name and date of birth (to hear me talk), weighed me, and told me to wait in the waiting room to go back and get an IV of a bunch of stuff to try and help get the reaction under control. 
They called my name in hardly any time and I went back and was given an IV. My parents went back with me and I'm so thankful. The nurse was super. She did a good job and acted like someone who thoroughly enjoyed their job. She put in the IV and started on Benadryl and kept asking how I was doing. I was fine until... I wasn't. *small laugh* I suddenly felt sick and as though I was gonna throw up. Thankfully she got a puke bag and ripped my face shield off in time. Then she got me a cold cloth for my head and a cloth to wipe my mouth. I felt better after throwing up and she had me lay down for the rest of the stuff she gave me. (lol, I have no clue what all she gave me... I was too stressed and sleepy to notice. My parents know though. I just know I got a huge amount of Benadryl and it like knocked me out) 
The nurse gave me a new puke bag and left the room for something and I puked again. Mostly dry heaved but it was awful. Felt like everything in me was trying to come up. 
She came back and exchanged my puke bag for a new one again and then left. I was feeling so tired, I could hardly keep my eyes open so I ended up sleeping a bit. 
Then it was back into the waiting room for awhile, then back into another room where my vitals were checked again and we talked with the doctor. He listened to my lungs and looked down my throat and said everything looked great and I could go home. They prescribed steroids to take for two more days and we were free to go home. 
We left and went to Wendy's for some food and I ate for the first time since three o'clock the day before. It was good food. And the water was great. I was dying of thirst. 
We got home around supper time and I, again sleepily came in and crashed on the couch. (I hardly remember coming home cause I was so full of meds that they knocked me out) 
I lazed around on the couch and slept some, but mostly just sat there and drank tons of water and watched stuff on the laptop. 
Kate was there and was kinda cranky. She started crying and I was feeling better so I got up and picked her up and asked her, "are you sad cause Auntie can't play with you today?" and she nodded and laid her head on my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my neck. *sniffs* I love her. 
I spent my evening on the couch. My bro came home from work and came and hugged me for a long time. <3 

And now here we are, on Monday and it's my first day without any allergy meds in me and so far so good. No more hives. Just a tired, drained and exhausted girl... that week was... draining. Emotionally and physically. 

I'm so thankful my air way didn't swell completely shut and getting the IV was the worst thing that happened. It could've been far more worse. 
And I'm so so thankful to all those who were praying for me. <3

It was quite the scary week for me. So I feel drained. I have a kink in my neck from being so tight and every muscle in my body aches from all the shaking and holding myself tense. But I'm doing better and for that I am thankful.

We're still not 100% sure what caused me to have this reaction... 

Kylie is on her way here for a weeklong visit and it'll be good to just relax and have some fun after that scary stressful week. 

Here are a few pictures of hives my scary days...

(my face and chest were covered...)

On the way to the Urgent Care.

At the hospital...

Sleepy and headed home..

So yeah. That's what's been happening in my life. *sweaty face*