Allergy testing is something that is annoying and unpleasant. I had this done at the age of four and it impacted me enough that I have the entire event engraved into my long term memory bank. I remember trying really hard not to cry and only having a single tear fall down my cheek. I remember getting to pick a toy out of this giant treasure box and I chose a paper chalk board with one piece of chalk. Afterward my dad took me to Mc Donalds and I got a miniature cabbage patch toy as my prize.Today I had to take Xander to do the same and he is four like I was. They did the same tests. He had to get 48 little pricks (6 sets of 8). He didn't want to sit still for the 15 minutes following the back pokes until I told him if he got up they would be unreadable and some if not all would have to be repeated. He asked me to take a picture of his back so he could see it. He's well aware that I keep a camera in my purse. I was reluctant at first because I thought the growing welts would scare him. I finally decided to go ahead and that way I could explain what was going on.
Surprisingly he seemed calmer after I showed him the picture. He thought he looked cool for some reason. After the 15 minutes passed the doctor came in and read his back and then brought in 9 small needles to test on his arm. The nurse wrote numbers on his arms and then another nurse came in and wrapped Xander in a bear hug. He understandably cried but the nurse holding him helped him with a breathing technique that distracted him through the shots.
He again wanted a picture of his arm. This time he wanted to show everyone how brave he had been and has asked me to show his Grandma Fullmer both his back and arm pictures so for this reason I'll post them on here.
After another 15 minute wait we got the results. Turns out he had a high reaction to Soy and the doctor thinks that may be the root of his chronic tummy troubles. He is also allergic to a bunch of animals. The only thing Xander cared to know was if he was allergic to dinosaurs or lizards. He was relieved to hear he was safe around anything in the reptile genome. The nurse brought Xander in a few trinkets and suckers for being brave.
I took Xander to lunch as a reward and as we drove home he said "Mom, is daddy stronger than a baby gorilla?" I paused for a minute "Yes, I think he is probably stronger that a baby gorilla just not a grown up gorilla." He was silent the suddenly "Are you sure?" "yes, I'm pretty sure." "Oh , What if dad blew the gorilla up with a tank. Would daddy win then?" This conversation was getting weirder by the second. "If Daddy blew the gorilla up with a tank I'm pretty sure that would mean daddy won." I glanced at him in my rear view mirror. He had a huge grin on his face as he simply said "Cool!".The gorilla conversation took me back to earlier that morning. I went into the bathroom to wash my face. Landon followed behind me.
He looked very serious. "Mom, I hate to tell you this." I don't like sentences like that and my stern what did you do look was starting to form as I pursed my lips together. Before I could say a word Landon continued. "Mom. I'm turning into a tiger. I was bitten by a crazy tiger last night and now I'm going to become tiger boy and live in the jungle. Don't worry the changes won't happen until after nap time today. But you could always have me skip nap time and that should cure everything" My suspicious look transformed into a smile and I began to wash my face. I caught Landon outside the door a few minutes later roaring around the dining room. I guess the tiger DNA had worked its way into his system sooner than anticipated.
I thought it was funny both my sons had caught me of guard with jungle animals all in the same day. I have to say moments like this are one of the great things about being a mom. Kids say things out of no where and even if you're having a horrible day you can't help but smile.
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