It happened.

My worst nightmare came true on Wednesday. Miles went into anaphylaxis. I don't know what happened or what he ate, but it happened and it was the scariest moment of my life.

Here is the whole story:

9:45 am- "Mommy, my mouth hurt." I thought he was just picking at that dry piece of skin on his lip again. "Sorry, sweetie. Lets get in the car to take Daddy to school."

9:55 am- I look back at Miles in the car seat and his lip is completely swollen. What the?! "David! Grab the Benadryl!" He gave him a tablet and reassured me that everything would be fine as it usually is; giving him Benadryl is not uncommon at our house. "Crap. I forgot my phone. Pick me up at noon. Just watch him," he said. So I did.

10:00 am- We pull into the driveway. Miles' lip is so big he can barely talk and now he is crying, wheezing and coughing. I have never been more scared in my life. I know what I have to do. I scramble to get him out of the car, I grab the EpiPen and pull his pants down. "I'm sorry baby, but I have to poke you with this. It will hurt really bad, but I need you to stay still okay? I will hold you. Ready? One, two, three." Miles screams and I count to ten. "I'm so sorry Miles. We need to hurry and get you back in the car because we have to go to the hospital."

10:20 am- We are driving to the hospital and I haven't started crying yet. I am trying to stay calm. I think to myself- If his lip is still swollen that means his throat is as well. I drive faster.

10:23 am- I realize that I have no way to get a hold of Dave.

10:25 am- We pull up to the valet and I put Faye and Miles in the stroller.

10:30 am- We go the ER, a doctor comes in to give Miles some steroids. He is still crying. He may or may not have swallowed any of the medicine. He just keeps crying and saying "I sorry Mommy. I sorry Mommy."

10:35 am- I finally get him calmed down and the nurse needs to do a work-up (including a rectal temp). Miles is terrified and will not cooperate. His lip is still huge, but he isn't choking anymore. We try to put him on the scale. He freaks out. He gets double upset during the temp taking. I am still trying to stay calm. He is still crying uncontrollably. Faye is fast asleep- thank heavens.

10:45 am- We get into a room in the Emergency Department. PBS Kids and cuddles from Mom calms him down. His sippy-cup lid comes off and applejuice soaks us and Miles isn't happy about it. Awesome.

10:55 am- The doctor comes in to make Miles breathe some special epinephrine smoke and the panic attack begins again. Faye wakes up and is screaming for food. Luckily, I have a bottle of formula ready for an emergency situation that I just put in my bag this morning. As the doctor tries to "mist" Miles I try to feed Faye the bottle and hold Miles down. It doesn't work. The doctor and I switch. That doesn't work. We leave Faye to scream while I hold Miles down and she sprays him with the medicine. It takes way too long.

11:20 am- Faye is fed and seems semi-happy and Miles has finally stopped crying. The pediatrician comes in. "Because Miles' lip is still quite swollen and his voice is still horace- I want him to get an IV and stay here for a while to keep an eye on him." My response- "Really? An IV?" I really don't want to do one more thing to make him upset. "Oh yes. It's a must in this type of situation." Sadly, I give them the okay.

I don't even want to tell you about the IV. It was horrible. It was so bad that Miles started screaming something I've never heard him say before- "Oh, Gosh! Oh, Gosh!" And then continues with "It hurts! I sorry Mommy!"

Sometime after 1:00 pm- After being hunted down at school, David arrives at the hospital. Thank you Hursts. Miles falls asleep in his arms.

Things got better after David got there. We moved to the peds unit and Miles was much happier. He was either bouncing off the walls (because of the steroids) or dead asleep (due to the Benadryl). David and Miles had to stay a long night at the hospital. I believe Miles was up until just before midnight.

We still have to pump him with both for a few days, but we are all home now and everyone is fine.

It was awful.

You know, before Wednesday- his allergies were just an inconvenience really, but now- things have changed. He could've died.

I am so thankful for modern medicine. And for the power of prayer.

And for Miles. And Faye. And David.

Well, that is it. The scariest experience of my life so far. I hope and pray I never have to do it again.