I often hear you can learn a lot about a person from the looks of their Bible. Here’s a big box of his. And that’s not all of them.

After getting the phone call tonight, I pulled out one of his Bibles. Searching, I found a piece of paper in it with his handwriting–verses organized by category. I read a few from Peace and plan to read a few more from Free. But I had to share a few verses where he had underlined.

From Romans Chapter 12 (marked “Living Sacrifices” in his Bible)

1. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–which is your spiritual worship.

3. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

16. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

I love peanut butter. Let’s just start with that.

During this particular afternoon, I decided I really wanted peanut butter cracker sandwiches as a snack after work. I pick Ian up from daycare on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so Ian was home with me at this time while Miles was still at work. Since he’d had peanut butter for the first time about 6 weeks ago with no signs of an allergic reaction, I didn’t think twice about giving him some. Actually, I thought twice, but my first thought was “He shouldn’t have any issues” and my second thought was “He definitely shouldn’t have any issues.” Since it was not long before suppertime, I had about 3 of these and Ian had 1 cut in half. He ate the first half quickly and chased it with lots of milk from his sippy cup. (That’s my boy!) The next half he took the cracker, opened it, touched the peanut butter with his fingers and then put it back together and ate it.

5:30 p.m.

He started itching immediately after finishing this half of cracker. This in itself is not unusual as he will often itch during meals (perhaps a sign we should have picked up on problems sooner). But he was also refusing milk, something I think he’d definitely want after a peanut butter cracker. (Yum.) Then I started seeing some red spots on his face. It also was not unusual for him to have red spots, especially when he’s itching, but this is what raised a red flag to me because his skin had been pretty clear the last couple of weeks and especially that afternoon. One spot in particular, under his nose, looked a lot like an inflamed pimple to be honest. I knew that hives can be red with a white spot in the middle. Since I’m a worst-case scenario planner, I then decided what I would do if it indeed became clear he was getting hives.

1. My first instinct was to call acute care and talk to the nurse because that’s always what I do when I don’t know what to do about something medically related. I decided she’d tell me to go to the E.R.
2. I was not comfortable driving to the E.R. without Miles or someone else with me. If he was having a reaction, I had no idea whether or not it might affect his breathing and there was no way in ‘H’ I was going to be driving in 5:30 traffic to the E.R. with a baby rear-facing in the back seat and no one next to him to watch for respiratory distress. (At this point I did not consider my options with neighbors. Our 80-something neighbors would not have moved fast enough for me, but our 30-something neighbor would have been an option had I thought of it. I’m not sure if they were home at the time either, actually.)
3. Therefore, I decided my only option would be to call 911.

In those few seconds when I was planning my worst-case scenario, Ian developed hives all over his face and he began to swell. He kept itching his face and I noticed he had hives on the back of his hands.

5:33 p.m.

I called 911. The dispatcher asked several questions (Has he ever had a reaction to peanut butter before? No and this is the second time he’s had it. What are his symptoms? I told her his symptoms. Is he breathing normally? He seems to be. Is he responding to you normally? Yes. Has he vomited? No.) She told me paramedics were on their way and if he has problems breathing or throws up, I should lay him on his side and call back.

5:34 p.m.

I called Miles. “I had to call 911 because Ian is having an allergic reaction to peanut butter and I need you to come home right now.” I started to cry in the middle of that sentence. “Okay, I’ll be right there.”

I knew I had to calm myself down because I didn’t want Ian to sense how scared I was. He was still itching and I realized that he probably still had peanut butter all over his hands. We went to the sink and I ran the water and he enjoyed putting his hands under the cool water. I imagine the water also helped soothe his inflamed skin, in addition to calming us both by listening to it. Anxiously, I watched the street in front of our house looking for the ambulance.

I checked his belly to see if he had developed a rash or hives there, as I’ve read they might when it’s a food allergy. He had a spot or two, but it could have just been his normal eczema.

We went outside. I was afraid the ambulance got lost, even though we live in an established neighborhood. Ian crawled around a little but mostly wanted to be held. He’d occasionally pick up a rock or two. I wondered if I should call 911 again, but I didn’t.

5:51 p.m.

Miles got home. I told him the ambulance was not here yet — I suspected he figured they’d come and gone already. Ian’s swelling and hives had already gone down a tiny bit. Miles sympathized for his son and comforted him and played with him while we waited some more.

5:57 p.m.

The ambulance arrives. No lights or sirens were on. The two paramedics came up to us and asked us some questions. (Did he have anything else new to eat today? I checked his daycare sheet, everything on the list he’s had before. Anything new to his environment like soap, etc.? No. I was a little bit annoyed because they weren’t doing anything for him and it felt like they were questioning whether or not it was a reaction to the peanut butter. But eventually I convinced them that his symptoms started within 30 seconds of finishing the cracker sandwich. Is it different brands of peanut butter from the first time he had it? Maybe. I might have given him “Simply Jif” the first time, and this time it was Skippy.) They said they could either give him a ride to the ER, we could drive him to the ER or we could go to acute care. They suggested he be looked over and given a shot to help his symptoms. We chose acute care, as it is about 5 blocks away. I ran inside to get the diaper bag, my wallet and turn the oven off, which was cooking dinner.

6:05 p.m.

We arrive at acute care and wait in line to be helped by the receptionist. The paramedics had instructed us not to give him anything to eat or drink until he’s looked over by someone. I brought his sippy cup and a snack bowl so we’d have it when we were allowed to give him something. Since it was supper time and I didn’t know how long we’d be away from home, I wanted to have something on hand. He saw the sippy cup in his bag and threw a huge tantrum in the waiting room because we wouldn’t give it to him. Finally it was our turn and I explained the situation (the receptionist thought it was odd that the paramedics did not give him the shot). Apparently Ian’s sippy cup tantrum was interpreted as extreme discomfort and pain because we were the next ones called back. At this point though, I think his crying and sensitivity was just being overwhelmed by everything happening and when he finally let loose about the sippy cup, he couldn’t hold any of it any longer either.

We saw a nurse practitioner who looked him over and ordered a shot of Benadryl. She also was surprised that the paramedics did not give him anything. She said he could have his milk and snack. This pleased him. The Benadryl they gave him was dosed at about twice as much as we would give him at home so she said he might get drowsy. We stayed in the room for about 20-30 minutes so they could monitor him and he was very sleepy.

Below is a blurry camera photo of Ian at the clinic, waiting for the shot. He has only a couple of hives and his swelling has greatly reduced. The thought crossed my mind to take a photo while we were waiting for the ambulance, but I decided it was more important I hold my baby than to take a picture. In the Dr.’s office I wished that I had taken one so I could show them how bad it was, but no one questioned the existence of a reaction.

Below is a blurry photo of Ian one week after the reaction. Clearly, you can see the difference in his complexion, swelling around the eyes and mouth and healing of scratch marks.

6:50 p.m.

We were able to go home. They said Ian may or may not be interested in eating supper. I offered him some chicken from the alfredo lasagna and he ate a bite but would not eat more. Before Miles and I finished eating, he did end up throwing up. We got him ready for bed and put him down. He went pretty easily, but I checked on him often to be sure he was breathing OK.

Friday, June 24, 2011

I stayed home with him because I thought he might have some intestinal pain and some d-word so I figured he might be more comfortable at home with mommy than at daycare if he’s not feeling good. He was a little moody, which may have been from the shot or may have been from being off his routine but he seemed to be OK. We had an appointment with his pediatrician who was pretty sure he had an allergy but we did the blood test panel anyway. He said usually the allergy presents itself upon the second exposure because now the body knows how to react to it. We also discussed how much we love peanut butter. He’s a crunchy kind of guy. I’m creamy.

The nurse at this appointment seemed surprised it took the ambulance nearly 30 minutes to arrive at our house. This, combined with the nurses’ reaction the night before to the paramedics not treating him had me growing concerned over the next several days. I decided I should let someone know and try to get some sort of explanation to what I thought was strange. I asked Twitter for help in contacting someone, but everyone mostly just speculated as to how to get a hold of the ambulance company (no one knew the name of it or how to find it). After a little Googling, I was able to find a contact for both the 911 call center and an ambulance company that contracts to 911.

Contact with 911 Metro and Rural/Metro Ambulance

I made contact with the operations manager at 911 Metro. She listened to my 911 phone call and reviewed the dispatcher’s actions and got back to me within an hour. She found that the dispatcher did everything correctly, and she explained to me the process. Through the series of questions the dispatcher asks, he/she determines whether the call is an emergent situation or a non-emergent. Our call was a Code 1 which is non-emergent and it tells the paramedics to arrive with no sirens or lights. A Code 1 is also used for situations like a possible broken ankle. Since Ian was not having respiratory distress and was responding normally, his allergic reaction was a Code 1. She confirmed that Rural/Metro Ambulance is who responded to the call. I feel better in knowing that had he been having breathing problems, my call would have been coded as an emergency and we would have received more urgent care. (Just an aside for sharing information’s sake: the operations manager also said they have a “Citizen 911″ class that anyone can take to learn more about the way 911 works behind the scenes.)

I made contact with the operations manager of Rural/Metro Ambulance. He looked further into the situation and got back to me a couple days later. He explained the 24-minute delay between the call and the arrival of paramedics. Due to the high volume of calls at the time I called 911, all ambulances that were in our area were responding to emergent situations. The ambulance that was assigned to our call was in northwest Sioux Falls — we live on the east side and are more central/south. Since it was a Code 1 (no lights or sirens) and it was a high traffic time of day, that is why it took 24 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. He explained the procedures the paramedics follow as well as the options that should be presented to us. However, he said the paramedics have the ability to treat allergic reactions and the desire to offer this service to all patients. He also said the first option they offer should be “transportation and treatment by ambulance to the ER”. This part was not made clear to us. Both Miles and I understood their offer as being transportation ONLY to the ER. Had I known that we had the option to be treated immediately, we may have gone that route even knowing there’d be a high price tag. (Just an aside for sharing information’s sake: the operations manager also explained that transferring by ambulance is the only option in which their services are reimbursed. I take that to mean that we shouldn’t expect a bill since we didn’t go that route.)

Overall, I’m happy to have been able to make contact with both parties involved and to get processes explained to me as well as some answers to my questions/concerns. Though we were not offered treatment by the paramedics, I feel better about the whole experience. My expectation was to receive services within 5-8 minutes — this was based on my incorrect perception as to how the process works. I now feel confident again that in a true emergency, we will receive quicker paramedic service.

Results of the allergy test panel

The results came in that Ian is indeed allergic to peanuts and only peanuts. He scored a 2 out of 5 (though as I understand it, the scoring system is a little misleading and doesn’t translate to how we interpret a 2 out of 5 score. It’s more like he’s a +2 and the highest number you could be is a +5.) This means he has a mild-to-moderate allergy to peanuts. He can have nothing with peanuts in it and we also have to read labels to avoid foods that may have been cross-contaminated. (We’ve given him some Rice Krispie treats this week, however and I just read the label on the cereal box and see it’s a no-no food. Great.)

I hope for his sake (and also selfishly for my sake, did I mention I love peanut butter?) that he eventually grows out of the allergy. But he might not. We can have peanut butter in the house, it’s not so severe that he’s sensitive to airborne particles but I know we’ll be eating less peanut butter in the household because he’s at the age where he wants to eat whatever we are. No more peanut butter cup Blizzards, peanut butter/banana sandwich, Charlie Brown pie, puppy chow. OK, maybe a little of each of those, but only when he’s not around and we shouldn’t kiss him afterward.

We’re considering seeing an allergy specialist — our Dr. has offered a referral. Mostly because he’s so itchy and because of his eczema, it’s possible he’s got some other allergies or sensitivities that the blood test did not catch (it’s not as accurate as the allergist’s tests.) We’ll for sure get him tested again in a year by an allergist — the question is whether or not we will now. I’ve read that those tests will pick up a sensitivity on many things that you’ve never reacted to (I had one at age 8 and was allergic to milk, corn and peanuts — all of which I had never knowingly reacted to. Maybe I was a +1?) and the best indicator is having a reaction to a food PLUS having the test confirm the allergy. I don’t really want to go through this again, so right now we’re also avoiding strawberries because I can’t remember how many times he’s had them (was it just once? or was it 2 or 3 times?) and since they’re a known baby allergy, we’re staying away for now.

Thanks to everyone who’s expressed concern. Ian’s much better now and hopefully we don’t have any more scares like this one.

After a few months of pushing out my end-date, the extra room in the budget in my department has run out. It’s not unexpected. In fact, we’ve known it would happen from day one when I was hired in September. This position has always been a temporary one. It’s funny though, because even though I’ve been temporary from the get-go, I’ve been with the City as a designer longer than I have anywhere else. Granted, that’s mostly because every other place I’ve worked (except one) has been as a student in internship-like design positions. So really, my temporary position has been the most stable and long-lasting. Even my coworkers welcomed me like I had been there forever, and would continue to be. I was given projects that had longer deadlines. I was treated like I would be there for a while. They assumed I’d be there. And they were right. I started out at 10 hours, which quickly grew to 20 hours, and then finally 30 in October.

I’m a classified employee in Media Services, which means the things I work on are considered confidential (not everything is, obviously, because they are produced for the public, but many things are for internal use only) and that is why I haven’t posted anything I’ve done on HolliRausch.com.

Most of my days were spent working on small tasks:

• fliers
• posters
• banners
• brochures
• updating previous artwork/content
• data entry
• production work (binding, copying, laminating, grommeting, etc.).

However, there were some larger and more in-depth projects I worked on as well:

• 2009 calendar sent to every Sioux Falls resident
• Police department billboards (2 locations)
• Media Services’ office artwork
• Banners for conventions/trade shows

I was notified of my official end-date last Wednesday. The very next day, I was offered (and accepted) a position as a Graphic Designer with the University of Sioux Falls. I will start in a week. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. The only way I can explain it is that it’s God’s timing. I obviously had no control as to when the budget would dwindle nor if I’d ever again be offered a job in my field. It’s about the same hours as at the City, but since I will be the only graphic designer in-house, and this is a new position, we foresee that I will be very busy and my hours might increase. While I had a very positive experience with the City, and learned a lot, I am anxious to move forward with USF in a permanent setting and with a great group of people trying to make some changes.

There will be no pomp and circumstance. No party. We won’t divulge in treats. There will just be some good lucks and stay in touches as I leave at 4 p.m. and my coworkers return to their desks. I prefer it that way.

My goal was to lose 50 pounds by June 19. Today is June 15, and I’m happy to report that I’ve lost 50 pounds! And then some. 51.2 pounds to be exact. I’m really proud of myself and feel good about where I’m at right now. I’d like to be about 15 pounds lighter still, but in due time. And according to my BMI, I’m no longer obese. Just overweight. I never believed much in BMI anyway.

Right now I am wearing a size 12 dress pant. It’s a little loose, but I didn’t dare try on a 10. I think I’m probably more like an 11 right now, but of course those don’t really exist. And it really depends on the brand. Some of my 14 pants would be too tight if they were 12s. Fashion’s weird like that. Before, I was getting too big for my size 18 clothes. I would have had to start shopping at new stores if I had gotten bigger, because normal stores don’t carry size 20. And I didn’t want to be a size 20. My very first goal was to lose 50 pounds by Christmas 09. I had an exception to that goal that it would still be met if I was a size 10 by Christmas but not 50 pounds lighter. I wanted to cover my bases in case I got smaller in inches, but not lighter in pounds. Almost have met both goals.

I was afraid I wouldn’t make it by today (though my goal was the 19th, I weigh myself on Mondays, so secretly I wanted to make it by the 15th). I was at 48 pounds last week, and had gained a couple weeks before that (the result of eating too many peanut M&Ms at Marissa’s graduation party without knowing the serving size or calorie amount. Yowza!) So I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to lose 2 pounds in time. Especially since we ate out more times this week than we eat out in a month. But I was somehow able to make it work in my caloric budget. I’ve got a good routine now of waking up at 6:30 to exercise for 25-45 minutes while Miles is sleeping and showering. Then I get ready. I don’t go in to work at the City until 10, but sometimes I work in the morning at one of my other jobs.

Which reminds me, I haven’t told you about that really. I’m working for Scott Meyer Photography. Sound familiar? He took our wedding photos! I’m his first employee, outside his immediate family, so it’s new territory for both of us. I’ve been doing graphic design, marketing, sales, assisting on a photo shoot, and general errands around town so far. It sounds like in a few weeks I’ll be photographing an event downtown for him, too. It’s exciting stuff and I love what I’m doing there and hope this can stick. Once I’m done at the City, I’ll be working more like 30 hours/week for him. So far I’ve been working from home on design stuff, or in the studio being trained.

I’m also working about 8 hours/week at Macy’s. Actually, it’s for Pea in the Pod, which leases a department with Macy’s. It’s nice because I get a sweet Pea in the Pod discount (which I don’t need yet, but some day might) and a sweet Macy’s discount. We also carry Motherhood Maternity, which is more of my price range (Old Navy, Gap, etc. comparison of clothing) but still a little spendy. Pea in the Pod, even on clearance, is pricey (high fashion, downtown boutique, etc. comparison of clothing). But a few nice pieces here and there are always good additions to any wardrobe! Last week I worked 12 hours, this week will be 16 (my manager is on vacation), but from then on it will be about 8 hours. There’s only two of us to staff that department, myself and my manager, but because it’s in Macy’s, if one of us isn’t there, they cover it. If it were a freestanding store, someone would obviously need to staff it during all open hours.

So, I’m working three jobs. It wasn’t intended to be that way. I had already interviewed with Pea in the Pod and contacted Scott Meyer Photography before my employment with the City was extended. I’ll be down to two in just a couple weeks. Somehow, we’re supposed to pack up the apartment during this time because we’re moving in three weeks! And I’m a little controlling when it comes to some things, so I don’t want to leave it all up to my dear husband. But he can pack up his books by himself. I might be too tempted to chuck ‘em.

And this post wasn’t meant to be this long in the beginning. But I started talking about things that I realized I haven’t told people. So now you’re told. Fifty pounds lighter, two jobs heavier.

I like how it looks. The picture makes it look a little “Princess Leia” ish. But it’s not in real life, I swear. I could fit it into a teeny tiny pony tail if I had to. But I don’t think it’d be worth it.  I’m afraid it makes me look fat and counteracts the work I’ve done trying to lose weight. I hope that’s not the case. I still like it, anyhow.