MY MOST EMBARRASING MOMENT.....EVER

On my last posting, I promised a story about Preston's previous allergy testing. If you have ever felt like a bad parent, read on.

Three years ago, when Preston was five, he underwent allergy testing. It was split into two sessions. The testing consisted of twenty-five to thirty possible allergens and a needle for each one. The first time, he had several positive reactions, warranting a second round of testing.

The second time he went, we were presented with a different scenario. The allergist was about three-quarters of the way through and she said this is really odd, he's not showing positive to any of the allergens and he had so many positives before. I agreed, but did not think too much of it. After the testing was complete, the routine is to wait 10 minutes and then record each reaction. But he was not having any reactions whatsoever. The allergist said,"I just cant believe he's not allergic to any of these and she flips through his chart. You didn't give him Zyrtec in the last few days, did you?"

At this point, I was ready to crawl under my chair and become invisible.
"Umm, Zyrtec, Oh my gosh, you know what, I did give him Zyrtec, I can't believe I forgot."

You see, Zyrtec helps prohibit allergic reactions and must be discontinued a few days before allergy testing. Somehow we did this successfully the first time and I just plain and simple, forgot the second time. As a result, the reactions that would have been positive were blocked and therefore, all negative, producing an unsuccessful test.

The allergist first turned away and then looked at me again and gave me the 'If looks could kill' expression. She proceeded to tell me how Preston unnecessarily went through a very uncomfortable procedure and will have to repeat it in the future. "And," she added, "You better hope your insurance will cover this." Which, gratefully, it did. After I got up, from what felt like the principal's chair, the allergist had to tell the doctor so I could experience even more ridicule, then she gave Preston many extra "prizes" and told him mom owes him McDonald's on the way home - to say the least.

As it goes, I didn't think of the Zyrtec before we went to the testing or even before we began. All in all, Preston was a great sport and young enough to accept McDonald's as a consolation for unnecessary needle poking. At a later date and time we successfully completed the second portion of his testing and, I remembered to discontinue the Zyrtec three days before.