extra epipen? yes, please.

well today i experienced what no parent ever wants to go through. we were at a bday party & the girls were eating their lunch with the rest of the kids. the party host happens to be my bff so she was sweet to make some jelly-only sandwiches for my kids, which the others had pbjs. we've known for a few years that L is allergic to peanut butter & we found out a few months ago that K is too, but we had no idea how severe either of their allergies were. our assumption was that if they CONSUMED the peanut product, we'd have an anaphylactic reaction. so our goal has been to stay away from those products & live life normally. today K proved us wrong entirely- she got a tiny drop of peanut butter in her hair, just on her scalp. i'm not sure how it got there but i was holding her & i noticed she smelled weird. i just glanced down & there it was- so i hopped up & took her to the sink, washed her head w/shampoo & dried her off. my bff offered to give her benadryl, but i thought since i had caught it so early it'd be no big deal- boy, was i wrong. she walked away from me for a few minutes & went off to play- then maybe 3 minutes later i caught a glimpse of her face from the side & it was all swollen w/red whelps. i pretty much lost it from there. i started shaking, crying, freaking out internally AND externally. i had these crazy flashes of my child dying of some stupid peanut butter IN HER HAIR. of course i drove my hub's car that day so the epipen wasnt with me. and our spare one i had just sent to L's school for her emergency kit. thank GOD my bff stayed calm. she called the ER and got directions on what do from there. we bathed K completely & i tried to pray that God would keep that poison from seeping into her skin. i really was a wreck at this point. once she got a huge dose of benadryl, i shoved her into the car (still wet & in a towel with no diaper on!) & drove her straight home. i figured if we needed an epipen it'd be safer to be at home where we were in a controlled environment. (also, we were at a bday party. big points to us for single handedly ruining a 2yr olds party!) my mom met me at the house & took over. i was so shaky i had no idea what to do. she did the obvious, gave K more benadryl, put a diaper on her, & some clothes. she gave her some milk & some food. set her down to play & calmed us both down. i've never been so scared in all my life! i'm so thankful that we live here, minutes away from my mom- who can help in a pinch. i'm so thankful that my bff didnt panic and literally left her own child's party just to help me care for my kid. this could've been much worse & somehow God ordained it to just be a learning experience. but just to be on the safe side, i will DEFINITELY be purchasing a few more epipens to keep with us all the time!