But...What about the strawberries???

Brace yourselves, you're in for a long one...
Previously, I posted the story about finding out that Peyton was allergic to strawberries, or so we were assuming based on the hives he got. (For a refresher, look back to the post titled: Itchy baby) On Friday (March 2nd) Peyton had a checkup, and the first appointment he has had since the incident, so I mentioned it to the pediatrician. I really like my pediatrician, seems like he actually knows what he's talking about, and doesn't make me feel like a horrible mother because my kids tend to be lightweights. (Yes, I feed them...) Anywho... when I mentioned that it was the strawberries that made Peyton break out, he seemed very insistant that it had to be something else because "strawberries are not a common allergy for a person that young". Well, I'm sorry, but sometimes mother's intuition trumps medical textbooks, but I smiled and nodded while he explained that it MUST have been something else he ate...I have no idea what, but evidently Peyton snuck into the Crookston's refrigerator when nobody was looking and must have eaten peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk, or shellfish, because those are the only common allergies... I knew we shouldn't have left him in the kitchen alone!!! Anyway, our doctor said he would consult with an allergist, and get back with me. Well, he got back with me yesterday, and it turns out the allergist wanted to see Peyton ASAP. I called and got an appointment for today at 1. Cameron and I dropped Andi and Dylan off at the Crookstons and headed for Dallas for the appointment. Everything went swimmingly. The nurse (who bore a striking resemblance to Cameron's grandmother...) and doctor actually seemed to believe us that he had a reaction to strawberries. Then, came the physical so that the allergist could have a "reference point" of Peyton's overall health. UH OH! Ya see, Peyton has had a chest cold for a couple of days, with a runny nose and a cough. (Did I mention the allergist is also an asthma doctor?) He gave Peyton two treatments with this nebulizer-type thing, and he started to sound better, but the doctor was very concerned with the type of reaction Peyton had to this "cold virus", and said he was "overreacting" to the bug. (who's overreacting here...?) Long story shortened somewhat: They couldn't do the skin test because Peyton wasn't "healthy" and we were told that his breathing was so labored that without treatment, we would have ended up in the emergency room tonight. So, he gave us 3 prescriptions for breathing medications that we have to give several times a day, and went on his way, telling us to call to schedule the skin test when he's all better. We filled the prescriptions, including one for an "epipen junior" that our pediatrician gave us "just in case" he had another reaction. To what, I don't know, 'cause the jury's still out on the strawberries. Funny, I thought spending 3 hours in an allergist's office would lead to more of a conclusion than we would have had if we had just filled the epipen prescription and fed Peyton a jam sandwich...at least then we would know for sure!