What to do?

Zach saw Dr. Tan today.  Three of our children have seen her for different reasons.  Zoe had a minor heart murmur when she was a baby, so we were referred to Dr. Tan for that.  Zoe outgrew the heart murmur as expected.  Then Eleanor saw Dr. Tan a few years ago to see if she had any food allergies.  No food allergies, but we did find out that she is allergic to cats and dust.  Dr. Tan also confirmed that Eleanor has eczema.  Now, Zach has the bee allergy.  He was given a practice epipen today to use in the office.  The nurse was impressed that he knew how to get the practice pen back to its original position after using it.  The nurse showed him where to insert the epipen into his thigh.  He didn't have to practice for long since we had practiced last night.  Dr. Tan wasn't impressed with the pharmacy that gave me epipens that will expire in 7 months.  They should be good for a year.  Having to get new epipens every year is annoying since they have been tested after 5 years and have still been good.  You just need to take good care of them.  Anyway, Zach qualifies for the bee allergy test with the symptoms he had, but the test will be long, painful and expensive.  The test would be done in November or December.  The test would show what types of bees/wasps and other insects he is allergic to and how severe.  Then depending on the results, he would go on an injection therapy to prevent a life threatening reaction in the future.  So, do we go the less expensive route with the epipen and hope that the epipen is near if he gets stung, hope that he doesn't have a life threatening reaction with a hospital too far away to help him?  Do we spend thousands and thousands of dollars for the injection therapy with a possibility that he may outgrow this allergy or never get stung again?  The therapy is a painful process that will take years to complete.  I really don't want to put him through that, but I also don't want him to have a life threatening reaction either.  I keep coming back to the thought that we should go the epipen route now and have him tested when he is older.  That could be our wallets talking, though!


Our Family Home Evening was actually on the go tonight.  Matt brought our canoes to Bangor for Zion's Camp (which starts on Wednesday & Matt is in charge) and he picked up a check to go food shopping tomorrow.  We all piled in the yukon tonight and went with him.  We did part of our FHE while we drove and then we stopped at a park on the way home for our game.  Then we stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for our treat.  :-)


I finished the final book of the Hunger Games today.  I had been told that the last book was not worth reading, but I enjoyed it.  I've also enjoyed the tiny bit of Olympics that I have seen.