This is Why We Practice

A wise person once said, "Don't practice until you get it right, practice until you can't get it wrong." This is true in any sport and especially true if you have a child with severe allergies.



Cute Isn't He!

In case of accidental ingestion of an allergen, we carry around Epinephrine Auto-Injectors, better known as EpiPens. But just having the tools is never enough, you have to practice giving the injections. Which is why the pack of EpiPens comes with a practice device. As a solid mother and protector, my wife typically insists that anyone babysitting our son go through the drill of practicing using the EpiPen each time we visit, "just in case." The practice EpiPen actually talks you through the process of taking off the cover, removing the protective cap, placing the device on the thigh, and pressing until you hear the click. My wife usually has everyone test the device on her first, then on our son. Not only does practice keep our own skills sharp, we can walk babysitters and other caretakers on their use, so that if the time comes, it decreases panic and improves execution (seconds count!!).

Today was such a day... Although probably not the way you're thinking...

The story starts with my wife taking our son to grandma and grandpa's house for a visit and to leave him there for a few hours so my wife could run some errands. A few minutes into the visit, I get a phone call from my wife in a near panic. I ask her to tell me what happened. The way she told it, she asked her mom to go through the EpiPen drill. During the drill her mom asked her, "Is this right?" To which my wife responded (without looking), "Yeah, sure mom." Grandma took hold of my wife's thigh and pressed the device until it clicked and my wife screamed. Evidently it wasn't the test device, it was one of the real EpiPens!

The good news, it was a baby-sized EpiPen, and my wife had no pre-existing condition that epinephrine could make worse. The bad news, the panic my wife was in was only going to cause the epinephrine to course through my wife even faster. A huge part of me wanted to laugh really hard (sorry babe!!) but I needed to keep my wife calm while the drug was making its way through her system.

So while I'm trying to calm my wife down and keep her spirits up, I hear her scolding her mother in the background. The best moment during the scolding, somewhere between the admonishment and blame, was the compliment she gave her mom when she told her she executed the injection right but for our son, to hold on to his thigh harder because he moves around so much. Kind of reminds me of accidental shooting victims confronting their shooter and giving them tips on how to hold the gun better for next time...

After about 20 minutes of the chills (and the munchies), my wife pulled through and returned to normal. And though my wife will grudgingly admit it, it is great to know that grandma is an EpiPen expert and our son is in great hands 😀.

There is a lesson here outside of the importance of practice, but that would involve asking my wife what she was paying attention to just before her mom injected her... 😂 My guess would be that cute son of ours...