Helpless

I don’t want to turn this blog into a blog about my children, but there has been too much weighing on my mind to just not write about it.

My 5 year old son has recently developed a rare allergy to his skin being cold. Tehncially, this condition is known as Cold Urticaria. It is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard of, but completely true.

On a cool spring morning, his exposed skin breaks out into welts. A mild sun shower? Hives. After swimming, he turns neon, glow-in-the-dark, bumpy lumpy red. Being submersed in water, we’ve just discovered, can be extremely dangerous (the anaphylactic shock kind of dangerous).

After several days of crying and with an epi pen in hand, I can now compose myself to write about my fears. It is so incredibly easy for worry and fear to twist its way into my gut.

Will he ever learn to swim (he so loves the water)?
Will the kids make fun of him if he wears a balaclava to school in September?
How will he cope with extreme humidity in a smoggy, congested city all summer without the relief of cooling off in a lake, pool or splash pad?
How will he cope with extreme winters? We do call Canada our home.
Will he be able to ski ever again?
What are the long-term effects from taking antihistamines?
Is this a symptom of a larger disease at hand?

These are relatively minor problems on the whole, but no mother ever wants to see her child fight battles she’s never had to fight herself.

I know he’s healthy and happy. He will lead a privileged life with loving parents, clean drinking water and all of the education his little heart desires (or doesn’t desire).

Swimming is minor. But it still hurts.