Worry and Its Diminishing Return

Real difficulties can be overcome, it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable. – Theodore N. Vail

This week BabyBoy *L* broke out in a terrible rash. It started on Wednesday morning and I decided to not overreact as I feel I so often do. He wasn’t overly-fussy or scratching at himself. Simply, his body had broken out in hives /everywhere/; from the top of his head to his ankles, around his arms and in all of the folds of his skin. I knew he had his well-baby, 6 month, checkup on Friday and thought, eh, he’s fine. We will make it to Friday. It was taking everything in me not to worry.

But as the day wore on the rash was getting redder and filling in. Then I noticed he seemed to be wheezing a bit, not something he has ever done. So I started to worry some more. I thought, maybe he needs Benadryl. And I started researching how much to give a 6 month old online… not really the best source of medical advice (yah, duh!) and quite frankly the internet had all sorts of answers out there. So my husband asked, “Why not call the nurses’ line?”

Ah… a professional’s opinion. In all my haste to not overreact, to not worry… I was in fact overreacting and worrying, but in the wrong direction. I talked to the nurse for about 5 minutes and she felt it warranted a visit to the doc. She found an appointment slot for me in the next 45 minutes and we bundled up and headed into the snowy, icy, Ohio weather.

Worry gives a small thing a big shadow. – Swedish Proverb

Well you know it’s something when the nurse and the doctor get a little wide-eyed when they look at your baby. Yep, something was up. No change in diet. No change in laundry detergent. I could not explain it.

Doctor asked if I eat shellfish or nuts. No shellfish in my near-recollection. Nuts, yes; every morning in my oatmeal. She nodded. That could be the problem. A nut allergy. He is getting some of the oil in breast-milk. An explanation. I can handle that. Our oldest (my stepson) has a tree-nut allergy. We carry an epi-pen. We’ve been to the emergency room because of it. I know what it entails.

As she started to check him out he got really fussy and even turned a bit gray. She never heard the wheezing that I did but we both knew there was trouble. So she gave him a dose of Benadryl as quickly as possible and the nurse took his pulse and oxygen levels. Those two numbers were good and so I breathed a sigh of relief.

We still don’t have an answer. We’ll see the doctor this afternoon but my worry is diminished. Because I have taken a step back. I have talked to a professional. I also have taken the fear of the unknown and asked family and friends to pray. I stand firmly on the rock. The rock of God and his mighty army of angels all with their eye on my little-guy!

“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.” – Benjamin Franklin

It isn’t always easy to take a step back. Worry makes you unhealthy. Being proactive empowers you. Stepping back and thinking, “What will I do to change this?” is worlds better than biting your nails and thinking “What is going to happen?”. And if you can’t change the situation then you can change your mind-set!

We’ll know more this afternoon after a few tests but in the mean time:

“… Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” – Jeremiah 17:7-8