My baby’s latex allergy

It’s been just over a week since Chance’s last surgery and he’s doing quite well. He’s had a few fussy moments but he continues to be one tough little dude with the most adorable personality shining through, despite how much he’s been through. Here he was just a couple days ago…adorable, right!?

The kids were definitely a little worried about their little brother the day of his surgery. After his surgery they’re that much more connected to him and enjoying every single moment hanging out with him. Yes, Chance is finally starting to get the hang of his Momma taking his photo non-stop.

As we thought Chance was recovering well just yesterday I noticed this nasty rash on his chest and belly. It reminded me of a heat rash but the little guy hasn’t been out in the heat. I began to wonder if it was from the clothes he was wearing. Shortly after taking his clothes and band-aid off his wound from the hernia repair to send a photo to his doctor…it hit me to check the box of band-aids to see if they contained latex. We’ve known since before I had Chance that those with spina bifida are assumed to have a latex allergy because of the early, intense, and constant exposure to rubber products through repeated surgeries, diagnostic tests and examinations. So we knew it was highly likely that he had an allergy to latex but we’ve been told until he had a known reaction that it was more of a precaution. We even spent time review the things on the spina bifida web site and have read that list of known products containing latex. Even with band-aids making the list…it never really hit me to think to check a box of band-aids to see if they contained latex. But they do. It never crossed my mind when the doctor told us to put band-aids on his wound to make sure they weren’t made of latex.

Thankfully all he seems to have suffered from was this rash because I know an allergic reaction could have been much more serious. It definitely caused us to pause and now I have this feeling I’ll be quadruple checking things to make sure they aren’t made of latex. And yes, that’s a pretty long list…including not only band-aids but balloons, certain balls, latex gloves, even gum and scratch off lottery tickets are on the list.

Chance is doing well, despite the rash he developed. Since removing the band-aid it seems to be lightening in color some so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that it’s gone soon. Today was that reminder of how much our lives have been affected by spina bifida so I decided today would be the first day Chance would wear his spina bifida onesie. I bought it just before he was born and it finally fits.

This afternoon the kids spent a bit of time with Chance. Yes, that silly rash hasn’t kept him from smiling.

As you can see the kids were doing everything they could to make Chance laugh. I’m sure by now he must think they’re a little silly. Something tells me it won’t be long before he’s acting just as silly.

Chance has become totally mesmerized by his big sister. I can tell he totally adores her. Now that she’s on summer break she’s been a huge help with her baby brother and I can tell he’s growing more attached to her by the day. There’s no doubt that she’s totally in love with him.

If you haven’t heard, Jaylen is infatuated with Chance. He’s been known to stop what he’s doing countless times throughout the day to squeeze Chance’s toes or his cheeks. Yes, Chance’s cheeks are that pudgy now…who couldn’t resist pinching them, right!? Several times a day Jaylen will come to me and say “Momma I lub Chance…” and at times he’ll ask to hug or kiss his baby brother. I’m not sure how much longer Chance will tolerate Jaylen’s infatuation with him…but for now it’s still something I adore.

Yes, my baby boy has spina bifida and it appears he has a pesky allergy to latex that we were forewarned he might have…but it certainly doesn’t prevent him from being super cute. In just under four months we’ve seen this tough little dude go through so much and I can tell spina bifida or this latex allergy won’t hold him back from doing some awesome things in his lifetime.