Our Little Benson

We recently found out that Benson is VERY allergic to animals. A couple of months ago he had an allergic reaction to our (then) dog Saturn that kept us in the hospital for half a night and us praying that his little body would pull through. Which it did! Since then I have taken extra precautions to make sure he is on allergy medicine and his inhaler that they gave us a prescription for is always handy.
Well we just moved into our "in between" house that we will be in for a couple of weeks while we prepare for Dan to come home. I did not realize the people who lived there before us had cats and dogs. We moved in Saturday, Benson had a coughing attack Monday morning and by Monday afternoon was not acting like himself (keep in mind at this time I did not know he had been around any kind of animal exposure). It was Labor Day so we were Partying Pearce Style at Buffy's (my sissy's) and Benson spent most of the day napping. By the time we left he was wheezing and telling me he did not feel good. SIDE NOTE: Benson is ALWAYS on the go, and to not be playing with his cousins swimming and laughing is a pretty big deal. He fell asleep on the way home so I put him into bed when we got home around 6:45 and Britton and I fell asleep 15 minuets later.
AND THEN....
I SWEAR that Heavenly Father woke me up. It was only 8 o'clock but I opened my eyes and above me I saw a spider web with a spider in it. I thought I might be sleeping, so I closed my eyes and opened them again and it was still there RIGHT ABOVE ME! I slid down in the bed and then sat up so I could turn around and look at how exactly this spider was able to build this web right above me (I am talking like a foot above me) and when I turned around... IT WAS GONE, but then I heard it... Benson's horrible gasp for air. It was the worse sound! I could hear my baby gasping for any air he could get. I grabbed him and Britton and ran out the door to my Mom's. On the way there I had Benson using his inhaler and Britton telling me if he could see his brother's eyes. As soon as we got to my mom's, Skip, who is my step dad gave Benson a Priesthood blessing (which I truly believe helped Benson's lungs stay open until we got to the hospital). After the blessing I ran Benson to the hospital. As soon as we walked in the door I let the nurse at the desk know he was having a hard time breathing so she took us straight in and then he just swelled up and broke out in hives ALL OVER HIS FACE. They were able to get him on the Nebulizer and open his lungs, then the steroids came, and while he was getting them he was telling the nurse, "Please don't poke me (he remembered his last experience all too well)." Finally his breathing returned to normal and he fell asleep. They monitored him until 2 in the morning and then finally let us go home. When I woke him up to leave he asked me, "Is Daddy proud of me for being so brave (Dan's opinion means the world to him)"
Needless to say he has been on breathing treatments every day since, but is such a little trooper! I cannot even begin to explain how grateful I am for his life. I truly thank my Heavenly Father for the Priesthood and for His love and mercy. Benson has given me THREE serious scares in his life time, but I do believe this one topped them all. I don't know if it is because it is the most recent or because it was the worst. I just know that as a mother my children are so sacred to me. I love them so much and am so grateful that God trusted me to be their Mother through this life time.
We will be taking Benson to an allergist soon to run every test possible and get him on whatever he needs to be on to make sure his body fights off EVERY thing that may be thrown at him. He is such a trooper and we love him so much!