After a couple of hours, they felt Callie start to stir and the moms stood up from their chairs so they were in Callie's line of sight.
"Callie? Sweets?" Stef asked, as she saw the girls eyes start to flutter open, she moved a stray hair off her forehead.
When Callie opened her eyes, all she saw was a blinding light. She closed her eyes again and groaned.
"Hey Bug! Everything is ok, you're ok. How do you feel?" Lena asked while caressing her cheek.
"Yeah sweats, I'm glad you're awake. You had us worried there for a minute." Stef continued.
Callie was a little disoriented. She wasn't sure where she was or what had happened.
"Moms? Where am I? What happened?" Callie said with a raspy voice.
"You're in the hospital. We called 911 and an ambulance brought you to the hospital. A bee stung you and it looks like you're pretty allergic. The Doctors said you went into anaphylactic shock." Lena said.
"Anaphylactic shock?" Callie asked confused.
"Yeah Cal, you were having trouble breathing and you couldn't talk. Your face was starting to look funny and a little swollen. You gave us quite the scare." Stef said.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to scare you guys." She said sadly. Then she noticed that it was just the moms in her room. "Is everyone ok? Where is everyone? How's Jude? How long have I been here?" Callie asked a little frantic.
"Woah calm down honey. The kids are at home with Mike. They're fine, you were the only one to get stung. No one else is allergic that we know of. Jude is worried, but he's ok. And you've been here for about 5 hours now." Stef said while looking at her watch.
"And you have nothing to be sorry for. This stuff just happens. It's not your fault. It was an accident." Lena told her. "I'll go get the doctor to let him know you're awake." Lena said. "I'll be right back Bug." She wanted to let Callie and Stef talk because they were both blaming themselves.
"Ok mama, hurry back." Callie said softly.
"You sure you're ok bug?" Stef asked after Lena left.
"Mhm. Just really tired and kinda thirsty." Callie eyes were starting to droop as she said this.
Stef moved towards the table in the room that had a pitcher with water and a cup with a straw. She filled up the cup and helped her daughter drink some water. "Well, do you think you can stay awake until the doctor comes so he can check on you?" Stef asked.
"Sure." Callie said while rubbing her nose. Her face felt funny to her. She felt little bumps and puffiness.
"So Callie did you know you are allergic to bees?" Stef asked her daughter trying to keep her awake. She new that when Callie rubbed her nose she was really tired and trying to fall asleep.
"No, I've never been stung before" Callie reached to the back of her neck and winced when she touched the small welt she found.
"Well, that explained why it's not in your file. Are you allergic to anything at all? Maybe something that's not in your file?" Stef probed.
"Umm, I don't think so. Why?" Callie was getting suspicious. She felt like her mom was keeping something from her.
"Just asking, have you ever been stung by anything else? Wasp, ants, stuff like that?" Stef kept probing.
"I guess. Maybe a couple of ant bites but no wasp that I remember. Why? Is there something wrong?" Callie asked. She was starting to get a little scared.
"Well the hospital wants to give you an allergy test." Stef stated and carefully looked at Callie to gouge her reaction.
"What? Why?" Callie asked. She hated hospitals and needles even more. She didn't want this test done. She couldn't!
"Because they want to make sure you don't have this type of reaction to something else." Stef told her with her no nonsense voice. "Callie this is dangerous and you need to be careful." Stef said looking in her daughter's eyes. Callie nodded.
"I heard that someone finally decided to wake up!" The doctor chimed as he walked into Callie's room followed by Lena. "How are you feeling Callie?"
"Tired. I don't know, I feel kinda off?" Callie answered a little uncertain.
"That's normal. I'm sure you don't remember a lot of what happened also." Callie shook her head at that. "Well let's take a look at how you're doing and then we will talk about what happened and how we can keep it from happening again. Ok?" The Doctor moved towards Callie and got his stethoscope out.
He stood over Callie's bed and started to check her vitals. "Pulse is back to normal, you seem to be breathing a lot better. Sit up please so I can check your lungs." Callie did as the doctor asked. "Lungs sound good. Let's check your oxygen levels… well those are still a little low, but that's normal." He said. He put the stethoscope around his neck and looked at the machines that were hooked up to Callie. "Well Callie it looks like this time it was just a scare."
"This time?" Callie asked worried. "This can happen again?" She already knew the answer to this question.
"Yes, you have a very severe allergy to bee stings. And unfortunately they are everywhere. I can't guarantee that you will never ever be stung again and neither can you. Also there is a possibility that every time you get stung the reaction might be greater." The doctor explained.
Callie looked at her moms with shock in her face. She thought this was bad, she couldn't think about it being worst. Her moms also had a shocked expression on their faces.
Lena was about to ask a question when the doctor continued. "But we can prevent the symptoms from getting so bad." The doctor smiled at Callie and both moms.
"Ok? How?" Callie asked.
"With this." The doctor held up a pen or marker shaped thing. "This is called an epinephrine auto injector. Epipen for short."
"And what does it do?" Stef asked.
"Well, this has a very high dose of medication in it. As soon as she starts having symptoms of anaphylaxis you inject it into her thigh and then bring her to the hospital to get her checked out." He said as he looked at both moms.
"Is it hard to use? Can Callie use it on herself?" Stef asked. "We won't always be with her…"
"It's very unlikely that Callie will be able to use it on herself. You saw first hand how fast the reaction is." The doctor said. Then he looked at Callie. "This is something you will have to carry with you everywhere. I suggest that you show all your family members and your close friends and even your boyfriend how to use it and where you keep it. It can save your life if used correctly. Also you should have one at the nurse's office at school. Moms, you might want to carry one as well just to be on the safe side." He directed this at both moms.
"So what happened to me exactly? My mom said that I had an allergic reaction to a bee?" Callie asked.
"Yes, It's called anaphylactic shock. It's a very severe allergic reaction where your airways constrict and you start having trouble breathing. Since you haven't shown any kind of reaction in the past it's most likely that you never came into contact with bees before." The Doctor stated.
"So this means that if a bee stings me I can die? What if more than one stings me?" Callie was very worried about this she loved spending time outside taking photos and just enjoying nature.
"Callie millions of people live their entire lives with allergies like yours. It's going to be ok as long as you take care of yourself, avoid bees and keep the Epipen with you at all times. I would suggest getting her a medical ID bracelet to let others know in case of emergency. In a case where she might not know anyone it could save her life." The doctor suggested.
"Yes of course we will get her one." Lena stated. "So what happens now?
"Like we talked about earlier. I want to wait and do the allergy test on Callie, but since the other kids are adopted also, I think it would be a good idea to bring them in and get tested. Just so you have an idea of what you're dealing with." He said with a smile. Then he looked at Callie. "Well, everything seems normal, but since it's your first reaction I want to keep you overnight for observation." The doctor said while he wrote some stuff in Callie's chart.
"But I feel fine now. I want to go home…" Callie whined, which was very rare for her.
"See that?" Stef pointed at her face, squinting. "That right there is how I know you're not fine." Stef tried to convince Callie that she needed to stay put. "You sound tired honey and I think that staying here, at least until tomorrow, is a good idea."
"Mom… I hate hospitals!" Callie tried but when she saw that she wasn't going anywhere with Stef she changed tactics. "Mama please I want to go home…" She tried to persuade Lena.
"I'm sorry Bug but the doctor wants to keep you and by the way you're acting I think it's a good idea." Lena responded. But all she wanted was to get her daughter home.
"Ok, but no shots!" Callie seemed determined. "And will I go home tomorrow?" She asked a little more calmly.
"Callie you will let them do whatever is necessary. I know you don't like shots, but they are just trying to make you better." Stef told her.
"And yes, you will go home tomorrow, as long as you don't have any complications from all the meds and from the sting sight." Dr. Stevens added.
At that Callie reached over to her neck and felt the small welt that was still there. It kinda hurt, but she wasn't going to volunteer that information. She wanted to get home as soon as possible. She hates hospitals…
"Someone will be here shortly to take Callie over to pediatrics and to bring all the admissions paperwork. Ok? See you ladies later." And with that the doctor left Callies room.
"Thank you Dr. Stevens." Lena said
"Thanks doctor." Callie mumbled looking tired. As if on cue a nurse came in with a clipboard. "Hi I'm here to take Miss Callie Adams-Foster up to pediatrics. And I have the admission paperwork for a mom…"
"Yes, that would be us." Lena said taking the clipboard. "Can I fill these in her room?"
"Yes, of course." The nurse said smiling.