Green Bad Guy

This happened awhile ago, but I haven't had the time to blog about it. The story is too funny (or scary) not to share.

We have an EpiPen at our house since Jackson has a peanut allergy. Each box comes with two EpiPens (syringes with the medicine) and a "trainer" pen which does not contain medicine or have a needle attached. The actual EpiPen is green and the trainer is black. When first prescribed the medication, the doctor showed Jackson and I how to inject himself with the trainer. We had practiced several times with it so Jackson would be familiar and not so scared. The box of pens and trainer sit up on a shelf in our kitchen. One day I was putting Mia down for a nap (twins were already sleeping) and I hear Jackson crying (not unusual). I look out in the hallway to see what Jackson is doing and he has his pants down. I look at his leg and he has a small puncture wound on his thigh. He is crying, "I got an ouchie! That green bad guy got me!" I have no idea what the green bad guy is so I ask him where he was when he got hurt. He says, "In the kitchen!" I totally did not even think about the EpiPen. In the kitchen, on the counter is the EpiPen opened with the needle bent and the medicine expelled. I tried to relax, but I could not believe he had stabbed himself with the pen. Apparently, he saw the EpiPen box while going to get stickers (to put on the calendar for pooping in the potty) and decided that it was a good time to practice with his trainer. Except he didn't have the trainer. Woops. We called the doctor and poison control and 1 hour later Jackson was totally fine. He really had no effects from the "green bad guy" and the funny part is that he injected it in the right spot, just didn't need it at that moment. I felt bad for him because I am sure he was not expecting a needle to poke him in the leg since he thought he had the trainer. Poor kid. I don't think he will be practicing with the trainer anytime soon. He doesn't want anymore unneeded incidents with the "green bad guy."