Like mentioned earlier the time had come for Carter to visit his allergist. I always get my hopes up when we visit that there will be good news. The odds are on his side to outgrow both his egg and milk allergy, as the majority of kids do. But then again, he is my flesh and blood and medical luck doesn't seem to always be on my side..........
Carter was SO brave this trip. He use to scream bloody murder at the sight of a doctor or a room but he has really gotten over that. (It helps that he had no idea what they were going to do to him.) When the Dr. came in he sat so nicely on the table and let her look in his eyes, nose and mouth and even said "AHH" without prompting. Then came the hard part.
We had a great nurse who gave Carter the whole bin of stickers and a sack to decorate to his hearts desire. And he used enough stickers for a small group of children. This really helped to distract him as she had to write on his back and put drops of the allergens on him(she called them rain drops!) Then she told him that he would get some little "cat scratches." And if you've ever been scratched by a cat, you know that doesn't feel good..............
He did start to cry and said "OW, that really hurts me." But after a quick hug from mommy (am I bad for taking pics of this?) and more stickers he was back to his happy self. Thank heavens for McQueen and Mater stickers. He preferred them over a sucker. The nurse said she would be back to record the results in 10-15 minutes. Poor guy, it only took him about 4 minutes to produce "Highly Allergic Results."
It's hard to see but he had huge welts on his back but was very good about not scratching them. So no good news this time but our allergist is VERY hopeful that he will at least get on eggs someday. The FDA is in the process of approving and finishing up a study that introduces food allergens into people's bodies at microscopic rates until they can handle them. Much like seasonal allergies. So we wait patiently for this study to be approved so 1) the Dr. will administer it and 2) insurance will cover it. Which is the most important. It's hard for me to think about my little boy dealing with serious food allergies the rest of his life so I keep hoping and praying he can outgrow them. I worry constantly about him and him growing up and being away from me where I can't protect him. I already have nightmares about school and school lunches even though that is years away.
He has such a positive attitude about his allergies(even though he only understands them at a 2 yr old level.) If you ask him "What are you allergic to?" He will respond "Milk and eggs. If I eat milk or eggs I get really sick and i have to go to the hospital and they have to give me shots." His last "episode" in November, although scary, was really a blessing to us. He remembers it vividly and can describe the events with perfect memory. He knows that eating "Yuckies" has a very negative effect on him. I'm hoping those memories will keep his curiosity to a minimum. He knows that he is "different" and drinks soy milk, eats "special ice cream" and can't have eggs. He even asks for soy milk when he asks for a drink.
Although a pain, we are certainly grateful that allergies are the worst of Carter's health problems. We know it could always be worse. The allergist did tell us that Baby Boy #2 has a 50/50 chance of having food allergies too, since they are highly genetic. We have to take special precautions with him in the future and are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.
The day wasn't all doom and gloom though. Since the allergist is in Ogden we decided to buy a season pass to the Treehouse Children's Museum. And we plan to use it frequently and always after a Dr. appt as a reward!
He loved every minute of being there and kept true to his age.....we were in about each section for about 2 minutes before he wanted to explore something else. His pregnant mother would just have gotten comfortable when he was ready to move!
We were lucky to have Grandma E with us on this trip and Carter loved showing her all the neat exhibits. Plus she had a magic Mary Poppins bag that would magically produce candy-and never seemed to empty (much to my dismay and his delight!) Thanks for coming Grandma. Let's do it again in 6 months at our next appointment!
5 comments:
Poor kid! All of those 'cat scratches' are far from fun... I vividly remember them from my own childhood, though I only had it done once. I hope that he really does outgrow at least some of his food allergies, though it sounds like he (and you) have handled them really well so far. And a season pass to the Treehouse Museum is definitely something to look forward to the allergist trips for!
I feel bad for you guys every time I give my kids a bite of random food off my plate. I can feed my kids anything and not think twice and you have to be on high alert every minute of the day. No one envies you, but you guys really do an amazing job of keeping Carter safe and making sure he doesn't feel too left out. You make the cooking for his "special food needs" look easy.
Chloe still to this day asks constantly, especially when she knows Carter is coming up to see us, "Can Carter have this? Is Carter allergic to this?" She is very conscious of it and thinks about it all the time. I find myself checking food labels all the time too, wondering if Carter can have it.
I hope to hear the good news, too someday that carter can eat milk and eggs! We will celebrate with him and give him a big cheese covered pizza, brownies and lots of REAL ice cream. If that day never comes, we'll all raise our cups of soy ice cream and egg-less cake and give Carter a high five for being such a good boy in dealing with such a rotten thing!
That was me, not Ben...
I now have a special little book with "Carter-safe recipes" that I have found. And after 2 years, I've used up most of my powdered egg substitute. I'm praying, too that he'll outgrow at least one of the allergies to make things easier for him and you and everyone who wants to feed him.
Although I must say that the eggless, milkless chocolate cake recipe is very good. I like it better than regular chocolate cake!
Poor little guy! I was surprised how well he does handle his allergies. We will continue to hope and pray with you that he will outgrow this and that baby #2 doesn't have the same problem! Thanks again for a fun trip!
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