27

A couple of weeks ago we went in for another round of Bryce's testing. As always he was such a brave kid. We were really hoping for some good news on some of his allergens. As a reminder, he has been peanut, tree nut, sesame, wheat, rice, rye and corn free for a couple of years now. He was coping pretty well with eliminating these foods. However, he was having flare ups more often than we felt he should have been. With school approaching this year, it was time to do some more testing. We really were not prepared for the results we got....

We checked in and were taken back to a room and he got comfortable, the skin prick tests are never pleasant, but he has been through it so many times, he knows what to expect. As usual, Jim and I snuck a look at the trays that they would be using so that we would have some idea as to what was coming up positive. I mean, who can really wait a whole thirty minutes for the test to be completed and the doctor tell us? :) The hope was that either corn or rice would have dropped off, making his diet and life so much easier. It never occurred to us that more than an item or two may be added.

As we sat there in the little room, watching despicable me, things took a turn. His little back begin to get red and swollen in too many spots to count. At the five minute mark, the doctor rushed in and removed several of the test spots, cleaning them off and saying it was too dangerous for him to continue those tests, they were obviously very positive. When she left the room, Jim and I began to compare the trays to the test sites. The biggest spots were our main concerns, we started checking off the things we already knew about. The corn was huge and inflamed, but wait, was that corn? No, it was just so close to another that we had been mistaken, it was actually chicken. We stood shocked, not chicken?! We've never had a meat allergen before and chicken is a staple in Bryce's diet. Another came up, potato, then it just got worse, egg, milk, carrots.... We just couldn't believe what we were seeing.

The doctor returned and starting checking all of the sites, she kept checking things off on her clipboard. I kept wanting to yell, no! Stop! That's enough already! About halfway through her evaluation she leaned down to him and said, 'Oh Bryce, I'm sorry.' I knew at this point that we had been right in our uneducated evaluations. Things were getting ready to change for our little man in a big way, again. She went over the results, answered the few questions we could think of, considering our shocked state, and we checked out.

We loaded the boys in the car and I looked at the sheet in my lap. 27. We had gone from 8 allergens to 27. Jim looked at me and said, 'Keep it together, it will be ok, we will figure it out, be strong for Bryce.' It was simply unbelievable. The week prior we had spent several days at the lake on our annual trip with friends and Bryce had been healthy the whole time we were there. That evening as I read the list off to my girlfriends, they said, but we fed him all those things last week. Oatmeal and eggs for breakfast, smoked chicken and potatoes. He had managed so well, how can it be so different now? Sometimes with allergies, there is no explanation other than, it just is.

I made a few calls, sent a few emails, posted a list of new allergens on Facebook and got to work. The meals  around here have changed drastically in the last couple of weeks, but for the better. Everyone is dealing with his changes well, including Bryce. He does miss potato chips, chicken and oatmeal. But, he has felt much better than he has in a long time. At this point we have cleared our two week healthy mark and began trialing potatoes. Hopefully one of his prior safe foods will be a false positive and he can have some of the things he loves! For now, we keep pushing forward, trialing foods and as always, hoping for the best.

Bryce's food allergens as of July 2013:
Peanuts         Garlic
Tree nuts       Chocolate
Pecan            Carrots
Cashew         Green pea
Almond        Potato
Sesame         Pineapple
Cows milk    Banana
Shrimp          Orange
Egg              Lobster
Corn             Crab
Oat               Catfish
Rice             Tuna
Rye              Chicken
Barley

Doctors, Doctors and more Doctors!

It is that time of year again where we start having all of our check ups. Next Monday we will see our allergist who we all love and is always very helpful. Bryce has had too many flare ups in too short a period of time. We would like to think that because of this crazy weather that Texas has been having, that these have been caused purely by environmental allergens. However, you can't be too safe! We are also happy to hear that our allergist may have found a new GI doctor for us! Our doctor seems to be out of his comfort zone with this rare disease and there are several procedures needing to be done in order to determine Bryce's number of eosinophils and the current state of his colon yet he does not seem to be as interested in doing them as we are. Hopefully we can find someone more specialized in eosinophilic diseases!
That is really all I have to report until next week when test results start coming in. We were very fortunate last weekend to be able to take the boys to their first Texas Rngers game! We have never felt comfortable taking Bryce before, but thanks to a wonderful cousin of mine, we were able to enjoy the game from a private suite with air conditioning and where we were able to take in Bryce's safe foods! The boys had a blast and it was so nice to see Bryce enjoying himself at a public event! Until next week, here are some pictures of the boys....

Rangers Game

Post win Fireworks!

Allergy Awareness

I opened my blogger site today and was shocked to see how long it had been since I last posted. Then I look at the six, yes SIX articles sitting in my draft folder and think, oh there's the problem. If you know me, you know that I am a little busy :) Three busy, crazy boys and a very busy husband will do that to you! Below is a post that I had started not long ago about an issue that I never would have imagined would be a real issue, unfortunately it is....I will do better to keep the updates coming! Or I will try ;) 

Bryce and cousin Payton

I recently read an article on 'food bullying,' and found it quite interesting. We have fortunately never had an issue with this and hope that we never do. However, it did make me think about how we are educating, not just Bryce, but all of our children on the seriousness of food allergies and their consequences. I believe that our children have simply learned over time how to deal with these issues. We do occasionally have to say, 'We haven't had this before but Bryce cannot have it, so please wash your hands when you're done.' But, we never really sit down and have a talk about it.

After reading this article, I decided maybe we should. Maybe all parents should. It is second nature to me to be asked by the other children in our lives whether or not Bryce can eat something, if he can be around it. For most this is not the case, yet when you ask someone if their child has any allergies they may say no, but then they remember 'But, my sisters/cousins/friends daughter does!' The number of children being affected by life threatening allergies is staggering and continues to grow. It is so simple for a child to share their food, not wash their hands, any number of things that would allow the allergen to reach your child. They now have classrooms that are peanut free, assigned seats in the cafeteria, and other such rules to protect the children with allergies. On top of this we should be teaching our kids why they are doing these things, what could happen if there was contact.

I began to read the comments on the article. My thinking behind this was that I might find some fun and creative ideas for awareness that i could share with everyone. However, I was SHOCKED to see the number of negative posts. People asking, why should I have to send something else with my child for lunch simply to accommodate yours? Peanut butter is cheap and easy, your child should just sit by themselves. This was deeply upsetting and surprising to me. I left the article feeling extremely angry and frustrated, and even more encouraged to teach my children and those around me to be supportive and accepting of other people's needs!

So I ask you all to be the kind, educated parent and pass it along to your children. Take the time to gain knowledge and be helpful and supportive to those around you! To start you off....I have included a couple of links below to some very helpful and informative websites for allergy awareness, enjoy!

-http://www.foodallergy.org/section/education
-http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcesnew.php

-http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcesnew.