Thankful Thursday

Ian pointing to the dump trucks and bulldozer working near the playground.

1. Ian and I made our third trip to the Allergist today. At the first appointment (4 months ago), they did skin testing, which showed he was allergic to eggs. At the second appointment (2 months ago), he established the protocol for Ian after his EE diagnosis. I am grateful that we are working with an Allergist who wants Ian to have as few endoscopies as possible. He'd be undergoing anesthesia FAR more times if we were seeing a CHOP allergist. I called the GI today to tell them that Ian is ready for his next endoscopy.

2. I'm thankful for the safety we experienced while on the road for about 6 hours today. We left the house at 9:20 for Nadia's 4th swim lesson. We left the pool for Paul's parent's house at 10:25. Ian and I left their house at noon for the Allergist and returned back at their house a little after 4pm. We stopped at McD's on the way home so Nadia could eat dinner in the car as we got home at 5:45pm, which was just a few minutes before it was time to take her to her final night of VBS. I'm exhausted.

3. I'm grateful for the DVD player. Ian did really well in the car; he fussed off and on during the last couple of hours, but he never was crying or screaming. He only slept for about 10 minutes of the time we were in the car. He fell asleep right before we arrived at the Allergist. He slept through a good portion of the appointment, but the stethoscope woke him up.

4. The Allergist gave me 3 cans of EleCare. They cost me about $18 each on eBay. If Ian's next endoscopy comes out "all clear," he said we can switch from EleCare to soymilk or almond milk. I've spent over $400 on EleCare thus far (for 24 cans), and I've received 8 cans for free.

5. Nadia had fun with her grandparents this afternoon.

Ian sitting during Nadia's swim lesson.

6. The Allergist said we shouldn't worry about the positive blood test for wheat, and he also said we could reintroduce soy. He said it is true that maybe 25% of those who test positive for an allergy to milk also test positive for an allergy to soy (which is why the psychologist asked us to also eliminate soy), but he said that's not the case for those with EE. The reason why I am grateful to reintroduce soy is because #1 soy yogurt is easier to locate and much cheaper for me to buy and #2 Ian loves to lick graham crackers, and they have soy in them. I gave him some tonight. He had some coconut milk yogurt at grandma's house today, and he ate the WHOLE thing without crying or fussing one tiny bit. I plan to buy some soy yogurt tomorrow. I'll probably feed him 1-2 yogurts a day until he's eating a wider variety of foods. I'd be thrilled to have a couple of meals a day be free of crying!

Practicing kicking

7. The Allergist thinks there is a 90% chance that in a few months Ian can be on a normal diet without any medications. PTL!!! I had assumed that he would at least have to eliminate one of these foods for years to come. If the next scope comes back clear, we'll start a plan of reintroducing one food or decreasing one medication every 2-3 weeks. If the vomiting doesn't return, then we will continue to gradually move him back toward a normal diet without any medications. He will stay on the Singulair the longest. This process will take 2-3 months and will begin after we get the next biopsy results (provided those are good).

Blowing bubbles!

8. I learned today that the EE is probably why Ian struggled so long with his weight gain. The Allergist told me today that having EE greatly increases how many calories a child must intake just to maintain much less gain weight. He said that reducing the inflammation helps with weight gain. I had assumed it was just because he was keeping more food down due to not throwing up so much.

9. An electrician installed a light fixture/ceiling fan in our living room on Tuesday. Now all the rooms in our house have a light in the ceiling. The lighting in that room is soooooooooooo much better now! Unfortunately he had to cut several holes in the drywall of the ceiling to run the wires. That's not going to be a fun project to repair, but it's wonderful to have so much more light in that room.