Food Allergy Desensitizing Day 1 is here. 3 patients. Each with a different Food allergy. Egg. Milk. Peanut.
We arrived at 8am to Dr. Wasserman's pillows,blankets,snacks,electronics and "to do's" in hand. The stage is set for an entire day at the doctors.
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After completing our computerized health status questionnaire we proceed for med check (height,weight, bloood pressure) & then to the PFT test which Alexander FAILED in September (see my Roadblocks post). Xander passed this time with 79% lung function. Not great but vastly improved. Next the physicians assistant questions Xander about his current health as he was undergoing treatment for a cough & drainage in addition to Advair for his asthma and poor lung function.
Hurray- we are deemed healthy enough & allowed to proceed.
We settle into a large room with reclining loungers along with an 18 year old teenage boy with an Egg allergy and a 10 year old boy with a Milk allergy.
Picture a small table set up in the room and a nurse armed with a timer to dispense a dose of the allergen every 15 minutes (treatment details will be provided in post to come). Alexander is given a name tag to wear that says "PEANUT". The other 2 patients don "EGG" and "MILK" name tags.
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| As a precaution each patient wears a name tag displaying his particular allergen |
The dosing procedure is explained.
8:54 a.m. I am handed a syringe with Dose 1. A tiny bit of peanut flour mixed with grape juice. I hand it to Alexander and he squirts the peanut "cocktail" into his mouth.
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| A syringe is used for the "allergen cocktail" of peanut flour and grape juice |
After a few doses Alexander "settles in for the long haul" teenager style.
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The environment is comfortable especially with the teenage accouterments
This scenario is repeated every 15 minutes like clockwork for 26 doses of increasing strength.
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The nurses regularly check to ensure each patient feels normal, no cough, itching,hives or worse.
5pm He made it! Ingesting all the doses with no adverse reactions.
WHEW! Praise God.
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