Now that Joergen is well over 3 years old, we knew it was time for us to get him in for a visit with our allergist extraordinaire, Dr. Wodell, for some allergy testing. Despite never actually having eaten a peanut, Joergen is the best "allergy brother" a kid could ask for-- he double-checks that everything is safe before eating and is always on the lookout for a rogue peanut to warn his very allergic big brother about. So now, it was time to find out the truth: do Liam and Joergen share parents, toys, and allergies?
It was so great that they could at least share the appointment, because Liam was no stranger to the testing process and was a great mentor for his little brother's first time through. They both got "caterpillars" on both arms, and the boys were thrilled (and distracted, hooray!) when the nurses gave them each a lollipop for each hand so that no one was tempted - or able - to disrupt their testing sites.
And the results? Drum roll please...
The news was not all good, however. After some additional testing on Joergen's breathing, he was diagnosed with asthma-- which confirmed a suspicion we had had for a while. Since we already had a nebulizer at home, we just had to refill our albuterol Rx and learn about a management plan. The biggest shift is going to be doing breathing treatments at the first sign of respiratory illness, rather than waiting for the onset of wheezing (which is what we'd been doing previously). Ok- good to know!
Also in the less-than-stellar news category were the results of Liam's testing. We had him tested for tree nuts, and retested for eggs. Now, tree nuts were something we were categorically avoiding in light of the likelihood of cross-contamination and cross-allergy development anyway, but we admittedly did allow foods that were made in the same factory as tree nuts. He had tested negative for them in the past, but since that was more than three years ago, I knew we needed to test again. To be honest, I was expecting some confirmation that we could continue to ease up the tree nut restrictions. To be really honest, there is so much talk of outgrowing allergies that it never even once occurred to us that he might actually develop more.
It was a bit of a kick to the gut to get these test results. He has developed new allergies to tree nuts, and specifically to almonds and walnuts. It's certainly not life-changing (what's a few more allergies anyway, really?), but it was a little defeating. Fortunately, Liam had the absolute best attitude about it all-- which made it a little easier to stay upbeat in that doctor's office!
He still tested positive for egg, so Dr. Wodell sent him to the lab for blood work so we can see just how severe these tree nut allergies really are and to find out if the needle has moved at all on his egg allergy. We got those results pretty quickly, and learned that while the tree nut allergy is not as severe as the peanut, it is a major allergy and one to be avoided in all forms. The egg allergy results were Liam's good news of the day-- he was given the green light to schedule a baked egg challenge this summer! Hello little win, we are so very glad to see you!!
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You know, there are days when "allergy management" is overwhelming and difficult: when we are nervous about going certain places or to certain events out of fear for him, when we worry about his safety and his future; when we hesitate to sign him up for an activity or event because we don't know if he can truly be accommodated. But those days are blessedly rare because God has given us one amazing, resilient kid to teach us about perspective and perseverance, and one amazing support net of family and friends who catch us when we fall and keep us held up high. Thank you for taking care of him - and us! - by inviting us into your homes with thoughtful care for his health and safety, learning right along with us to read (and decode) food labels, bake without eggs, and do all kinds of things we didn't know we could do (such as become meat-eating vegans!). Please know how very thankful we are and how very much we love you all!
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