What a busy week!

We are absolutely blessed to be in the position we are in right now. Yesterday, a dear friend of mine went to the children's museum with monster and me, just to wear off some energy in a warm environment. (For those of you in warmer areas, as I type, it's -6. Gross.) While we were getting ready to head in, I got the phone call I have been awaiting for two weeks. We have an allergy appointment next Tuesday at 10 am.

That's just the beginning of the good news. The allergist we are seeing is world-renowned. This brings such a comforting feeling to me that I didn't have before our last visit. Our original allergist is fine, but this man is the best at what he does, and he's going to see our kid. It's a strange feeling, and I'm not quite sure how to explain it, I'm just so humbled by the ability to see this man and have him treat Wilson. This appointment will be different in many ways, it will take about 4 hours total, and we will also do a patch test. The allergist will place the foods he tested negative to in the original test on his back and leave them there for 48 hours. During that time, his body will be able to react to the food and register either safe or unsafe. This is something that isn't done terribly often, unless it's a person with multiple allergies or they suspect something unique is going on in the body. Typically, an allergy reacts immedeately, but there are instances where the body can react over time.

I am asking for prayers Tuesday for Wilson. 4 hours is so much longer than we are used to, and it's right into nap time, which he DOESN'T miss. You really don't want him to miss nap, trust me. My prayer is that the doctors and nurses are able to treat and diagnose him accurately and efficiently and Wilson stays calm enough to endure the entire series of tests.

We will return to the hospital Friday to read the results of the patch test, and I also hope that the results are clear to read and understand for the doctors, and that we as a family adjust quickly and in the best way possible.

Wednesday, we also have his meeting to plan out this occupational therapy schedule, give our short-term and long-term goals. At this point, I just want him to stop biting and to eat more. It's getting harder and harder to make food for him. We're trying lots of new foods every week, and some work better than others. Hubby fried some "eggplant french fries" that he loved and devoured. Mushrooms worked once, but the rest of the time he throws it, and broccoli is a joke. But eventually it will get better, I know this. We just have to continue to introduce foods and be consistent with him.


Have a great weekend, and stay warm. Wilsonsmom

A New Year, A New Purpose

Well, hello there! For those of you who don't know who I am, I am wilsonsmom. Simply put, my son is Wilson, monster, booger, etc. He is a fantastic little two year old who happens to be allergic to LOTS and LOTS of things (peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, soy, bananas, peas, beef, oats, barley, corn, potatoes, shellfish, legumes, dogs, and cats.) We are currently working with some of the top doctors in the country to find a reason for all of the allergies and more importantly to help our little man have the most normal way of life possible.

Lots of my previous posts have been in regard to this, but from here on out, I will be blogging exclusively about him, doctors appointments, therapies, and what God is doing in our lives to show is His power. This is the easiest thing we can do to let you all know what is happening, how Wilson is doing, and how we are. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful support system and people who love us, but it often overwhelms us to wonder who we've told what, who we've called, etc. This doesn't mean some of you won't get personal updates, but this is much easier, especially after a difficult day like we had last week.

Last weekend, we went to a friend's graduation party, without Wilson. As we were introduced to their friends, they gave our names, as well as "They're Wilson's parents." At this point, someone said, "Wait, this is the boy everyone fasted for, right?" and it made me realize that at one point, I had an amazing way for people to know about who we are, who God is, and how we are doing all at the same time. And I let that go, because I'm lazy and didn't use that opportunity. So here goes nothing.

Wilson was born a pretty normal, slightly chubby boy with bright blue eyes and a head full of black curly hair (which I LOVED and miss so much!) Everything was pretty normal for the first four months, until he started vomiting and stopped gaining weight. Let me clarify what this means, because this was key. He gained nothing for several months, and with infants, it's crucial for babies to gain weight; it's how they monitor their health and development. When we went to the pediatrician, they informed us that they wanted to run some tests and check for allergies.

I had heard of peanut allergies more and more lately, especially with my job (I'm a hairstylist,) so I was mindful of that, and I even considered that he might be allergic to our precious dog. When we got back the blood work, we were told he was allergic to peanuts, milk, eggs, wheat, and dogs. Bye bye Makella and peanuts from our lives, my favorite food and our first "baby." What a blow, but we held on.

My brother in law graduated from basic training in September 2007, and we were lucky enough to get to go, and travel on standby for next to nothing, and decided it probably wouldn't be safe for him to tag along, so my mom and sister helped watch him for the three days we were gone. Let me tell you, those were a tough few days away, but now I know why God allowed us to have that time. It was the beginning of the downward spiral that was our lives. After we picked him up from my sisters, I noticed he was pulling to breathe, and asked my sister about it, who told me it had just started minutes earlier. I tried to wait it out until the next morning, and called the pediatrician, who wanted to see him immediately. We started running more tests, and after about six weeks of looking for everything else that could be wrong, we discovered he was allergic to tree nuts, soy (the SOY formula he was on,) bananas, peas, and cherries.

Our lives changed again, watching everything we gave him and what we ate. After some pushing, I called an allergist, who told us it was safe to eat peas, cherries, and wheat. (I've blogged about this in the past.) Last spring we tested again after having a lot of health problems with him, and found peas were a bad allergy, as were cats. Then, this fall (past blogs cover this as well) we found out about oats, barley, corn, potatoes, and beef.

He told us to call Children's Hospital GI department, and look into a disease called EE (Eosinophilic Esophagitis.) We had our first appointment Monday, January 5 at the hospital with a GI, speech pathologist, and nutritionist. After our visit, my husband and I felt like we left with more questions than answers. The GI wants to run a new baseline of allergies to see exactly what he can and can not tolerate, because at this point, he is developing allergies to everything he eats, but with avoidance seems to be able to heal from them. We will be seeing a world-renowned allergist for this, and are just waiting (as patiently as possible) for an appointment with him. The most difficult thing is we wait for them to call us. If I don't hear from them by Friday or Monday, I do get to call their office. (I choose FRIDAY!) We will also be seeing numerous other specialists to ensure he gets better as quickly as possible.

So that's where we are. We also have a meeting next Tuesday with a therapist who will be helping to get to the bottom of his sensory issues (he bites everything he can, especially his friends) and hopefully his eating problems, since he's starting to lose weight again. Through all of this, though, we are trying to keep our eyes on the future and know that God has this all figured out already, we just have to wait for Him to give us answers.

Happy New Year

So, it's that time of year again, out with the old, in with the new. Blah blah. This year, however, its different at our house. As many of you know, monster's test came back clear, signaling everything is all right. The doctors, however, seem to disagree and have referred us to other doctors to find out what is happening to our boy.

Monday, we have our first meeting at the EE clinic at Children's hospital. We will be seeing world-renowned doctors who specialize in these diseases and want to help him get better. I feel very fortunate to be able to send my son to such amazing providers.

We also had our in-home evaluation last night with regard to his sensory and behavioral issues. Turns out, he is quite bright (her words, not mine!) But does need some therapy time. While I am trying not to feel like a failure as a mom, I'm trying to be thankful that the state will help us with some of the financial aspect of these therapies. They will work with us at home as well as at his day care, which is nice.

Bottom line is I am super blessed right now, very lucky to be able to give my monster these options for his life. Please keep a few of my friends in your prayers. Someone I work with has cancer, and its not looking good. At all. We've worked together for almost 4 years, and this is hard to see happen, especially since he lives in Columbus. Another friend's family life is being completely shaken, and I pray He strengthens and heals her and her family.

Blessings to you and yours, wilsonsmom

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but this blog is a venting one...

Today was booger's 2 year check up, which was perfect timing because his procedure is Tuesday. We were hoping we could just make sure everything is OK, avoid a flu shot, and go on our merry way. As I'm in the office speaking with our pediatrician (whom I ADORE and respect whole heartedly) about some of what we have been facing the past few months with his biting, behavior, and lack of appetite, he suggests that we send him to be evaluated for developmental disabilities. I understand that this may open doors for better understanding exactly what is causing some of the unwanted behavior, especially since we are disciplining him and encouraging the good behavior, while discouraging the poor choices.

My problem is I am exhausted, I am worn down, I am beat. Every time we visit a doctor, I feel as if something else is catastrophically wrong. I realize I have so much to be thankful for, but I am still feeling beat down and pooped on. We just found out he is allergic to so many new foods, may have a GI disease that will alter his entire life, and now we are testing for disabilities. I have spent the last 2 years and 9 months focusing on doing everything that is best for my little booger, and it is all backfiring. I just feel like something is always wrong with him, and I don't understand why.

In addition, we have been preparing for his "cleanse" prior to his test and have (finally!) eliminated his night night cup. As a result, he has not slept in days. Which means we have not slept in days. He isn't even napping, right now, I'm just hoping that he will even rest quietly. This is also probably a source of my frustration, but I still feel this way.

Again, sorry to be a downer, I know He will provide healing and help for our family, I just have to get this out for a minute.

Blessings, wilsonsmom

Results

We have good news and bad news from the allergist. The bad news is we have new allergies to

• Oats
• Barley
• Potatoes (all, which means no french fries!!)
• Corn (corn flour too!)

We are now avoiding all of those foods, and we confirmed a severe allergy to beef and peas, which I suspected. The good news is his count for egg, cow's milk, and soy has dropped drastically. Almost to the point of safety.

Before we celebrate too much, we also found out that we will be referred to Children's Hospital for further testing. As of now, we will be doing a scope and biopsy looking for Celiac and Eosinophilic Esophagitis, among other things. The good news is both are treatable, and we know that through avoidance Wilson can be healed of his allergies, however his body creates new allergies. This leads me to believe that his body has something else going on, something that is attacking foods that enter his body and causes things to become allergies. This is a classic symptom of EE.

The other good news is that the first treatment of EE is food avoidance, which we are already doing and we are accustomed to. (See, the fast was a great idea!!)

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for everything that has happened this week, the prayers, thoughts, fasting, etc. has meant more than you could ever know. May God bless each and every one of you.

Less than 24 Hours left

We are in the last stretch, guys! Thanks for the support and sticking in there with all of the support! I made a fantastic dinner last night, Buffalo Chicken Chili. Here is the recipe: http://rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=697
The Partridges were kind enough to join us last night for dinner and such a historical election night. What excitement, no matter who you voted for. At this point, it's time to pray that our President Elect Obama will live up to his campaign promises and look to God as his ruler. And I am super impressed that so many people I know made educated decisions yesterday, and no matter how they chose to vote, they did the research and were satisfied with their choices.

Back to the fast, I just keep being reminded that it's not that hard to make good food that is Wilson approved. For the last year, we have just always made him something else, but we can make him food that is safe and tastes excellent. This is opening up our world greatly, and gives us a greater sense of family unity. We were heading to a play date yesterday, and I ran into the grocery to grab a few things for our lunch, and was amazed at all of the options I had! I know it is limiting in a lot of ways, but I'm realizing that this is a great opportunity for us to find new foods and recipes, as well as our friends and family to understand us better.

I also have a request of everyone who has participated in ANY way this week, please write Wilson a letter. I am making a scrapbook for him of this time, and I would like to have letters from everyone who is doing this, just so he knows how loved he is. Even if you don't know us, please send something to theroblings gmail.com.

Thanks, Wilsonsmom

Day Three, early

This thing is kinda crazy. Apparently there is now a church fasting and praying for Wilson. WOW! Even bigger, we've never met one of them. So to everyone reading this and participating with prayers, thoughts, and fasting, a big thank you. The Lord tells us that His plan is better than ours, and I know that, sometimes it's just hard to remember. I also know that he has an answer for every prayer I give to Him, and that He knows I can handle everything he is giving me right now. I just have to keep that in the back of my mind. Heck, even my "arch enemy" is participating (great blog too: http://www.youseedrybones.com/)

Here is what God is teaching me so far through this fast; I am not insignificant, nor is my family. Sometimes I just feel so small in this world, like I am going to be swallowed alive. I just go about my life, but I realize many many people have way bigger problems than mine. I have a hubby that loves me, a monster that thinks I'm the coolest mama ever (for now anyway,) a job, house, etc. Why could God spend time worrying about us, just because Wilson can't eat some food? Then I am reminded that even the smallest problem, God wants to fix it for me, He wants me to surrender it, He wants me to let HIM work it out and not take it on myself. So this is what I am doing. This fast and the large number of people participating reminds me that we aren't insignificant, that God will use my friends, family, etc. to change the world. He took time out to look at us and give us this opportunity to come together as one flesh and sacrifice for my son's health. I'm just not sure I can tell you what this means to me.

I am also learning that it isn't that difficult to make food Wilson friendly. For the last year or so, we have been making two dinners every night. While it isn't super inconvenient, it does take up more time. But there are great recipes that my son can have, and they taste great. This can help us in the future for parties, family functions, and even just dinners so he doesn't feel excluded. And we can feel closer to him; understanding exactly what he tastes, feels, etc will help us to know him better and to be better parents.

I have also discovered that I LOVE cheese. I genuinely do not like salads without it. I don't have to have a ton, but I really like cheese on most foods I eat. It's a weird thing, I know, but I miss my cheese. Thursday after his test, I will probably eat a pound (or a slice.)

An update on Wilson as well, he did wonderfully on Halloween. He was the best Superman in the history of the world, and we successfully traded his candy with no tension. We also had no breakouts, but are now off all allergy medication, and boy can we tell. He is snotty, cranky, and you can tell he just doesn't feel well. It started within 12 hours of when he was supposed to recieve the dose, and unfortunately the time change isn't helping. So please add to your prayers his safety and health this week while off all the meds. Moms worry, even if they've surrendered the illness to God.
Blessings, wilsonsmom