Allergy Update - RollerCoaster!

Well it has truly been a rollercoaster week! Tripp had his "baked egg" test at Childrens Medical Center on Monday. I was instructed to bake him a sponge cake. I think most people would agree that I AM NOT A BAKER! I had to separate the eggs, beat the whites to peaks, fold it all together...serious work! I was instructed to bake it in a bundt pan and then slice it into 8 pieces.

So T and I ventured out with our cake in tow. Their plan was to feed him a small bit of cake every 10 minutes until he ate 1/2 of the pieces. Easy enough, right? He actually ate it really well, but after about 5-6 bites, he started to get frustrated with the one bite at a time thing. We could not get him to finish the whole thing. So after about 1.5 hours, we were done with the eating portion and moving to the watching phase. He and I played in a small room for what seemed like forever! He played with everything from a rubber glove, to hospital gowns, to my iphone (which he broke btw!).

After another 1.5 hours, he looked great! No signs of stomach upset or skin reactions. The test was passed!!! I felt a huge weight lifted off of my shoulder! So left armed with a new treatment plan. He was going to eat 1-3 half pieces of cake everyday for 6 months. All with the goal that it would treat his overall egg allergy. The first thing I did when we got home was email our cake lady to tell her she could stop her crazy tofu experiments because he could have eggs!

There were some strict requirements to what I could feed him outside of the sponge cake. It is only things baked for at least 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cookies, muffins, pastas...all out. Not perfect, but going to be SO much better...or was it???

The next morning I noticed a few red spots around his diaper area. I just wrote it off as his eczema, and was not too concerned. I fed him the cake for breakfast with really no concern and he LOVED it! As the day progressed, so did the spots. By that evening he was covered in hives. I was SO defeated! He went to bed on benadryl and I put a call into his doctor first thing in the morning.

They had good news yet again! Just cut the portion back in half again and do that for a few days. YEAH!!! We were still trucking forward. I gave him the cake for snack yesterday afternoon, cautiously optimistic that this was going to work. By bedtime yesterday, the hives were back. Not as severe, but definitely. I have not called the doctor yet because I know what they are going to say. "ABORT MISSION, RESUME IN A YEAR." I am just not prepared to hear that today.

Honestly, I think I have been holding on to hope that he is really allergic to anything. He is just more "sensitive." The failed egg challenge shows that is really IS allergic and it may be a long road if were are able to treat it all. It is not the end of the world, I know that, but it sure does change our world!

On a lighter note, I have been trying out some new vegan baking recipes. Some good and some scary. I will try and share some of the do's and don'ts as I go. Here's to the journey!