HOLY PEANUTS!
We arrived to his appointment at 10am and expected to hear the same... not much has changed, lets keep it going, but instead, Brian and I and the doctor were all shocked. Carter's nut allergy numbers were literally CUT IN HALF! Holy COW! Its finally starting to work!!!
We were advised that Carter is the perfect "Textbook" of these trials with the severity of his peanut allergy and the numbers from his blood work. We were also advised that they will be starting Carter on "Peaut desensitization". It typically takes 6 months to start this trial so we were to book our appointment in June. Basically they are going to give Carter a spec of peanut butter everyday for 6 months in hopes to start desensitizing his body to the peanut protien that he is so insanely allergic to.
As we were leaving and booking the start of this trial in June, I nicely said... our schedule is open so if there is a cancellation, please call us, we will pull Carter from school if we have to and start the trial. Immediately, the reception guy said "Well, actually, we had a cancellation today.. in an hour.. if you want it?" .. Ummm excuse me, what?! TODAY? IN AN HOUR?! I didnt really have much time to process what was about to happen but we rushed to Carter's school to grab him and bring him back as fast as we could.
We explained to Carter that all his hard work and dedication was finally starting to pay off and that today they would be starting a new trial to try to get his body to eventually be ok with peanuts. He was kinda confused. As soon as we explained HOW this happens.. he was so scared and nervous. Me too buddy, me too.
Everything I have done over the past 7 years has been to avoid peanuts 100%. The mere thought of Carter tasting it, gives me anxiety. How has it changed so fast?!
We waited a few minutes before the start of the trial. They first did his heart rate. Normal. Then a breathing test. Normal. and then the regular allergy testing on his arm.
Of course, a hive appeared immediately where the peanuts were. I was nervous, so was Carter but I trust our allergist so much (clearly!) and know he would never do anything to harm Carter, so I just had to trust him more than ever.
Next was a face test. The nurse put a little blop of peanut butter above his lip and one on his cheek.
He was itchy all over but still hive free. We waited 15 minutes. No reaction. I am completely SHOCKED at this point. Not even ONE hive on his face... how is this possible!!!???
She wipes it off his face and cleans him up. Next its time to put the spec or "trace" on his tongue. At this point I have been silently praying for 2 hours. She explains everything to Carter. Possible side affects... how he might feel, everything. She lets him decide when he's ready to do it. CARTER IS SO BRAVE. He says he's nervous and worried he will hate it so he asks if he can plug his nose. We all chuckled. The spec is literally smaller than a period at the end of a sentence.
They put the spec on Brian's finger and Carter was asked just to lick it off. At 1:18pm, he licked it. We waited a minute.. nothing happened... 5 minutes.. still nothing... 15 minutes.. still nothing... 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes.. NOTHING! Absolutely NOTHING. Is this real life?! They tested his heart rate and breathing again.. all normal!
Carter had "best case scenario" to start this trial. We are so happy. So he is officially in the peanut desensitization trial for the next 6 months. This means, every morning, at the same time everyday, we are to measure the spec and have Carter lick it. But, there are strict rules. He cannot have a raised heart rate 1 hour prior to taking it nor can he have an elevated heart rate for at least 1 hour after he takes it. It has to be taken at the same time every single day. Because Carter's body is fighting in full army mode with this one peanut spec, he CANNOT have more than this. If he does, he will be anaphylactic to it. He cannot take it while he is sick (because a compromised immune system won't be able to handle or fight off the spec of peanut butter and if he is sick for more than 5 consecutive days, the trial goes down the drain and we have to book another appointment to start it again, likely 6 months down the road. SO! I will be an insane mama bear doing everything in my power to protect him from getting sick. Wish me luck.. this time of year is LOADED in sicknesses!
It felt SUPER wrong and weird to buy this yesterday at the grocery store...
...let alone storing it IN the house. This little card helps us measure the spec. Carter's little spec is the #1.. never aloud to be outside of those lines or it will be too much for him.
They also told us yesterday that Carter can now have things that say "May Contain Peanuts" .. which is such a victory! So to celebrate I bought chocolate M&M's .. which "may contain peanuts" .. of course.. Carter didn't like them. haha
We were told, multiple times, not to be fooled by this new trial. Carter is still severely allergic to peanuts and WILL have an anaphylactic reaction should he have more than this controlled amount. We are asked not to tell people about this trial so that nothing changes in Carter's life and so that people don't question the severity of his allergy.
We are just feeling over the moon excited for our boy. We are still hoping and praying daily that eventually Carter will not have this severe, life threatening allergy. Not to worry about him ending up in the ICU would be such a blessing in all our lives. Yesterday was a good day. Love you bud!
