Our calendars now have a new holiday on them. October 22nd will now be forever known as "Milk Day." Back in June Carter started a new, semi-controversial trial at the allergist in Layton. A few studies have been done with building up people's tolerance to the foods they are allergic to, and they hope to have it FDA approved in 5-10 more years. Our good doctor doesn't want to wait that long, and neither did we. So in June he launched this new service at his office and Carter was his very very first patient to go through the process.
Day One: We spent 7 hours in the Dr's office and throughout those 7 hours Carter took a new dose of milk every 20 minutes. His very first dose was something like 1/100th of a milligram of milk. And by the time he finished the day he was drinking 0.3 mL of real, whole cows milk. They had to watch him close and monitor his breathing to make sure his body could tolerate it, and surprisingly it could. It was absolutely amazing to see my son drinking milk as previous times he had small amounts, he ended up in the ER struggling to breathe. He was sent home that day with VERY strict instructions and protocols. He had to have his dose of milk twice a day, 12 hours apart, and couldn't exercise or expend too much energy after his dose for 2 hours. If we forgot even one dose, it could risk a huge reaction and having to start all over. He would maintain the current dose a week and then come back and they would increase the dose in the office. And repeat 20+ times.
Carter sailed through this process and didn't fail any challenges and never had any sort of reaction. He never had to decrease an amount. He went from drops of milk a day, taken out of a syringe, to drinking so much milk that he needed a cup! It took Carter 4 months to sail through the program. It was intense. The protocol was stressful as time as we had to plan some events around Carter taking his milk and sometimes packing a syringe of milk on ice, to ensure we hit the strict time restraints. Not to mention the 1-2 time weekly appointments in Layton, 1+ hours away. For 20 weeks we drove 2 1/2 hours round trip for a 1 1/2 hour appointment. But we considered ourselves Very lucky to be able to participate in this program as there are only 2 other locations in the United States who offer this. Our doctor has patients flying in weekly from California to be able to participate.
October 22nd was Carter's last day of the trial. Once he saw the doctor he was cleared to eat anything he wanted. During the trial he was not allowed anything with milk in it, except the dose of milk itself. We had planned and dreamed about this day for a long, long time. Carter had his menu planned for weeks. He was excited to see a little celebration planned in his honor. A certificate and balloons to celebrate his hard work!
Carter's amazing nurse Alisa and Dr. Jones. Not to mention their first patient to finish the course! We planned on waiting until we got back to Logan and picked up Neil to give Carter his first taste of something with milk in it. But the Dr. has hershey kisses planted around his entire office as decorations and a sample bowl at the front desk. Carter couldn't resist waiting and I couldn't say no. So he ate a Hershey's Kiss right then and there and declared it "The most delicious thing" he's ever eaten..
Once back in Logan we started our Food Binge 2013. Carter planned that he wanted to stop and get a cheeseburger at A & W, along with gourmet cupcakes, and Neil surprised him with a Kit Kat.
Everything was a hit for him and he devoured each new thing in record time. It was so surreal to sit there and watch my little boy eat all these things that use to be forbidden and dangerous to him.
I'm not sure why he chose A & W but he was thrilled with his choice.
He preferred the chocolate cupcake over the cheesecake cupcake. Chocolate is turning out to be one of his favorite foods! After this binge we dropped him off at school with a note to his teacher that he could now eat anything she served in class!
Later that night we continued the party with Neil's parents and cousins. He was dying to try Little Caesars Pizza and breadsticks. Turns out, the pepperon's are a bit spicy for his liking but he remedied that by tearing them off and still eating the pizza.
And let's be honest, who doesn't love a good breadstick?
After dinner we headed to Charlie's for the best shake in the United States(my opinion, but I'm sure everyone would agree). Carter chose a cookie dough shake(my favorite) and loved it. He also made sure to try a few bites of other's shakes and declared them all good. Can you imagine living your life without tasting ice cream? I couldn't and so I was so glad he was able to finally enjoy this with us. We ended the night with a very full, very happy little boy. It was truly a night that we will all remember. As silly as it sounds, it was one of the best days of my life. We have prayed for a long time to have Carter outgrow his allergies, and when that didn't happen, another great option came along.
The next day we had to burst his bubble just a bit by taking him to get blood drawn. They want to track his blood levels and see what his body does with this shock. His body still says that it's allergic to milk, but doesn't react anymore. Over time, his body should adjust and his levels will all be normal. He was fine until the lady came with the needle. Then he began to cry. He's done this way to many times in his short life.
The trauma was short lived and he was thrilled to sport a green wrap to show everyone. We have enjoyed introducing Carter to new foods that he has been missing. He was a little hesitant at first to try some new foods but he is getting braver and braver. Things I thought he would love, like Mac N Cheese, he didn't. But other things I assumed he wouldn't like, he does. Go figure. It did take him some time to enjoy the rich taste of some dairy items. Regular old Cheese was one of those things. He did not enjoy that at first and wanted his old soy Cheese back. But with more exposure to it, he loves it!
October 22nd is already marked on our 2014 calendar as Milk Day. We plan on celebrating this day each year. The plan is to eat the same exact food each 10-22.
Side Note: Technically Carter is still allergic to milk as this process didn't eliminate this. It did trick his body somewhat in to building up a tolerance to milk and no longer rejecting it as bad. So each day Carter must drink an 8 oz glass of Whole or 2% milk. He is suppose to never miss. There isn't enough research yet as to what would happen if he stopped drinking milk for a couple of weeks. They fear his allergy would come raring back and so the risk isn't worth it. I figure if a glass of milk a day is his medicine forever, it is well worth the trade off.
