He PASSED!

On Thursday morning (March 26th) I took Gavin to the allergist and he PASSED his milk challenge! (You can see pics on fb.)

This was his 3rd milk challenge, and his 6th challenge to a food in general. His first milk challenge was in WI and he failed it in 7 min., on the very first step (which was rubbing it on his lips). His second challenge was in July of '08 and he failed it about half-way through with three hives around his mouth. After each of those challenges his allergist at the time both said they thought he would eventually outgrow the allergy because his blood was testing negative and the reaction was "infantile", which obviously is a good word in that sense!

This time he passed with flying colors! He went through each stage, thoroughly enjoying the strawberry milk he had chosen for the occasion. The process took approximately 2 3/4 hrs.

He is very excited and anxious to try anything and everything dairy. That night we went out to Pizza Hut and let him order whatever toppings he wanted (hope he doesn't get used to that!). He orderd pepperoni, mushrooms, and black olives. After that we picked up some ice cream from the store to have a celebration with my parents. He chose strawberry. When we got home we took him to the ice cream stand which is two doors down from us so he could get his first cone. He picked the superman flavor, which didn't seem very appealing to me, but he loved it. The rest of us enjoyed the ice cream from the store. He finished off every last tidbit of that cone even though we could tell he was getting full.

Since then he's tried pudding, yogurt, sliced cheese on his sandwich, spaghetti pizza, my taco dip (not the plain meat with salsa he used to get!), and he got to enjoy several desserts and snacks he's never had before. Have I mentioned that he's excited?

I must admit I was very nervous at first. I was pretty convinced he had pink around his mouth after eating the cone Thursday night, but Jason couldn't see it. I haven't seen anything suspicious since then so I think we're free and clear! It will take a while for me to feel completely comfortable with it though.

We want to praise the Lord, the Great Physician, for choosing to heal Gavin of not only his beef allergy, but also his dairy allergy. Along with strict avoidance and regular testing, we prayed virtually every night since January, '04, for God's healing. Yes, it's been five years and two months. Though at times the answer to those prayers was wait (and that was hard at times!) we are grateful the Lord has granted our request.

There are many areas of our lives that are positively affected by this, but this will make our future travels much easier. We always had to pack food for him since we couldn't rely on dairy free food at fellowships, at restaurants, or in peoples' homes. It is so nice to not even have to think about what I want to make for dinner based on the ingredients. I went through my new "Taste of Home" magazine last night, and thought, "I can make a lot of this stuff now!"

We are also thankful for God's protection in Gavin's life. Thankfully we have never had to use the Epi-pens or be in the hospital for a reaction. We've made one trip to an acute care center and another to the waiting room of an ER to see how a reaction would play out, but that has been it. Both of those reactions were actually to foods we didn't know he was allergic to at the time and not dairy.

Gavin could have died the very first time he reacted. We didn't fully realize that at the time, but once he was diagnosed and I started doing some reading, we recognized the fact that we could have lost him. He was 9 mos. old and I fed him 1 or 2 spoons of baby yogurt before laying him down for his nap. He took a longer than normal nap, so I actually checked on him. When he woke up he was completely covered in hives, his ears and neck were swollen, the capillaries had burst in his ankles and wrists, and he was wheezing. This was after 3 hrs. or so in his crib, so I don't really know how bad it might have been during that time. God spared his life.

And now at 6 yrs. old, he is enjoying foods like other young children. It is almost like having a baby who is eating new foods, yet the joy and excitement is even more palpable. It is so fun to introduce him to new things, to take pictures of the experience, and to see his smile.

Thank you Lord for answered prayers. May we use this experience to honor and glorify You and to be a blessing and encouragement to others walking the same path.