Egg Challenge

And a challenge it was....

We went to Duke today for Aiden's food challenge, to see if he had outgrown his egg allergy. We were preparing for a long day, as we would have to be there for quite a while. We were concerned he might not even eat the egg, a very good possibility. We were worried he might be grumpy, as the appointment was during naptime (these things are hard to schedule, even months in advance, so you have to take what you can get).

He ended up being well-behaved, despite a grumpy morning at home. He got along well with the nurse and really well with the doctor running the show. He did not, however, eat the eggs. We made them ahead of time and brought other things to eat with them, but none of that helped. When we finally convinced him to put some egg in his mouth, he immediately spit it out. And he can be rather stubborn, so there was no convincing him to keep trying it.

He still ended up with hives on his face, near his lip, where the egg had touched. BUT that's not what was in question. The challenge was to determine if he could safely EAT the eggs. We don't really know the answer to that! Who knows what reaction he might have if he ate eggs. (When he had his big reaction on his first birthday, he didn't actually get any of the food IN his mouth. It all went ON his body.) The doctor kept us there until the hives disappeared, which meant we were still at the hospital for nearly two hours. He wasn't all that interested in the movies they had in the room, and it was a challenge to keep him in the small hallway next to our room. He did his best to trick me once so he could take off running in the other direction; he's rather clever... And fast.

So, the plan is to keep eggs off the list and we will return in February for another try. (They also refunded our specialist co-pay, which was nice, since it's not especially cheap.) We asked about bringing in a muffin or something with egg cooked in it, to see if he could at least tolerate that, in case he wouldn't eat the eggs again (we think it's a texture issue). They have a recipe we can use for that, so we'll make that, along with the regular scrambled eggs they require. They will try just eggs first, because if he can pass that, he's in the clear. If he won't eat it, then we'll resort to the baked good. If he can do ok with that, it will mean he can eat certain baked goods, which will make eating out a bit easier...that would mean pasta, bread, muffins, etc is ok. (Apparently pancakes/waffles would still be off the list b/c of how quickly they are cooked.) Honestly, we've gotten fairly used to not using eggs at home, but eating out is a challenge. You would be surprised at how many places have egg in their bread, dough, and just so much. But really, keeping him off eggs for another four months isn't the biggest challenge, so we can deal with it. We've done it for over a year now. It's not the end of the world.

All in all, this all made for a rather long day with no real answers. (Didn't we just go through something similar...our last visit? Ahhhh...) But it could always be worse, right? Once again, on the way out, we saw another child in much worse condition. (This is easy when you're visiting Duke Children's Hospital, right? That or God is really trying to show me a sign.) Makes me so grateful for how healthy Aiden IS. Things can be challenging and frustrating sometimes, but none of this is really hurting him (heck, in many ways, it's making us much healthier!) and he is still in good health. Many other kids aren't. We'll focus on counting the many blessings we have.