Anaphylaxis..

On Wednesday, August 13th, Madie tried peanut butter, unfortunately she experienced moderate anaphylaxis. Thank goodness for ACH staff member Karen who kept Mom calm while she administered the epi-pen, within minutes Madie's hives had diminished and her wheezing had settled down. After a couple of hours of observation in pediatrician's office, we went home somewhat discouraged but not ready to give up. We went back to ACH on Saturday and spent several hours conferring with staff, Madie is now back on a lower dose of peanut M&Ms and probably won't try peanut butter again anytime soon. As it turns out, Madie had a compromised immune system due to an upper respiratory virus and when coupled with the food challenge earlier in the week, it is possible that her body just couldn't handle the dose. Madie is one of the first kids to graduate to the next level on the higher dose study.

Peanut M&Ms are a Hit!

Madie's Food Challenge went great. She ate her first peanut M&M's on Tuesday, August 11th and loved them! We have been given a list of items she can have for her "daily dose" and are looking forward to trying them.

A Visit to Chick-fil-A

In spite of repeated assurances regarding refined peanut oil being safe from the gang at Arkansas Children's Hospital, we still had not taken the plunge and visited Chick-fil-A. However, with middle school fast approaching and the reality that Chick-fil-A is served in the cafeteria, yesterday we went for lunch.

I'm happy to report that lunch was a tasty treat with no reactions, but a "when can we come back?" On the way home, we talked and laughed about conquering our fears and the many, many more leaps of faith to come in life. In her delightful enthusiasm, I felt such pride and awe. I continue to learn so much from this wonderful kid!

The End May Be In Sight

August 11th will hopefully mark the end of one leg of this odyssey, and the beginning of quarterly visits to ACH. Madie is now eating the equivalent of 10 peanuts a day and doing great. Our last bi-weekly trip to Little Rock will be the "Food Challenge." After completing an entire day of testing Monday, August 11th, Madie will return to hospital Tuesday and have her first taste of peanut M&Ms, or peanut butter and will begin her daily dosing of these items as oppossed to what we now refer to as the dreaded peanut flour. The dose of peanut flour is so large now that it has become very difficult to mix in apple sauce or pudding. We are trying out ice cream (in the morning) to see if that will help for the next month.

Madie has remained throughout this process, a picture of courage and determination. She still suffers from some minor discomfort, itchy throat, but it is random and manageable. The mouth itching, we believe, is a good indication that she has indeed been receiving the peanut flour, and not the placebo. Otherwise we will be making this drive every two weeks for another year!

The trips to Little Rock have gotten easier, although the price of gas has certainly taken a financial toll. Several people have asked us how much we spend, so will share that we have spent on average $600-650 dollars a month on these trips over the last year, although we wouldn't hesitate to spend a hundred times that for the health and safety of our child.

A few other important stats:
Days of school missed this year: between 17 and 21
Grades: straight A+'s
Geography Bee: Champion
Spelling Bee: Champion
Hoops Basketball: winning season! Go Blue!

Grammy will be coming to take care of Meredith and the critters for our August trip. We are so grateful that we both will get to be there to hold Madie's hand as she tastes her first bite of a real peanut product.

Thanks to everyone for their support and prayers over the last year. We will continue to post updates, especially after our trip in August.

383 mg of Peanut Flour

Returned from Little Rock yesterday. Our daily dose is up to 383 mg.

During our drive yesterday, we passed the tornado devastation in Atkins, Arkansas. Homes reduced to rubble, and a church that had been destroyed. Madie saw blue tarps on roofs and said, "Mom, it looks like it did after Hurricane Wilma when we lived in Florida." Our hearts go out to those who lost homes and roofs to the tornados!

On a lighter note, Madie was pleased to see her friend Annie at ACH and they spent their time browsing through a jet catalogue and dreaming of owning one so they could fly to Arkansas instead of drive. The moms smiled and agreed, "that would be nice."

The Peanut Odyssey Continues....

Hello Everyone!
We missed alot of posting due to X-mas. We promise to keep everyone more up to date. We continue our trips to Little Rock every other than Sunday & Monday. Madie is now taking a dosage that is the equivalent of one peanut per day. We are mixing her dose in chocolate pudding each morning. She thinks it's great that she eats pudding in the am. Soon the dosage will be such that we will have to start putting it in a pancake or cook them into muffins, so we are looking for recipe ideas!

Madie recently won her school Geography Bee and we are waiting to hear if she will be going to State. She had to take a written test that was sent to the National Geographic Society, if she scores high enough on that she will head to State Championship. Yesterday she was first runner up in the school Spelling Bee, so she will be going to the State Championships at OU in Norman for that. In addition to her geography and spelling prowess, she received straight A+'s in spite of missing 13 days of school in the Fall semester. Way to go Madie!

The staff at Arkansas Children's Hospital continues to be amazingly supportive and kind. We look forward to our visits and seeing new friends.