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.