Our fingers were crossed.
The date was scheduled.
The blood work completed.
Jack was in good health.
The pre-op appointment was actually fun.
Jack touched the medical equipment. We asked questions. The nurse told stories and made the procedure sound silly and exciting.
I was at ease, we have been here before.
Jack has spent the majority of his life this far in and out of the hospital. Going through procedures, x-rays, tests, etc...
The day before the procedure, I became nervous. For the first time ever, Jack was nervous. He was now 4 and fully aware of the fears involved with the upcoming procedure.
He fasted.
We woke early.
Jack stayed in his cozy jammies.
We buckled up.
We sped, wanting to slow down. We didn't want to arrive. What if I just kept driving?
Well, then we would never know.
Jack would never be able to know.
So we slowed and we parked.
We went down the elevator, across the street, in through the large open doorway, up the elevator, to the right, signed the paper, sat down.
"Jack Smith", they instantly called.
Jack looked worried.
I assured him. "I am not going anywhere, I will be with you."
He gave me an unsure smile, which turned to a frown.
He was getting an endoscope with biopsies. He wasn't having heart surgery, no brain surgery, no surgery at all.
He was afraid of the procedure.
I wasn't. I was afraid of all that hung in the results.
The GI had explained that if his intestinal health had improved, he would be eligible for food challenges.
I knew too well that his little body hadn't changed. He had reacted 2 months earlier.
He was so hopeful though. He just new that he would be going to Fenton's for an ice cream sunday, on our way home.
He went in with restrictions including:
No Soy
No Dairy
No Gluten
No Egg
No Beef
He tried to be positive, but it was painful.
The drugs made it a bit easier, even for me. He had me cracking up!
He was silly.
They wheeled him off.
I nervously waited in the lounge.
I watched the screen.
It said Jack Smith.
I hurried to him.
He was asleep. We waited for him to awake.
They told me that the endoscope went well.
The doctor explained that his intestines looked well.
They said that everything looked healthy and normal.
Which meant that we were doing everything correctly.
His nurse gave him a turtle.
He was happy to see me and the turtle.
I was happy to hear that we have been feeding him correctly.
I want to be sure that he is as healthy as possible.
I was nervous, but excited to begin the challenges.
The GI scheduled the challenges for September, 2 months away!
I could not imagine waiting 2 months.
We bundled up, headed home.
He grasped his turtle tightly and asked, "Mom, am I better?"
"You are so healthy, we can try new foods now."
"Ice cream?"
"Not yet, but maybe soon."
Jack has severely reacted to soy, dairy and gluten.
The egg and beef were speculated causes. The GI had added them to his avoid list based on similar proteins and possible episodes.
Upon returning home, I was restless.
I just had to know.
I made scrambled eggs.
I put them on Jack's plate.
I told him that they were his "new" food.
He ate them. He was fine. He didn't puke or scream, no diarrhea, he didn't turn green, he seemed perfectly fine.
So we fed him them 4 more times throughout the week.
Continuing to follow my intuition, we went to In N Out as a family.
Jack got a burger patty. I called ahead to be sure it was 100% beef.
We brought Tapioca buns and we ate out, as a family.
It was really exciting to see his pleasure. (even if it would be followed by him becoming severely ill, it was worth it)
We made our way home, put him to bed, he was fine.
I couldn't sleep. I waited for the screaming to begin. I imagined hearing the scream, running into his room and seeing his bed, splattered with vomit and feces.
It didn't happen.
We were all so ecstatic.
We knew that the other 3 food proteins would not be tolerated. He had recently reacted to them. His GI said that he would most likely never outgrow these other proteins. The egg and beef were most likely misdiagnosed and just precautionary measures.
I wish I would have tried sooner.
He has been loving so many new products!
His favorite is...
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