More Milk

Can you believe we are almost to a teaspoon and a half? Karl Mikal is doing great with his milk therapy. Today he was challenged with 7 mL. Here is a picture from tonight when he took his dose. Several have asked if he likes the milk. Yes. Many times after getting his dose he says, "Me like that" or "That yummie Mommy" I am so glad.

At the next challenge he will be given 10 mL. That will be two teaspoons. He is really moving right along with this therapy. Thank you for your prayers and please keep them coming.

Tractor Fun

I just had to put these pics on the blog. Friday I took Karl Mikal to my parents house so that Karl and I could more easily attend a marriage seminar at our church. I am picking him up Thursday. No one was sure how Karl Mikal would do, since this is the first time he has been away from us for any extended period of time. He adores my parents, but being away from Mom and Dad can still be a bit unnerving. Based on the pics below, I think he is having a great time. Just a bit of background information...I grew up on a ranch and my parents still live there. The tractors are at the top of the road and Karl Mikal asks to ride the mule (ATV) up there to see them. He has often asked to see them, but hasn't wanted to get on them until today.

He absolutely loves "driving" our cars. I can only imagine the how proud he was to sit in this drivers seat.

Being comfortable is very important!

Now, where is that keyhole?

It is good to be king!

2 months?!? Seriously!!!

I was looking at a friend's blog this week and noticed that under my name on their blog, it said 2 months! That just can't be! Has is seriously been 2 months since my last blog. My apologies to anyone that still checks us out. I will try to do better.

.

Rather than blogging about what has gone on the last few months, I will instead catch you up on the milk therapy and Heidi's last photo session. I will do some "archive" blogs to fill you in on what we have been up to as I can.

.

As far as the milk therapy Karl Mikal continues to progress. God has blessed us so much. We go to the allergist weekly for challenges where they up his dose. We have had to miss some weeks due to illness, coughs, wheezing, etc., but we don't consider that a set back. We feel that God is definitely in control of this therapy and are thrilled to have been so blessed this far. Below are pictures showing the sizes of the doses. He gets his dose twice a day.

.

This is the diluted dose. It is 0.1 mL of milk diluted with 1 mL of water. He was given a single 0.5 mL dose of that mixture.

.

.

.

.

This was the first whole milk dose we gave him. It was 0.1 mL. Although it doesn't look like much in that teaspoon, it felt like we were given him something toxic!

.

.

.

.

.

Here we are at 0.2 mL of whole milk. These are what I call baby steps!

.

.

.

.

This is 4 mL. WOW! This is when I began referring to it (when talking to big Karl) as the big monster!

.

.

.

.

.

0.8 mL - I just couldn't believe it! Almost a whole mL!

.

.

.

.

.

.

This was a big shocker. Look at the size of that syringe! It is huge! Here is 1 mL.

.

.

.

.

And here is where we are now...2 mL. Almost half a teaspoon or as I have told several...almost enough to dunk a small cookie. :)

.

.

We have had a few reactions, but nothing major and definitely no hives or swelling. The reactions have shown up as an upset tummy (either bad diapers or throw-up). Nothing too regular and nothing that tells the allergist to slow down. As I said earlier, we feel so blessed to have made it this far. God continues to stay in control of this whole therapy. Our prayer is that he will allow Karl Mikal to make it all the way through the therapy and be able to enjoy milk, ice cream, cheese, you name it! We will see what God has planned!

.

As for Heidi, she is great! She is scooting all over the place. She can get up on all fours as if she is going to crawl, but then fakes us all out and goes back to her army crawl. She is pulling up on anything and everything...stable or not and gives the best smiles. Just last week she cut two bottom teeth. She is such a cutie!

.

Below is a link to the last photo session of her and our family. Feel free to take a look. (Click on Heidi.) It was supposed to be a 6 month session, but due to bad weather she is actually almost 7 months old. You will need to put in Karl's e-mail address: karlgsch@aol.com and the password to view the slideshow is h-6 . Hope you enjoy! http://jboilla.photobiz.com/viewing/

.

And I will try to be a better blogger! ~ Anna

Rejoice!

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

Today Karl Mikal had his "RUSH" visit for the food desensitization therapy. It was a long day of 5 and a half hours in the doctors office, but so well worth it. Ever since Karl Mikal was diagnosed with his allergies we have prayed that he would overcome them and today we started that process.

On our way to the office, we started talking to Karl Mikal about where we were going and what we were going to do. We told him that we were going to the doctor and she would give him some medicine, but there would be no ow-ees. That stuck in his mind. Not only did he repeat that in the car, but when the nurse came and got us, he immediately started saying, "No ow-ees, no ow-ees." She then reassured him that there would be no ow-ees.

We had to go in at 9:00 am. By 9:15 he had his first dose of a milk/mostly water solution and our eyes were glued to him watching for any signs of a reaction. His cheek got red and warm to touch and he was playing with his tongue a little bit, but nothing too significant to keep the doctors from proceeding. Then an hour later we had the second dose and by 12:30 he was given the fourth and final dose for the visit. He did great! What an answered prayer! We had to stay in the office for 2 hours after the final dose for observation and our sweet little guy fell asleep.

So where do we go from here...each day we will give him two premeasured doses of the milk/water solution. We will watch him closely and look for signs of an allergic reaction. After one week, we will go back for a "challenge" visit. At that visit they will increase the amount of milk and we will wait one hour to look for any signs of a reaction. If no reaction, we will go home and repeat that dose in the evening and twice daily for one week. Then we will go back and do the same thing again. This will be done for about 15-20 weeks as we slowly build up his tolerance (hopefully). At anytime during the treatment we could have to stop. If he does react negatively we will step back and do the previous amount of milk and try again.

After the 15-20 weeks, we will continue on our own at home giving him milk daily for 6 months. Then we will go "cold turkey" for 1 month. At the end of the one month, we will go back in for a challenge. He will be given about a cup of milk. If there is no reaction, then we are done!

Leading up to this day was quite exciting, frightening, and overwhelming for us. Most of the time I was at peace about doing it. I knew that God was and is in control and no matter the outcome would remain in control. However, the thought of giving him something that could make him so terribly sick was extremely frightening. That is why after the first dose, neither of us (Karl or I) took our eyes off of him. I am so thankful that God did allow him to make it through today with flying colors. Thank you Lord!!!

I told my sister that we are taking baby steps and with each step forward we will praise God and with any steps back we will continue to praise Him. We ask all of you to keep Karl Mikal in your prayers. It would be so wonderful to overcome this allergy. It will be a year of baby steps and possibly some set backs. So please pray for strength for all of us, healing for Karl Mikal, and patience as we go through the therapy. Also, please pray for all the other kids we know (and don't know) with food allergies. And a loud praise to God for all the children who have successfully gone through this therapy. What a wonderful relief for those parents!

There is bonus song at the end of the Shedaisy Christmas CD that says, "How can I keep from singing?" It is about singing out to God for all that he has done and continues to do. That is how I have felt nearly all day, even when I woke up this morning. As we were in the doctors office and we would get one dose down, the song I sang in my head was the Doxology...(Praise God from whom all blessings flow...) as well as Shout Hallelujah!, and the song about blessings. The one that says, "Every blessing you pour out I turn back to praise....you give and take away... (If only John Scott were there, we would have been singing in the office.) Thank you God for loving us all so much and for taking care of my little boy!

Anna
Thank you all!

An update...finally

Okay, I know you may be thinking that I am a terrible blogger...well, I have no excuse other than to say that I must be. Please forgive me. We have been quite busy. I will give you a quick update and some pictures (the pictures are my favorite part :))
.

In October the kids and I went to Louisiana and spent most of the week. We had a great time and were able to see quite a few friends and work in a few mule (ATV) rides for Karl Mikal. He absolutely loves being at Modder and Poppy's house. We also had two cousin birthday parties to go to as well. And in October Karl Mikal was in the hospital with bronchialitis. We only spent one night, but that was enough. He is doing much better now and has only needed the inhaler a few times since.
.

November was also busy with Thanksgiving. We went to Lubbock to visit family and had a great time there.
.

This month we have celebrated 2 cousins birthdays and are looking forward to Christmas. We also just got back from the allergist office for a 1 year follow up and to get some testing done for the Oral Desensitization Therapy we are scheduled to start on January 14th. I will write more about that later.
.

On to the pictures...here are some from October.

.

Heidi posing with our (mine and hers) namesake. This is the original Gwili. Heidi can already tell what a special lady she is.While in Abilene for my nephew's birthday party, we stopped by ACU for homecoming. Karl Mikal enjoyed sliding down the slide in the bounce house. He did this several times.

Do you see the crayon on his face? Thank goodness they are non-toxic!

Posing at a Halloween party with Daddy. Heidi is a flower and Karl Mikal was Thomas the Tank Engine.

Isn't she the cutest flower you have ever seen? And from November:

These are two of my friends from college and their kids. We had a great time at the Arboretum in Dallas.

Heidi slept a lot of the time that we were there.Karl Mikal loves being outside! He really enjoyed "helping" me rake the leaves. He used a small broom. It was a little less dangerous that way.The kids with Daddy.Heidi was 4 months old in November. What a big girl! She was in the 95th percentile on length! Wow!

And finally December...

It just isn't a party unless the whole gang is here! He even fit the yellow bus in the rocker.

These toes are just too irresistible! I like to nibble them too!Karl Mikal loves to read! It isn't unusual to find him reading a book on his own. I really hope that I can keep that going.

Both kids have inspected the ornaments on the tree. This particular day I was trying to get some pics for our Christmas card.Heidi is looking at one of the ornaments that Karl's parents made. There are some really pretty ones in the bunch.And here is the best part of Christmas cookies...SPRINKLES!!! And mom wasn't looking. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. I will try to keep the blog a bit more up to date. Don't give up on me.

Glamour Shots!

Here are some pics of Heidi I took for the Baby Blessing Day at church recently. We had to send them a picture of our little one to put in a slide show. What mom doesn't just love taking pictures of her baby? So here they are....Enjoy!

I soon realized that keeping Karl Mikal out of the picture and off of his sister was a bit of a challenge. So I trapped him...needless to say he was not too amused.Oh well, he got over it.

One year and a week ago...

One year and a week ago we were in the Emergency Room at Trinity Medical in Carrollton after Karl Mikal had a severe allergic reaction. I will never forget that morning. It was a one of the longest mornings I have ever had. Everything from the blueberry muffin that kicked it all off, to big Karl passing out, to the ambulance ride to Children's is forever in my brain.

Over the last year I have felt a full range of emotions about living with food allergies. I am sure that there will still be a full range of emotions as we continue to live with food allergies. I am always so excited when a recipe works, but frustrated when the exact same recipe doesn't work again. I sometimes get so tired of having to pack up a lunch for Karl Mikal everywhere we go and I find myself irritated that we can't just go through the drive thru line and pick something up. My heart lights up when I make something and Karl Mikal looks at me and says "Yummie". I am sometimes embarrassed at the scene I feel like we are making when we do eat at a restaurant. I find myself wanting to explain why we are wiping the table down and the highchair and bringing our own food in for him and using a disposable place mat even after we have wiped the table and when Karl and I eat everything with a fork/knife including the bread that was made to tear and be eaten with your hands. And even after all of that we are still a stress case because everything in the building we are in feels contaminated and dangerous for our little guy.

But at the end of the day I say a prayer of thanking God for my little guy. I wouldn't trade him for the world!!!

Here are some pics from that day .

You can see the IV in his arm. That was no fun at all! The pink on his arms are hives that came back after he got sick just after we were told we were about to be released. This changed their minds and that is when the IV went in to give him more meds since he just got rid of the ones that they gave him earlier.

Things weren't exciting enough, so Big Karl decided to liven things up by passing out when Karl Mikal got his IV. He was told to sit and was given oxygen. This is after sitting for a while.

Here we were getting ready for the ambulance ride. Karl Mikal's car seat is strapped onto the bed.

Here we are getting ready to go inside (I was able to ride with him). Too bad Uncle Jamey couldn't be the one to drive us over (my brother is a paramedic).

As I said before I would not trade this little guy for anything! He has brought so much joy to our lives. We are truly blessed!