David was so excited to have last Thursday off for Veteran's Day. He had big plans of playing with Liam all day long. Well, it didn't turn out that way. On Tuesday, Liam's allergist called and rescheduled his appointment for Thursday. On Wednesday, we decided that Liam needed to go to his primary care doctor due to a cough and runny nose that has been around for over a month. They couldn't get him in until Thursday.
So, the boys began their day at Dr. Harmon's office. She diagnosed Liam with a sinus infection (again) and heard wheezing in his lungs. The only positive news she gave us was that Liam had gained a little weight! He had moved up on the growth chart from the .31 percentile to the .34 percentile. That made his doctor very happy!
After the first appointment, David and Liam came to pick me up for the appointment with the allergist. We were under the understanding that the allergist was going to do a challenge, which means that they would feed Liam peanuts to find out just how allergic he is. We were soooo nervous going into the appointment!
Once the allergist finally.....I'm talking an hour and a half later.....came in the room, he talked to us for about 30 minutes. We told him about having to find a new home for Maudie because Liam's reactions to her had worsened. We talked about Liam's runny nose and cough that was lingering. We talked about his non-stop sinus infections and occasional vomiting episodes that only occur in the morning. Then, the doctor looked at Liam and listened to his chest.
He disagreed with our doctor. He didn't think Liam had a sinus infection, just that everything was swollen due to his severe allergies. And after listening to Liam's chest, he got serious and told us that a challenge wasn't necessary. He only does challenges on children who he thinks will pass the test. Liam isn't one of those children.
He told us that Liam is in the midst of the Atopic March. He explained that the Atopic March begins in infancy with eczema, which Liam had, then proceeds to food allergies, which Liam has, then moves on to nasal allergies, which apparently Liam has, and moves on to asthma, which the allergist said explains the wheezing in Liam's chest. That's putting it in simple terms. You can learn a little more about it here.
He then explained that people who go through the Atopic March typically do not grow out of the food allergies and that the allergies and asthma worsen. Not at all what we hoped to hear. So, we now must avoid all nuts....just in case his food allergy has worsened like the dog allergy has.
He also told us that Liam's vomiting episodes and "sinus infections" were most likely side effects of his allergies. AND.......that once Liam starts taking the meds he prescribed he'd probably start feeling better, causing him to eat better.....AND TO GAIN SOME MORE WEIGHT! That's good news, right?!?!
I hate that my baby is going through all of this. I was a mess after the appointment and into the next day, until a sweet friend said to me, "Liam's your miracle baby. He's already made it through so much and he'll make it through this just fine also." She's right. He's definitely a fighter. He wouldn't be here if he wasn't a fighter.
So far, I'd say the medicine has helped Liam feel better. He's been eating really well. I'm thankful for that. For dinner tonight we had left overs from Chileno's. Liam loves, loves, loves rice. He's usually a very clean eater. Not tonight. He was a mess and made an even bigger mess!
He thought the mess he made was sooooo funny. I didn't agree.
After I was forced to undress Liam to do some serious Spray and Washing, he wanted to put on his daddy's shirt. Cute, huh? (Yes, it'd be even cuter if it was orange!)
Speaking of orange, HOW ABOUT THEM COWBOYS?!?!?!?!?!?
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