When most parents get a call from their child's school they may question if their child got into trouble or forgot something. When I saw my child's school on phone ID I wondered if my child was on the way to the hospital, or dead. My child was kicked out of the preschool he attended because they no longer wanted to accommodate his severe allergy. We have had many family, friends, and church members refuse to accommodate his allergy some telling him to get over it or deal with it. He does not live a normal life, despite our great efforts to make it as normal as possible. We are very grateful for our friends and family who go to extraordinary efforts to include him and keep him safe. He is a extremely brave boy and does not complain about all the things that he misses out on but he does occasionally express his fears or greatest desires about his allergies to us. We want to do anything we can to help his dream of a normal life come true, even if it means feeding him his own 'poison'. While the milk patch is making great progress, there are still many limitations to it and it is still years out. Our son could be dead by then. We look forward to the many advances of medicine and the leaps and bounds being made with food allergies. For us, this is our next step.
There is quite a bit of work involved in OIT. It takes a very special type of doctor and hard work (mental and psychological especially!) for the family. Those who are at the highest risk of exposure feel often feel they have the most to gain. For us, the risk of exposure in everyday life outweighs the risk of reaction in the program. My son could easily be exposed in a normal life situation to the point that it becomes life threatening for him. Exposures in the OIT program are greatly monitored and there is constant help and support. The risks for someone as severe as my son are equal in every day life as they are in this program. With the risks of the program comes a greater pay off then the path of avoidance. We look forward to a life without fear and anxiety. We look forward to where my son does not fear for his life when someone touches him or opens food around him; when I do not instantly panic when the phone rings and he's not with me; when he is free to go to friends houses and have a normal childhood.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26503614
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26681071
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