The photo is of Levi mixing together some brownies (unfortunately they were a miserable failure as I used corn oil instead of olive oil, which he isn't supposed to have and I had replaced the egg-- too many changes to an already very altered recipe!) He had fun anyway, he loves to help in the kitchen. He still thinks they taste good, but tonight I am going to have to scrape them out of the pan as they are as hard as a rock and yet sticky!
Today I was able to take a canceled appt (with just 45 minutes notice) to see Levi's Dr here in Lake Stevens. He is the one who did the allergy testing and needed to go over our results with us. He said that Levi's test results are the worst he has seen in over a year (and I get the idea that he tests most everyone who comes to his practice) since he specializes in allergy and environmental medicine. We are not going to pursue any more treatment at Children's Hospital right now, just allowing his gut to calm down and see if a few months off of these foods and taking his supplements will help. I have an appt to go back to the DR. here in Lake Stevens in May and perhaps by then we can give Levi more foods. The last test for now will be a blood test for Celiac Disease, which would mean no gluten and wheat for a lifetime. We are praying that the results will show he does not have that. I guess if it was positive they would want to do a colonoscopy but I don't see any reason to rush into that at this time. Also, his stool test showed some yeast which they will treat but other than that was much healthier than the Dr thought it would be. So that is some good news. Levi was thrilled to leave the Dr today with no pokes (no blood work or anything today). He asked for his coat and said, "Zip me up!" very clearly -- even with his binky in -lol. Then he was out the door.
I was trying to figure out how to explain the food sensitivities, asking the Dr for as much info as possible. He said the food sensitivities are the allergens that cause a delayed allergic reaction -- in Levi's case they have been causing his vomiting and diarrhea and some mild eczema. It is hard to tell how they make him feel other than the rubbing he does on his head which is most likely a sign of the discomfort. We have also noticed him talking more and more all of a sudden -- I know this is a normal developmental thing at this age, but it has been during the time since he started the supplements. So I mentioned that to the Dr as well and he was very pleased. Since starting the supplements, Levi has only had two days of vomiting (its been almost a month) and on those days he hadn't received his supplements because I forgot to bring them with us when we went to Children's hospital. So now we will see if being off the foods suggested also helps.
In the meantime, I was able to make some pineapple muffins for Levi using amaranth flour and rice flour and a bunch of other stuff. He liked them! Much better day today than we had yesterday. Kaleb is going to a morning prayer hour at church everyday until Easter. They prayed for Levi today. Also, last night at my homeschool meeting they prayed for Levi. I appreciate all the prayers and the support we have been receiving. Thank you for all of your kind words and encouragement! We really appreciate our family and friends :)
P.S. I do plan to write some posts about things other than Levi and his allergies! Thanks for your patience in reading all about this over the past several weeks.
