Confessions of Healing

A couple of weekends ago we went camping. Ellie has shown great signs of healing as she is no longer as sensitive to things like crayons, stickers, markers, etc, and so we are letting her handle food a lot more. We are not as worried about an extreme shock reaction due to exposure or accidental ingestion (except for corn which we avoid like the plague). It also helps that when handling food she rarely gets it anywhere near her mouth, and most often wants to feed someone else.

While camping I grabbed a bag of Just Tomatoes freeze dried peas to take along, thinking it would be a good snack to have on hand (for everyone else). When we got there and busted them open, of course Ellie asked for some. So I handed her 5 or so, and she proceeded to use them to make piles, and move piles, fill the hole in the picnic bench, and then another hole. It kept her busy while we set up. While I wasn't watching, OF COURSE, she apparently ate one. Or two.

I say apparantly because the next day we saw her eczema flare, and she had a rather nasty diaper that burned her skin, stunk to high heaven, and held some mucous. I did not realize the significance of this until we got home. You see.....DUMB mommy moment (confessions here ok?), when the list of previously failed foods gets long enough, and you spend your life focused on corn which is everywhere and can burn holes in her skin, it is easy to forget everything on the previously failed list. And, peas were on there. PEAS were ON THERE.

It was one of her first foods. She was around 10 months old, and besides projectile vomit, it sent her into shock. Now, here we are, 14 months later. The reaction was there, but not nearly as severe. Was this a new Tcell response to the same food? Was it the same Tcells that responded before? Who cares! THIS to me was a GIANT hallelujah. Another sign of healing, another sign of progress, another sign of hope. She may not be ready for peas yet, but by golly, her immune system is healing and she is getting closer.

Now that we have eggs, we will be trying a new vegetable next. Hooray!