The Promised Land

Just like her big sister, Ellie absolutely loves music and dancing.  Last week she was dancing her heart out in the living room when a Veggie Tales song came on, and suddenly I heard the words:

It's time! It's time! Did he just say it's time?! 
We didn't have a lot of fun in the desert.  We didn't have a lot of fun in the sand. 
But saddle up your cow, and fall behind us now, because we're going to the promised land. 

I looked up at Ellie and grinned.  She kept bouncing.

For years I've eaten nothing but manna - a dish that is filling, but bland. 
But now we're on our way, I'll have a cheese souffle, because we're going to the promised land!

At one time this song would have made my heart hurt.  It was about food, and the promised land, and all those things so far out of reach. But this time all I could do was grin.

Sometimes it takes 40 years of work and waiting because of choices other people make, choices you have made, environment, things outside of our control, genetics, and who-knows-what-else in order to find healing and see promises fulfilled.  It's part of the big picture. It's part of His plan.

He is always faithful to complete that which He starts.

My biggest realization that she has had significant progress occurred a couple weeks ago.  We have been using a medicated lotion for Ellie's eczema and persistent skin staph.  The goal has been to avoid additional rounds of oral antibiotics, so I began lathering her with something I would normally avoid.  It has worked fantastic, and we have slowly decreased how much we use it. On the surface this sounds like it is not a big deal, except this lotion has three things that would have sent Ellie into a standard FPIES episode 16 months ago (complete with respiratory response and vomiting).  Let me try and put it into perspective:

The lotion has lactic acid (from milk), and propylene glycol monocaprylat (propylene glycol can be derived from corn) as ingredients.  These are two of her biggest FPIES triggers.  I now know that with immune system dysfunction it really doesn't matter what things are derived from.  The body has the potential to react to anything, be it food, environment, chemical or natural.  In fact, there is even more chance that the body will respond negatively to chemicals because they are toxins and must be detoxed through the body, and with leaky gut the body's natural detoxification system is broken.  This was Ellie. There is not an ingredient in this lotion that should not send Ellie into a profuse vomiting and pooping state of affairs.  But instead this lotion has made her skin better.  (Please note that this lotion is still not perfect and we are happy to use it less and less as the ingredients tax her detoxification process, but it is a million times better than multiple rounds of oral antibiotics.  We use it only when our natural options are not working)

 
Here are some of the other ways we have seen Ellie's healing in the last couple of weeks:

We no longer need to seed her zucchini.  She tolerates the seeds fine.  We do still peel it though because the skin holds oxalates that are harder on a newly healing body.

She is eating all grey, green, white, etc. colored summer squash without problems.  Still squash, but still amazing.

She is also eating fermented red cabbage juice, fermented summer squash juice, and fermented coconut
water.  These provide her with amazing benefits.

Things that have changed in our home and no longer bring FPIES reactions (or panic):

When I wasn't looking she stuck her finger in the (GAPS friendly) pancake batter and stuck it in her mouth.

She picked up a package of Pink Popcorn at the zoo and carried it around before putting it back.

We used a very very small amount of NON-compounded topical medication on her staph skin bumps.

She crawls around on our kitchen floor when I have not swept for a week, and I don't have to brush all crumbs off of her skin immediately.  OK, so I don't have to keep the floor swept by the hour!

She helps cook foods she cannot eat.

She uses markers, crayons and stickers without incident.

Ellie is sleeping better, eating less at night, poops more regularly, and has less constipation

Her belly is flatter.

She recognizes when she is hungry and when she is full.  She has said 'I ate too much; my belly hurts', an ability she did not have 12 months ago. 

We are gearing up to move forward in GAPS.  We are ready to leave the desert.  We are ready to test what we think we are hearing - it is time.  And I am ready to bust at the seams with anticipation. Stay tuned!