:( Allergic

Today was a tough day for many reasons. It was a long day, we were at children's hospital for over 3 hours. We also found out Callie definitely has food allergies as I suspected. They did skin prick testing in her back. She was tough and didn't cry. She just was itchy and kept trying to scratch her back. They drew on her with pen to label where each item was. Check out her back with all it's letter tonight. You can't see the reactions anymore. I wish a snapped a photo of that.
This is where the sad face comes in. We only tested her for 5 items: milk, beef, wheat, eggs, peanut. Of those 5 items she is allergic to 3! However it was not necessarily the ones we suspected. She ha no reaction to beef or milk even though we have seen both of those foods bother her. She had a mild reaction to peanuts and a strong reaction to wheat and eggs. The interesting part is we have been feeding her egg yolks with no problem. Egg yolks are actually non allergenic but can be contaminated with the whites which are the part you can be allergic too.
Because of her reactions the doctor prescribed her an epipen in case of a severe allergic reaction. We were trained on how to administer it and have to carry it with us wherever we go. We also will have Benadryl with us for any mild reaction.
The eczema has started to get better but is still there. So instead of eliminating all potential allergens right away we will actually slowly reduce one at a time so we can see how she reacts. First up is wheat and all gluten products for Callie and Me. That's a huge thing for me to give up is all bread products, but I am willing to do anything that will make Callie feel better.
The doctor thinks part of the reason she wakes at night could be because she is uncomfortable and itchy. I knew my fussy kid had needs and was not just spoiled! I have to say my motherly instinct has been good. I said I thought she had a gluten problem and I was right! Granted I was wrong about the beef and I was feeding her egg. The milk even though its not an allergy could still cause her reflux to be worse so we will leave that out of her diet for several more months until we are sure the reflux is all resolved.
To further look at her allergic response she is ordering blood tests to look at the actual response which can be graded by a numerical value. So she sent us to the lab to have blood drawn. This was the worst part of the day for sure. She screamed and I mean screamed the whole time. It took 2 people and they couldn't find a good vein. 2 sticks later and 45 min they only got a small amount of blood. Not even enough to do all the tests she needs. So they will do what they can and call and tell me if they need much more. She was so traumatized :( poor baby.
So we have a plan of attack and will keep following up with the allergist. She was really nice and helpful and even though it was a bad day, the upside is that we know what we can do to help Callie. I'm hoping she starts feeling better soon and we don't have any emergency allergic responses!
On a positive note; GiGi got here today and went straight from the airport to the hospital with Juan so she was there for the whole appointment. Now Callie gets to enjoy some time with her GiG and play while I work for a few days.
Having a kid with any medical needs is stressful. I remind myself that my clients at work have kids with severe and permanent illness and injuries and am thankful Callie's issues are minor in the grand scheme of things. We thank god that she is who she is and we learn a little more about her everyday so we can better care for her. And I am willing to do anything within my power for her; guess that what it means to be a parent; to love someone more than anything in the world, my angel.